How Much I Care (Miami Nights Book 2)

by Marie Force

  “Thanks again for this,” I tell her.

  “I’m happy to do it, and Jason is glad to have an excuse to come in for dinner. Dad’s going to give him more bartending lessons.”

  “In case neurosurgery doesn’t work out for him?” I ask, amused.

  “Dad tells him it’s good to have a backup plan.”

  My witty retort dies on my tongue when I see Austin coming toward me, tall, impossibly handsome, smiling at me and carrying Everly, who has her curly blond hair in pigtails. She’s wearing a pretty yellow dress, and the sight of her backpack dangling from Austin’s fingers is just so sweet. His parents are behind him as Abuela leads them to the table.

  Somehow, I manage to introduce them to Viv, Carmen and Abuela without tripping over my words or making a fool of myself.

  I can feel Austin’s eyes on me the whole time we’re talking to the others. Viv and Carmen make a big fuss over Everly, who seems to eat up the attention. And when it’s time to be seated, I love that Austin arranges things so he’s next to me in the booth, his leg pressed against mine.

  And when I feel the heat of his hand on my leg, it’s all I can do to hide my reaction from the others.

  This is going to be a very long dinner.

  Chapter 11

  AUSTIN

  My parents adore her. I can tell by the way they’re completely themselves around her, but that’s Maria for you. It’s impossible to be anything other than genuine with her. Ev likes her, too, and sits with Maria for a long time, coloring with the placemat and crayons Maria’s Nona brought over.

  Everly loves to color, and Maria is super patient with her, giving her undivided attention that impresses my parents—and me. Who am I kidding? Anyone who is all about my daughter has my attention, but Maria already had it. Seeing her with Ev only makes me like her more than I already do.

  After a delicious meal, Everly curls up in Maria’s lap with her thumb in her mouth, a sure sign that she’s winding down for the day. I desperately want some time alone with Maria, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen tonight.

  I’m pitching the one o’clock game tomorrow, and I need to sleep, especially after hardly sleeping last night. But I’m wired from sitting next to her for hours and having to behave myself. I’m pretty sure my parents are on to me, though. I’ve gotten a couple of looks from each of them that lets me know I’m doing a shit job of hiding my over-the-top attraction to the woman who saved my daughter’s life.

  “We can take Ev back to the hotel if you want to hang out for a bit, Austin,” Mom says.

  Have I mentioned that my mom is the best?

  “Um, sure, that’d be great, if you don’t mind.”

  “We don’t mind,” Dad says. “It’s been a long day with the early flight.”

  “Thanks again for being here,” I tell them.

  “We wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Mom says as she reloads the backpack we brought with a few toys and books to keep Everly entertained during dinner. Turns out we didn’t need most of what we brought because Everly has been entertained mostly by Maria. “This has been a lovely evening, Maria. Your family is delightful, and the food was outstanding.”

  “I’m so glad you enjoyed it.”

  Her uncle wanted to treat us, but I insisted on paying—and I leave Carmen a huge tip.

  I take Everly from Maria and follow her out of the booth, my daughter snuggled into me the way she does when she’s ready to sleep. She’ll go down easy tonight after the long busy day with no nap.

  My mom orders up an Uber with a car seat, and while we wait, we chat with Nona, Abuela, Vincent and Vivian.

  Carmen comes over with a man she introduces to us as her fiancé, Jason Northrup. “My dad would love a picture with you for the wall, Austin, but he won’t ask, so I’m asking for him,” Carmen says.

  “Of course. I’d be happy to.” I transfer Everly to my dad and pose for the picture with Vincent and Vivian.

  “Thanks so much.” Vincent shakes my hand. “Let us know any time you’re back in town. I’ll always have a table for you.”

  “I’ll definitely be back. You’ve ruined me for anywhere else.”

  When the car my mom ordered arrives, Maria and I walk them out. I load Everly into the car seat, making sure she’s securely belted in. I kiss her forehead and hug both my parents.

  “Thank you for such a wonderful day, Austin,” Mom says. Then she hugs Maria for a long time. “You’re family to us. Forever.”

  I can see that Maria is overwhelmed by what my mom said. “It was such a pleasure to meet you both.”

  She hugs Dad, too.

  “We’ll see you at the game tomorrow,” Dad says.

  “See you then.”

  I’ve arranged for them to sit together tomorrow. My parents and Everly will be flying back to Baltimore tomorrow night while I stay for Monday’s final game of the season.

  We wave as they drive off in the Uber.

  “They’re great,” Maria says.

  “They are. I got very lucky, especially when they ditched their whole lives to move to Baltimore after everything went down with Kasey. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

  I take a step toward her, needing to hold her after this endless day. As I put my arms around her, the tension I’ve carried with me since I left her earlier disappears, and there’s only her. “They loved you.”

  “I saved their granddaughter’s life. They have to love me.”

  “Not just because of that. They loved you.”

  We stand on the sidewalk, hugging each other for a long time.

  “You want to get out of here?”

  “And do what?” she asks.

  “Anything you want.”

  “Don’t you have to pitch tomorrow?”

  “Yep.”

  “So you have to be back at the hotel pretty soon, then, right?”

  “Not until midnight. So we’ve got two and a half hours.”

  “Are you allowed to have guests at the hotel?”

  “Not really, but I don’t think anyone will hold me to it at this point.”

  “You need to win tomorrow, so we probably shouldn’t do anything to mess with that.”

  “Being with you will ensure a win.”

  She pulls back, her expression skeptical. “How do you figure?”

  “I get a natural high from being with you, and I’ll take that with me to the mound tomorrow. I’ll be on fire after spending this time with you.”

  “That’s a lot of pressure to put on me.”

  I shrug, feeling shameless. “If you want me to win tomorrow, you need to come with me and do all you can to make it happen.”

  She smiles as she rolls her eyes. “Does that actually work for you?”

  With my hands on her shoulders, I look her dead in the eye. “I’ve never used that line before.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I swear! Come with me. I need more time with you.”

  “All right. As long as you promise you’ll sleep when I tell you to.”

  “I’ll do whatever you tell me to. I promise.”

  She takes my hand and gives a subtle tug, and I follow her to her car in the back lot. As she drives me to the downtown hotel, I hold her hand between both of mine.

  “You were great with Ev at dinner.”

  “She’s sweet and so well behaved. A lot of times, kids want to run around in restaurants, which is tough on the waitstaff. I’m always afraid I’m going to drop scalding-hot food on them.”

  “We’ve been taking her out to eat since she was a baby. She knows the rules by now.”

  “You’d never know she’d been sick to look at her now.”

  “I try not to think of the images of her bald and sick and bruised from all the needles. It was a horror show.”

  “I can’t imagine what you all went through.”

  “It’s in the past now, or so I hope. We still have to do blood work every three months for the next few years. I try not to
think about the possibility that it could come back.”

  “I’m sure that’s the worst kind of fear.”

  “It’s horrible. They say she won’t be officially cured for five years. That’s a long-ass time to worry about it coming back.”

  “I’m sorry you have to worry about that.”

  “It’s a small price to pay to have her healthy again. Her being sick changed me in every possible way. Everything is different now.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Before, I felt like I was sort of bulletproof, you know? Other than the thing with Kasey, I’d had a pretty easy go of it. Things tended to work out for me. All I ever wanted to do was play baseball, and that happened—and it was even better than I ever could’ve hoped for. Even if the team wasn’t winning, I was kicking ass. I won the Cy Young three times, was American League MVP a couple of times… And then it all went to shit when Ev got sick and I was forced to confront the fact that none of that other stuff matters at all. The only thing that matters is that the people we love are healthy and safe.”

  “The other stuff matters, too, Austin. It’s okay to be proud of your career.”

  “I am, but I don’t care about it the same way I used to. Everly’s illness was a huge wake-up call, and it realigned my priorities. I know what’s really important now, and in case you’re wondering, you’re at the very top of the list.”

  “I’m not sure what to think of that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, this weekend has been incredible, but nothing has really changed since the night we talked when you were in Detroit.”

  “Everything has changed.”

  “How so?”

  “I met you, I kissed you, I slept with you in my arms. You’re all I can think about.”

  “Austin…”

  “I know what you’re thinking, and trust me, I’m thinking all the same things. But I want you in my life, Maria, and I refuse to believe that two reasonably intelligent people can’t figure out a way to make this work, if it’s what we both want.”

  She has no reply to that, but I can tell by the set of her jaw that she’s thinking about what I said.

  At the hotel, we valet-park her car and walk inside together. I really, really don’t want to run into anyone from my team when I have so little time with her. We get lucky in the lobby and in the elevator. But when the doors open on the sixth floor, Santiago is standing there. He takes one look at me and Maria, and in a matter of seconds, he puts together what’s been going on with me.

  “Maria, this is Dante Santiago. Dante, this is Maria.”

  “So nice to meet the woman who saved little Everly’s life,” he says when he shakes her hand.

  “Thank you. Nice to meet you, too.”

  “I, ah, was just going to get a beer.” Santiago steps onto the elevator. “I’ll see you in the morning, AJ.”

  “Later.”

  I walk with her to my room at the end of the hallway and send her in ahead of me, thankful we didn’t encounter anyone else on the way in.

  “Will he tell everyone you brought me here?”

  “No, he won’t. He’s my best friend on the team.”

  She walks over to look out the window. “Oh, well, I guess that’s good.”

  I follow her, placing my hands on her shoulders, which feel tense. “I don’t care if anyone knows you’re here, Maria.” I kiss the top of her head. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “My thoughts are all over the place.”

  “I can help you organize them.”

  She laughs. “No, you can’t. You’re the reason they’re jumbled in the first place.”

  I gently turn her to face me. “We’re going to figure this out. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but we will figure it out. If you want to be with me the way I want to be with you, then we will find a way.”

  “I do want to be with you—”

  Before she can qualify that statement or add a but, I kiss her the way I’ve been dying to since I left her this morning.

  It takes a second, but she kisses me back, and the same intense desire that erupted between us last night is back again, burning even brighter than it did then, if that’s possible. I want this woman in a way I’ve never wanted anyone before, with every part of me. Mind, body and soul. She can have it all.

  We end up on the bed, arms and legs intertwined, our kisses as hot and crazed as they were last night and into this morning. My lips actually hurt from last night, and I wonder if hers do, too. Easing back from the kiss, I gaze down at her gorgeous face and kiss-swollen lips.

  “Do your lips hurt from last night?”

  “A little. Do yours?”

  “Uh-huh.” I kiss her more gently this time, sliding my lips over hers in the sweetest, softest of caresses. It sends a shiver through me as I try to contain my desperate need for her. “I have to pitch tomorrow, so I need to take it easy tonight,” I tell her between kisses. “But tomorrow night… Tomorrow, I want to see you after the game and be with you. Can we do that?”

  She nods, but I still see the hint of hesitancy in her eyes.

  “I promise you, we’ll work this out, and everything will be okay.” As I hold her close to me and breathe in the scent that drives me so crazy, I really hope that’s a promise I can keep.

  MARIA

  I didn’t intend to spend the night with Austin, but we fell asleep at some point, and when I woke up, it was morning and he was gone.

  I find a note on his pillow. Morning, beautiful. I had to leave early, but feel free to stay as long as you like, have room service, relax and enjoy. I’ll see you after the game. Love, Austin.

  Usually, I’d be getting ready to head for Sunday brunch at the restaurant, but I’m going to skip it this week so I can go home, shower and change before the game. I text Carmen to let her know I won’t be there.

  I’ll make excuses for you, she replies. Did you hang out with Austin again last night?

  Yeah, I ended up sleeping at his hotel.

  And???

  Kissing and snuggling and other good stuff, but he’s pitching today, so we crashed early.

  And he has one more night in town?

  Two.

  My phone rings, and I take the call from my cousin.

  “How’re you doing?”

  “I have no idea. I’ve been acting all weekend like I have nothing to worry about, and he’s so sure we’ll figure something out, but I just don’t know what the hell I’m doing in his hotel room.”

  “You like him, Mari, and he’s crazy about you. We all saw that last night.”

  “What did you see?”

  “Everything you see. He’s fantastic, a wonderful father and not exactly hard on the eyes. And speaking of eyes, he never takes his off you.”

  “You noticed all that, huh?”

  “Yep.”

  “I like him more than I ever liked Scott.”

  “Of course you do. He’s a million times the man Scott was, and you’re smart enough to realize that.”

  “I just wish it wasn’t so complicated.”

  “I hate to tell you, pal, but stuff like this is always complicated because it matters. He matters to you, or you wouldn’t be so undone by the complications.”

  “I try to picture myself chucking my whole life for a man, even one I like as much as I like Austin, and I just don’t see it.”

  “That’s because the one time you took a chance on a guy, he let you down big-time. Austin isn’t like that. He’s been screwed over by a woman. He knows what that feels like, and he’s not about to do something like that to you, especially in light of what you did for his daughter. I think you’re safe with this guy, Mari.”

  “I’m starting to think so, too.”

  “Then you just have to relax and let it happen.”

  “I want to.”

  “Do it. You won’t regret it.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Well, I don’t know for sure, but I have a good f
eeling about you two. And so do you. From the first time you ever talked to him, you said it was different with him. You should put some faith in that. You connected with him long before you ever met him. What does that tell you?”

  “It tells me he’s special, and I’m being silly for being worried about things that don’t matter.”

  “That’s my girl. Enjoy the ride. Let it take you where you’re meant to go. I think all the time about what I would’ve missed if I hadn’t taken a chance on Jason, even when everything was a mess in his life. Look at what I would’ve missed.”

  She makes a good point. “I never expected any of this.”

  “Do you think I expected to meet my second chance at love when he pulled up to the hospital in a black Porsche with a bottle blonde riding shotgun?”

  I laugh at the way she describes her first meeting with Jason. “Nope.”

  “You never know how it’s going to happen. The secret to success is being smart enough to know a good thing when you have it.”

  “I hear you, oh wise one. I’m trying to chill and enjoy it and not think about him leaving.”

  “He’s no fool. He’ll be back.”

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  “When I look back at everything with Jason, I wish I’d been more able to enjoy the ride rather than worrying about all the obstacles. They work themselves out when something is meant to be. Remember that.”

  “I will. Thanks for this, Car. It helps.”

  “Have fun at the game.”

  “I’m looking forward to watching him pitch.”

  “I’ll be watching on TV after brunch. Text me if you need me.”

  “I will.”

  “Oh, and I’m sending you last night’s take by Venmo. We had a good night.”

  “Thank you again for doing that. I really appreciate it.”

  “It was fun to see everyone. I’ll talk to you later.”