“Fuck no.” That one was easy. He pulled in a deep breath. “But I did finagle that double date because I wanted to find out what was going on with some fool computer model that might affect my life. I cop to that. But that’s all, baby. I swear it.”
Still, she narrowed her eyes at him and didn’t move an inch from her position in the doorway.
“And after that night, I wasn’t thinking about your computer at all. I was thinking about you, and how interesting and smart and sexy you were.”
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “Flattery?”
“It’s not flattery. It’s just the truth. When I saw you in the stands, fixing to faint, I lost my mind.”
“What do you mean, you lost your mind? You came and helped me.”
“Yes, because I was scared out of my mind.” He wiped a hand across his face, even the memory of it shaking him to the core. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“You did the right thing. Exactly the right thing.”
“But what if I hadn’t?”
She stared at him, sadness dimming the light in her eyes. “Dwight, what are you doing here? My heart condition is what it is. I can’t help it if it scares you.”
Time to put it all out there. “I’m here because I love you.”
There. He’d said it. And it felt good. But Maggie didn’t look very impressed.
She shifted position, propping herself against the doorjamb, her head turned away from him. “You kind of said something like that before. Then you disappeared. So don’t use that word unless you mean it. If you love me, where have you been? Why haven’t you called?”
He ran a hand across his head, wishing there was some way to avoid looking like an idiot. But no. “Because I’m an ass. A full-on, donkey-ass idiot. I had this idea that you were embarrassed about me in front of your parents. That you didn’t want to be with a second-tier player. That you wanted to make sure you were dating a Friar, not a a Catfish.”
Her head whipped around. “Excuse me?”
“I know you didn’t,” he said quickly. “Nina set me straight.”
She marched toward him and prodded him in the chest as she spoke. “Nina shouldn’t have to set you straight on that. I’m a professional, Dwight. I am not open for bribery, whether it’s through a killer smile or because I want to help the man I love. That is not how I operate, and you really ought to know that.”
He stilled her hand against his chest, his heart suddenly racing. “You said you love me.”
“What? No I didn’t.” Her eyes blazed up at him indignantly.
“You called me ‘the man I love.’ Same thing.”
“It was a hypothetical.” But from the way hectic color came and went in her cheeks, he knew he’d busted her.
He picked up her other hand and held both of them in his. “Maggie Blythe, one of the many things I revere about you is your honesty. Now, I love you. I told you that straight up. Do you love me too?”
She ran her tongue across her lips, a gesture she often turned to when she was nervous. Inside, he gloated. Nerves were good. They meant she had strong feelings. Hopefully good ones.
“Let’s get back to your grovel,” she said. “You were saying, about being a donkey’s ass?”
He tilted his head back and let out a booming laugh. “Fine, you want more?” He lowered himself to his knees. “I’m a donkey’s ass who loves you. I’ve been in hell the past couple of weeks. Barely able to smile at the fans. I don’t even know how I managed to hit a baseball. Maybe because my mind was somewhere else. It was with you. You’re all I’ve thought about since I got called up. Will you please find it in that big, kind, perfect heart of yours to forgive me, or at least give me a chance to win your forgiveness?”
A flush spread across her face. “You are the craziest guy. My heart is obviously not perfect.”
“It’s perfect because it’s part of you. On the plane, I was thinking about it. When I saw you having trouble in the stands, I panicked because I didn’t really know what to do. So I need to inform myself. I might even take EMT training. I don’t want to be scared like that again. I want to be there when you need me. I want to be your man. All the way.”
Her eyes glistened with tears. “You do?”
“I do. Just give me another chance. This is how I do things, baby. I crash and burn the first time, but if I get a second shot, I don’t mess it up.”
She laughed through her tears, and he knew he had her. Thank Jesus.
He lifted her hand to kiss it. “Does that laugh mean you’ll give me another chance?”
“Oh Dwight.” She dropped to her knees before him. “To be honest, I forgave you the second I heard you talking on the phone to my parents, defending me and my choices.”
“I will always defend you and your choices,” he said solemnly. Then he cracked a grin. “As long as they include me.”
She flung herself against him and he folded his arms around her. He felt the reassuring beat of her heart. They stayed like that for a long moment. A current of emotion passed between them, binding them together. Holding Maggie felt so right, so perfect. All the other problems? They’d figure them out.
“I would kiss you, but we’re on my front porch right out in public,” she murmured into his neck.
“Let’s get our asses inside, then.” He pulled her to her feet and twirled them both inside. He shut the door with his foot, then took her in his arms again. “I intend to kiss you, baby love. Over and over. But I have a bigger question to deal with first.”
“What?”
“How am I going to get traded to the Red Sox? I’m going to have to talk to my agent.”
She tilted her head back to frown at him. “Excuse me? Why do you want to play for the Red Sox?”
“So I can be in the same area as you. Of course, I could quit baseball earlier than I’d planned. But the way I figure it, I should play for a few more years so I can build myself up and earn that Major League money. I can start my foundation, let people know what I’m all about. I’ll be in a better position for what’s next.”
“And what’s next?”
“Public speaking, maybe. Motivational speaker, that sort of thing. Maybe I’ll even run for office someday. I want to uplift, inspire. Spread the love.”
She studied him for a moment, a wide smile edging across her face. “No one could do it like you, that’s for sure. You’d be amazing. But Dwight, I still don’t get what you’re talking about. Why Boston?”
He gave a double-take, noticing for the first time the laughter shining from her eyes. “You aren’t going back to Boston for that job your parents got you?”
“Of course not. I’m going to San Diego. The Friars promoted me on Crush’s recommendation.”
“I thought Crush didn’t like your program too much?”
“I finally won him over. But they’re actually hiring me to work on a variety of projects. I’m going to be their Head of Data Analysis.”
“In San Diego.”
“In San Diego,” she confirmed. “With you.”
“Wooooot!” With a hoot of joy, he scooped her into a passionate kiss. She clung to his shoulders while he feasted on the intoxicating taste of her. Still locked in their embrace, he lifted her up. He headed for the bedroom, then stubbed his toe on a packing box. “Wait, you’re moving today?”
“The movers will be here in a couple of hours.”
“A couple of hours…that’s not much time but I’ll make do. Wait—do you still have a bed?”
Her brilliant smile was all the answer he needed to that question.
20
They put Maggie’s bed to use until the last possible minute. When the movers arrived, Maggie thrust her tangled hair into a ponytail and directed all her worldly possessions into their care. Then Dwight took her to dinner for one last feast at the Smoke Pit Barbecue. They could have ordered snacks from a vending machine and she would have been happy. Being reunited with Dwight, knowing that he still loved and wanted
her, was all the sustenance she needed.
But baby back ribs were good too.
“They don’t have anything like this in San Diego, do they?” she asked mournfully as she surveyed her plate of steaming, savory ribs. Occasional consumption of meat was one of the ways Kilby had changed her. Along with being more independent, making new friends, falling in love…
“Not likely. But we can come back here, sweetheart. It’s not that far. The Catfish will miss you, and I know Nina will.”
Maggie glanced at the TV mounted in the corner of the restaurant. “Speaking of Nina, there’s Bieberman.”
Dwight snagged the waiter and asked him to turn up the TV. Jim Lieberman’s ever-enthusiastic voice carried into the room. He was being interviewed on the field, near the Friars’ dugout. Fans still lingered in the seats visible behind him.
“It was a great game, definitely a team effort. We couldn’t have pulled off a win like this without everyone pulling together, especially with Dwight Conner out with that freak neurological injury.”
Dwight spewed his Coke across his plate of meat.
Maggie grabbed his hand. “Oh my God! You have an injury? Why didn’t you say something?”
He shook his head, using a napkin to dab Coke off his face. “No, that’s Lieberman covering for me so I could come here. Shh, I gotta here more about this.”
Maggie covered her mouth to keep her laughter from distracting from what Lieberman was saying. The reporter was asking more about Dwight’s condition.
“It’s a fluke thing, definitely temporary. I only recognized it because of my neurology background. Luckily, I was right there and I got him some help and he should be back with us for tomorrow’s game.”
“Can you give us the exact name of Dwight’s condition? Is it congenital, is it—”
Lieberman wiped his forehead, looking flustered. “I’m not his doctor, so I really shouldn’t. I mean, doctor-patient confidentiality prevents me from…actually, there’s something else even more important I wanted to say, since I’m on TV. Am I still on TV?”
“You’re still on,” the reporter, a tomboyish brunette, confirmed.
“In that case, I’d just like to say that there’s a girl here, and I love her with every cell of my body, every neuron in my brain, and every aorta in my heart, and—”
Dwight grabbed Maggie’s hand. “What’s he doing?”
“I think he’s proposing.”
“Sounds more like an anatomy lesson.”
“Shhh.” She hushed him. “I want to hear.”
On the TV, Lieberman gave himself a little rap on the head. “Sorry, that’s not coming out right. Anyway, I love you and I want to marry you.”
The camera shifted so it was looking straight at the reporter. Her face creased with confusion. “You want to marry me?”
“What? No!”
The camera swung back to an appalled Jim Lieberman. By now, a small knot of other Friars players had gathered nearby, watching and smirking.
“Nina Stark. She’s the one I want to marry. I already pre-proposed, but I wanted to make a big gesture and do it right and…” He dug into the back pocket of his baseball pants. “I even have a ring. Where’s the ring?” With his hand in his back pocket, he turned in a circle, rotating around like a dog chasing its tail.
Maggie dropped her head into her hands and groaned. “Poor Lieberman. It’s almost like he tries too hard.”
“You think?” But Dwight was grinning instead of groaning. “Thing is, he’s cute. You watch. Nina’s going to eat this up.”
The camera panned to the stands and quick-snapped to Trevor Stark, whose back was to the camera. He was reaching into the stands to help someone climb out. He swung her around and lowered her to the dirt track that circled the baseball diamond.
Nina.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she launched herself across the field toward Lieberman. “Jim! Yes! I say yes! Can you hear me, Jim?” She tripped over third base as she hurtled across the field, nearly falling headlong onto the grass. Mike Solo darted to her side and caught her.
Maggie covered her face with both hands and watched between her spread fingers. “I…can’t…”
Dwight was laughing so hard his face was turning a richer shade of brown. “Only Lieberman,” he choked. “Gotta love that dude.”
Eli Anderson also came to Nina’s rescue, and the two of them carried her between them, her feet dangling inches above the grass. Grinning, they set her on the field in front of Lieberman. Nina looked shyly at the camera and furtively poked at her hair, which was standing up in tufts.
Jim dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Nina, will you be my bride? I lost the ring, but I know it’s somewhere on this field, and so are we, so that counts, right? From now on, every time I step on this field, every time I step off, and every moment in between, wherever I am, I want to know that I have the honor and privilege of calling you my wife. Someday. It doesn’t have to be right away. We can still wait as long as you want.”
Maggie drew in a long breath. Tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh Lieberman. That was beautiful!”
Nina obviously thought so too, because her hands were clasped under her chin and a waterfall of tears ran down her face. “Of course I’ll marry you! I love you so much, Jim. I want to be with you from now until forever, and every moment in between.”
Dwight gave a tip of an imaginary hat to the blond girl whose radiant face filled the TV screen. “Nice, Nina. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Oh, I did,” said Maggie. “She reads about fifty romance novels a month.”
Nina and Jim were now locked in a wildly enthusiastic embrace, so the camera panned away from them. The reporter dashed a tear away from her face. “I’ve seen a lot of baseball proposals in my time, but this one might be the best. We’ll keep you updated on shortstop Jim Lieberman’s wedding plans—and of course Dwight Conner’s worrying mental condition—so stay tuned to Channel Four.”
Dwight slumped back in his chair. “Man, I don’t know whether to congratulate Beebs or kick his ass. ‘Worrying mental condition.’ It might actually come true if they keep saying that.”
Maggie laughed at him. “All you have to do is show up looking like your healthy, sexy self. Say you’re feeling all better and you’ll stay away from exotic cuisine from now on. You ate some bad blowfish or something.”
He looked right, then left, as if she must be talking about someone else. “Do I look like someone who eats blowfish?”
Tilting her head, she looked him up and down. He was so beautiful, all muscles and warmth and strength. “You look like someone who can do and be whatever you want.”
A smile broke across his face and he leaned forward to take both her hands in his warm grip. “You know what I want? I want to be your man, Maggie Blythe.”
Her heart gave a slow, happy thump. “Is that right?”
“You know it is. And I don’t need a TV crew to back me up, either. But if you want one—”
“No,” she said hastily. “This is good, right here. Just you and me.”
“It’s you and me, baby. You and me. Watch out, world.”
21
The night you’d been proposed to by your dream man on national TV, you really didn’t want to crash at your brother’s place. So Nina and Jim booked a room in a fancy hotel near the ballpark. Visiting teams stayed at the Millennium, as well as management types coming for interviews, and now—two blissfully happy engaged people.
They shut the door, closed the curtains, put on the Do Not Disturb sign, and curled up under the covers. Fully dressed.
All that blissful happiness suddenly turned awkward.
“Um…do you always sleep with your clothes on?” Jim whispered in the dark.
“No. I usually sleep naked.”
“Me too.” In the warm cocoon under the covers, his breath feathered across her face. “So why do we have our clothes on?”
Her heart kept doing
a weird start-and-stop thing. She’d always known she wanted to wait until she found “the one” to have sex. They didn’t have to be married, but he had to be it. Now she was engaged to “the one.” And she wasn’t sure what came next in their script.
“Well, I have mine on because I’ve never been naked with a man before. What’s your excuse?”
“My excuse is that I want you to be one hundred percent happy and comfortable. I saw you get under the covers still dressed, so here I am.”
They lay face to face for a few heartbeats. The concept of “being in bed with a man” faded as Nina reminded herself that this wasn’t just any man. This was Jim, the sweetest, most adorable, most caring man in the world. The man she loved with all her being.
“Well, I suppose we could take some of our clothes off.”
“Okay. Which ones?”
She thought about it. His nearness made her belly quiver in a truly delicious way. She breathed in the fresh scent of his skin, clean from his post-game shower. The tension in her limbs was easing with every moment that ticked past.
“Everything except underwear,” she decided. That would leave one layer of protection between them.
“Done.” They both twisted and turned under the bedspread to remove their pants—shorts in her case—and shirts. Nina kicked her clothes to the floor next to the bed. All the activity had made her heat up, and she considered shoving aside the bedspread, just for the sake of coolness.
But not yet. Instead, she cuddled back into their shared cocoon. Right away she felt the difference the lack of clothes made. The space between them felt electric and intimate. She shifted her leg so her knee brushed against Jim’s leg. At first its soft hairs made her giggle, but then the hardness of his muscles caught her attention.
“You’re really strong, aren’t you?” She rubbed her leg against his. The contact made her head spin with delight. She put her hand on his chest to feel the smooth, hard muscles there. His heartbeat thumped under her hand. “Wow,” she breathed. “Really strong.” Her hand slipped lower, over the ridges and dips of his abdomen, all the way to the waistband of his underwear.
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