“Because the last time I was truly happy, I lost everything. I guess I was afraid that would happen again as soon as I let my guard down.” Dani was shocked by the answer that spilled from her lips.
He nodded as though that was the answer he’d been expecting. “I guess we both made mistakes then, didn’t we?”
Chapter Eighteen
Ace was glaring at his phone as his teammates ordered snacks and drinks. He’d rushed out of his room to join them as soon as he found out Dani was alone with her ex. More than twenty minutes had passed and he was tempted to make good on his threat to call her, but he wanted her to keep her promise to call him. Besides, he wanted to prove that he trusted her.
“What’s your problem?” Rowan asked as he lifted his chin at Ace’s phone. “You haven’t taken your eyes off that thing since you sat down.”
Chase chuckled. “He’s no worse than you, man. You and Tenley are like a couple of teenagers with your stupid kissy-face emojis.” He scrunched up his face and air-kissed Rowan, making their teammates laugh.
“You’re just jealous,” Rowan said, smirking. “’Cause we all know the only love you’re getting is from your hand.”
The guys all chuckled, shoving and shouldering Chase, who rolled his eyes. One of the perks of being a professional athlete meant no shortage of opportunities to get laid, and Chase’s contract, coupled with his endorsement deals, made him one of the best-paid players on their team. Which made him a sweet treat for the groupies who followed them.
Ace wasn’t in the mood to listen to their good-natured ribbing tonight. He had bigger problems. He downed half his drink and said, “I should probably head up to the room. I’m kind of tired.”
“Bullshit,” Rowan said, eyeing him. “You look like you’ve got enough adrenaline coursing through you right now to run five miles. You haven’t stopped fidgeting since we sat down.” He pointed at Ace’s phone. “So what gives? You waiting for a call or what?”
Since these were not only his teammates but his best friends, and he could use some advice, Ace said, “Dani’s ex-fiancé stopped by her place when I was talking to her earlier. She said she’d call me back when he left.” He held his phone up. “No missed calls and it’s been half an hour. What the hell could they be talking about all this time?”
Their center fielder, Ethan, wiggled his eyebrows. “Who says they’re talking, man?”
Ace glared at him. “Do you want me to jump over this table and beat the shit out of you right here?”
Ethan laughed as he held up his hands. “Relax, Ace, I was just kidding. You need to chill, dude.”
“How the hell am I supposed to chill when my girlfriend is holed up in her apartment with her ex”—he glanced at his phone again—“and it’s almost midnight. What the hell? What gives?”
“Didn’t you say he cheated on her?” Rowan asked before draining his glass.
“Yeah,” Ace responded, running his thumb over the screen of his phone, willing it to ring. “All the more reason she shouldn’t want anything to do with him. Not to mention the fact he tried to break us up.”
“What happened?” Chase asked, frowning.
He leaned back, sighing. “Apparently her dumbass ex put two and two together after he met me and figured out I was the guy who”—his eyes shifted around the table—“was driving the car when her brother died. Needless to say her parents hate me. This guy threatened to tell Dani’s parents we were back together and go to the press with my story.”
“So you decided to beat him to the punch,” Ethan said, tapping his temple with his index finger. “Smart.”
“That may have been the kick in the ass I needed,” Ace said, rubbing his tired eyes with his fingertips, “but I should have done it a long time ago. Maybe now I can get out there and talk about it. You know, visit a few schools in the off-season, talk to kids about the dangers of drinking and driving.” He shrugged. “I don’t know if it’ll make a difference to any of them, but I’d like to try.”
“It’ll make a difference,” Chase said, wiping away the condensation on the side of his tall glass. “Like it or not, a hell of a lot of kids look up to us. They want to be like us when they grow up. Most days it feels like a heavy load, having your every move scrutinized, but in a case like yours, it could be a good thing.” He gave Ace a half-smile before raising his glass. “I’m proud of you, buddy. Not all of us are brave enough to right our wrongs. Kudos to you for having the balls to do it.”
Ace tapped his friend’s glass with his as their eyes met, and he knew Chase was thinking about his ex-wife and daughter. He wished he could give him some advice, encourage him to fight for them if that was what he wanted, but Ace understood how paralyzing fear and regret could be.
“Why don’t you just call her if you’re so worried about what she’s up to with the ex?” Ethan asked, smiling at a pretty brunette at the bar. He was engaged and didn’t mess around, but he claimed flirting was harmless.
“Did I say I was worried?” Ace asked, glaring at him. “I’m not. I trust Dani. It’s him I don’t trust.”
“Didn’t you tell me that he lives in her building now?” Rowan asked.
The other guys groaned in unison before Ethan said, “That’s just asking for trouble, given how much we’re on the road. Why don’t you move the girl in with you? Get her away from temptation?”
“Why would she be tempted by some douchebag who cheated on her?” Ace wanted to believe that wasn’t even possible, but Dani and her ex had some history. And if she could forgive Ace for driving the car that killed her brother, she could forgive anyone anything.
“You ever think about it though?” Rowan asked. “Moving in with Dani?”
“It’s way too soon to think about that.” Not that he hadn’t thought about it. A lot. “She’s going to be hanging out at my place for a few days when we head back home though. We’ll probably keep it like that for now, and see where we are at the end of the season.” He knew where he’d like them to be—packing up her place so she could move in with him, preferably with his ring on her finger.
“But you think this girl is it for you?” Ethan asked, looking uncharacteristically serious. “You’d be ready to go all in if she was game?”
Ace didn’t even have to think about it. “It feels like I’ve been in love with this girl all my life,” he said, shaking his head. “Which is crazy, because up until recently, I hadn’t seen her in years. But she was kind of the standard for me, ya know? All other girls kinda fell short.”
“I know what that’s like,” Chase muttered, looking at his own phone, which was sitting on the table between his hands. “It sucks.”
“So you guys don’t think I’m crazy?” Ace asked, looking around the table at his closest friends. “You know, getting in so deep, so soon?”
“The only thing I think is crazy,” Ethan said, “is that you’re sitting here talking to us when you should be on that damn phone finding out what your girl is doing with her a-hole ex.”
Before Ace could respond, the phone rang. Dani’s face flashed across the screen.
“Damn, she’s hot,” Ethan said, leaning over to get a better look. “Well? What the hell are you waiting for? Answer it before I do.”
Ace couldn’t believe he was nervous to find out what had happened between Dani and her ex. What if she’d decided to forgive him and they’d agreed to be friends? Could that lead to a reconciliation down the road, or was he just being paranoid?
After connecting the call, he held the phone to his ear. “Hey, baby.” He stood, reaching into his pocket to cover his share of the tab when Rowan waved him off.
“Can you talk?” she asked, sounding hesitant.
“Uh, yeah.” He waved to the guys and backed out of the bar/restaurant, away from the crowds. “I was just grabbing a quick drink with the boys while I waited for your call. How’d it go?”
“Surprisingly well.”
He punched the button for the elevator a little harder than nece
ssary. “Oh yeah? Tell me about it.”
“He wanted to apologize.”
Of course he did. “For what? Cheating on you? Breaking us up? Or threatening to sell you out?” He felt it important to list her ex’s sins, in case she was feeling sentimental after talking to him.
“Maceon,” she warned.
Hearing her say his name usually made him smile, but not tonight. “What? You can’t tell me that you’re actually thinking about cutting him slack after the shit he pulled?” He stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for his floor, grateful he was alone and didn’t have to censor himself. “Because I know you’re smarter than that.”
“Some people might question my intelligence for dating you.”
He pulled the phone back, staring at it as he tried to process what she said. “Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I just meant because so many girls want to get with you…” She sighed. “Look, I don’t want to fight. I just called to tell you I love you and to say good night. I have to get some sleep. I have an early morning—”
“Wait,” he said, stepping off the elevator as he pulled his key card from his pocket. “You still didn’t tell me what he wanted.”
“Just to clear the air, I think.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. Especially since she didn’t sound pissed that he’d tried to smooth things over. She sounded… at peace. Something he definitely was not. “And? What did you say to that?”
“Ace, you have to understand something,” she said quietly. “For me to move on with my life, I have to leave all the bad shit that happened in my past behind me. With you, my parents, Mike, all of it.”
He sort of understood that. “So that’s it? You’re just going to forgive him and make nice?” He scowled as he swiped his key card. He hated the idea of Dani being friendly with her ex, a guy who was clearly still in love with her and wanted her back.
“We’re neighbors, remember?”
“Yeah, about that.” He tossed his card on the small writing desk tucked away in the corner. “Maybe you should think about moving.”
She laughed. “Why would I do that? I like it here.”
“You really want to risk running into him every time you leave your apartment?”
“After tonight, I’m fine with running into him. We both had a chance to lay it all out there, and we’re okay. Honestly.”
“You’re okay? What the hell does that mean?” Ace kicked off his running shoes, sorely tempted to throw them across the room. “Will you be going out for coffee with the guy or inviting him up to your place for a drink the next time I’m out of town?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, sounding indignant. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“No, I’m not saying that at all. But how would you feel if Stacey and I lived in the same building?”
“You and Stacey have the same friends! How do you think that makes me feel? You see her all the time!”
Ace knew this discussion was getting out of hand, but like a runaway train, he couldn’t seem to stop it. “Yeah, but she’s back with her ex-boyfriend. We’re just friends.”
“And Mike and I aren’t even friends. We never will be. He just happens to live in my building.”
“Did he tell you he still loves you, that he wants you back? ‘Cause we both know that’s what he’s after.”
Dani’s brief hesitation made Ace’s stomach clench. Of course he told her he wanted her back. Why else would he go to so much trouble to make amends?
“He said he regrets what happened, but I made it clear how I feel about you. He knows there’s no chance to go back. I’m only interested in looking forward, Ace. With you.”
He closed his eyes as he sank onto the end of his bed. He should just leave it at that and be grateful that he was the guy she’d chosen, but the masochistic part of his brain couldn’t let go. “I’m not gonna lie, I don’t want him anywhere near you.”
“You have to learn to trust me,” she said quietly. “Just like I have to trust you. You think this is easy for me, knowing you’re thousands of miles away, holed up in some hotel room, with dozens of women downstairs who’d probably love to warm your bed?”
“That’s never going to happen.” This conversation felt eerily familiar. In high school, he’d had girls throwing themselves at him, trying to come between him and Dani because they could see he was on the fast track to the big leagues. It had almost broken them up a time or two back then, and he couldn’t let that happen now. “But if you’re worried about it, you could marry me.”
“What?”
He couldn’t believe he’d suggested that. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Dani to be his wife someday; he did. But he’d just told his friends it was too soon for them to consider living together, yet he was suggesting marriage? What the hell was wrong with him? “Never mind, forget I said anything.”
“Easier said than done,” she murmured. “It’s not like marriage is a guarantee of fidelity. Besides, are you really that insecure about us that you’d be willing to rush to the altar just to ensure we don’t make any more stupid mistakes?”
Was he? “You can’t blame me for being concerned. We’ve got a hell of a lot working against us. Your parents, my career takes me away half the year—”
“Then you don’t think we stand a chance of making this work? We should just give up now? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No! God, no! How could you even think that?” He hadn’t jumped through as many hoops as he had to make this work only to risk losing her now.
He could hear her frustration when she said, “Look, this isn’t a conversation we should be having over the phone. We’re both tired. It’s been a long day. Why don’t we talk when you get back, okay?”
“Wait, does that mean you don’t want to talk to me until I get back?” He could feel her pulling away, and he had to find a way to make things right before she let him go. “Because we can’t fix things if you won’t even talk to me, Dani.” He rushed on, trying to persuade her. “And you can’t expect me to focus on winning ball games when you’re sitting at home mad at me. That’s not fair.”
“I’m not mad at you.”
“Then tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m just scared.”
“So am I, baby.” Every day his feelings for her grew more intense, which meant he stood to lose everything if she cut him loose. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to take the chance. “But you’ve got to talk to me. Tell me what you’re scared of.”
Last time they’d dated, they’d been impulsive kids. They rarely fought, but when they did they’d yell, cry, hang up on each other, get mad, and get drunk instead of talking their problems out. Ace couldn’t afford to make the same mistakes with her again.
“You know what?” he said, thinking fast. “Let me call you right back.”
“Why?”
“I need to see your face when I talk to you.”
“Okay.”
He hung up and brought her contact up in his phone, hitting Face Time as he held his breath, hoping she would answer. When he saw her beautiful face, he smiled. “Hey. See, isn’t that better?” He inched back on the bed, leaning against the pillows behind him.
She smiled, nodding. “Much better. I miss you.”
“I miss you too, sweetheart. So talk to me. Tell me what you’re afraid of.”
Dani closed her eyes briefly. “It just feels so… intense. You and me. It always has, but this time it’s different, ya know?”
“I do know.” They weren’t kids anymore. They were adults with demanding careers and lives, who couldn’t afford to be irresponsible. They knew that one stupid mistake could cost them everything, and they were terrified of being the one to make it. “I feel the same way.”
“You do?” she asked, wide-eyed. “I thought you were so sure of everything, of us and—”
“I am sure about us. I signed the contract because this is wher
e I want to be, and you’re a big part of the reason for that. Sweetheart, you’re the person I want to be with. You’ve always been the one.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she bit her lip. “I feel the same way about you.”
“We know this isn’t going to be easy. Right now it feels like everything is working against us.” He thought of his friends, the ones who’d figured out how to have a baseball career and a healthy relationship. “But we can make it work. I honestly believe that.”
“It’s hard being away from you. It’s only a few days this time, but you have longer stretches later in the season, right?”
“I do.” There were times he’d be away for almost two weeks at a time. And she was right, that would suck, but they’d get through it as long as he could see her gorgeous face before he went to sleep every night. “But at least we won’t have to face longer stretches apart like we would have if I’d been traded.”
“That’s true,” she said, pushing her hair away from her face. “I’m so glad you signed that contract, but I hate to think you did it for me. What if things don’t work out between us and you’re stuck—”
“First of all, I refuse to entertain the idea things won’t work out. I’m determined to make them work. Aren’t you?”
“Ace, I love you. You know that. But our lives are so different. I have a nine-to-five job, while you”—she shook her head—“live and breathe baseball seven or eight months out of the year. You can’t go anywhere without people stopping you for selfies or autographs.” She stared straight into her screen. “You don’t think I know how many women would like to trade places with me? We get into a fight while you’re on the road, how am I supposed to know that you’re not… that you wouldn’t…” She closed her eyes on a soft sigh. “You know what I mean.”
He was hurt that she’d question his fidelity, but he tried to put himself in her position. In high school, they’d fought and he did something totally out of character—drinking and driving. How could she be sure he wouldn’t make another bad call that would change everything for them?
Hit and Run (Summer Rush #2) Page 17
