Anthony stepped out of the batter’s box and adjusted his grip on the bat.
“I saw the billboard for Mark’s theater,” Allie admitted.
Leticia rocked side to side in her seat. Allie didn’t know if she even knew she was doing it; the woman had taken to being a mother naturally.
“His first show opens in the fall. Do you want to go?” Leticia asked.
“I don’t think I should.”
“Should or could?”
“Could,” she admitted. A couple days after she’d left Mark at the church—man, that sounded bad, like she’d run out on him at their wedding—a producer had been caught on tape trying to buy cocaine from an undercover cop. Her and Mark’s story lost its momentum despite Aspen’s attempts to stir up trouble. There were a few articles painting the Hollywood starlet as the victim in this situation, but she really just came off as pathetic and spoiled.
When Allie had trudged home from the diner that night, there was a car waiting to take her to Leticia’s. Her new friend was a sympathetic shoulder to cry on with an unending supply of chocolate ice cream and tissues. Over the next week, Allie went to work, repainted a nursery, and took a lot of chamomile-scented baths. “I miss him too much.”
Leticia patted her knee in sympathy. “It’s because you love him.”
“I know.” In all the time she’d been apart from Mark, she’d never dared approach the L-word in her thoughts. Falling in love with someone in a weekend was absurd. Absolutely ridiculous. Beyond reason. And totally possible when that person was your soul mate.
Anthony struck out. Allie quickly lifted her finger to her lips to remind José to be quiet.
“Bad call,” he stage-whispered.
The announcer wasted no time in moving the game along. “Time for the seventh inning stretch, folks. We’ve got a special surprise for y’all today. Would Allie Gray please step out onto the balcony? Come on, Allie!”
Allie pointed at Leticia. “What did you do?”
Leticia shook her head. “Not me, amiga.”
Allie shyly stepped through the glass door.
“Give us a wave, Allie, so we know it’s you.”
She lifted her hand and saw her movement on the jumbo screen. Laughing, she waved harder. People cheered. She waved both hands and it got louder. She finally understood why people danced like dorks and waved their baby’s arms to get on the screen. This was kind of fun.
She was watching the screen when the door opened behind her and suddenly there was Mark standing next to her on screen. But that would mean …
She turned to find him right beside her—close enough to touch. A thousand emotions swirled inside. Including joy and excitement at sharing the same three feet of space with the man she was desperately in love with, to worry over what would happen when the press caught wind of this. Her heart pounded against her ribs, threatening to break right through. She placed her hand on his chest. “If you’re trying to be sneaky, you’re not doing a very good job,” she whispered.
Mark pulled a microphone to his mouth, his eyes alight with joy. “Hello, Braves fans!”
The crowd cheered. He whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers of delight down her spine. “I’m done hiding how I feel about you.”
Was he … were they … was this …?
Mark continued, “I’m Mark Dubois. Atlanta is my home and I love this city.” The crowd cheered. “This is Allie Gray and she’s going to lead us in ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame.’”
Allie’s hand flew to her mouth. She shook her head. The crowd laughed.
“You can—you’ll be great.” He tipped the mic away. “The words will be on the screen and I’ll be right here with you.” He laced their fingers together. “Sing.”
Allie took the mic. She gripped tight, the plastic sliding in her slippery palm. “Hit it,” she said, and the crowed clapped as the organist started the ol’ tune.
“Take me out to the baaaaaall game.” She couldn’t believe that was her voice filling the stadium. The thrill of performing shot up from her toes, strengthening her courage.
Mark started swaying the two of them from side to side. It wasn’t hard to move Allie—she was so shocked he could have knocked her over with a feather—or a paintbrush.
“Take me out to the crooowd.”
Mark tugged her closer and Allie was all too willing to go. If he was here, and they could truly be together, then she wanted to be as close to him as possible. If this was a dream—and she hadn’t ruled out that scenario yet—then she was going to enjoy every second.
The crowd had all joined in, their voices rising up from under the box seats. “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack. I don’t care if I never get back.” On the big screen a baseball bounced over each word, keeping them all in time.
Mark kissed her temple and Allie fumbled through the next line. His chest bounced as he chuckled, and she almost whacked him with the mic.
“For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out.” Allie went for the big finish, pulling the mic away from her mouth so she had the right volume. “Ball game!”
She dropped the mic to her side and waved with her other hand. Mark did the same right up until the image on the screen changed to the pitcher in his warm-up.
Allie rounded on Mark. She took his face between her hands and pulled him down for an urgent and demanding kiss. Mark didn’t take any time to catch up to her train of thought—or train of kisses, as it were. His arms enveloped her and she ran her hands down those broad, round, hunky shoulders of his and back up to the back of his neck, where she pulled him even closer, bending back in the process.
When she absolutely had to come up for air, she loosened her hold but didn’t let go.
Mark stood them up and kissed her forehead. She leaned into his lips, fluttering her hands across his chest. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t let you leave without doing that.”
Mark tipped her chin up so their eyes met. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“But Chloe …?” Leticia had explained about Mark’s custody battle with his ex-wife. A sharp pain erupted behind Allie’s eyeball every time she thought about the damage she had done to his case.
“Chloe is moving in with me at the end of the month—it’s been settled.”
“Wha—how?”
“Apparently, owning a theater is a respectable job—according to Judge Jamison it is, anyway. Beau’s still not convinced.”
Allie felt her cheeks widen. “She’s yours?”
“Until she’s eighteen.”
“Mark! I’m thrilled for you.”
“She asked if you could come over for Sunday dinner and a movie.”
“I’d love to.”
“It’s a date.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek.
“Yeah it is.”
“Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.” The crowd’s cheer broke through Allie’s contemplation of Mark’s rather amazing blue eyes. They were captivating—or had taken her captive. She glanced at the big screen to see what everyone was yelling for, and saw her and Mark with the word KISSCAM scrawled across the bottom in giant red letters.
Embarrassed, she buried her face in Mark’s neck. Darn it, he smelled so dang good she had a hard time remembering why she hadn’t just gone ahead and kissed him.
“Kiss. Kiss,” they continued to call.
Mark moved her back and cupped her cheeks with his palms. “Allie Gray. I’m in love with you and I want the whole world to know it.”
“I love you too.” She had to rush the words out before he kissed her. This time, Mark’s movements were sultry and slow. Allie vaguely registered the crowd cheering as she sank into Mark’s embrace—right where she belonged.
***
Thanks for reading It Could Happen to Us!
The second book in the Quotable Romance Series, Never Ever After, is now available.
Never Ever After
A contemporary Cinderella retelling
Meet Beau Mckay, Mark’s best fr
iend and Atlanta’s self-proclaimed player. He’s known for his tough-guy roles and cleft chin but there’s more to Beau than a pretty face and taught muscles as Cindy Knight is about to find out. In an effort to save her family’s production studio, Cindy makes a bold move and sneaks in to Beau’s house party to deliver a script. Beau rescues her from a group of good ol’ boys up to no good. The two find a connection but Beau must rise up to the best inside himself and Cindy has to redefine her family or they’ll never find their ever after.
To get your copy, click here.
Excerpt from Anxious in Atlanta
from Kirsten Osbourne
Jean Winters stood silently as she watched her best friend, Erin Krol, marry a total stranger. She admired her for not shaking and actually being able to speak her vows without crumpling onto the floor.
Erin had called just a few months before, telling her that she was planning on being matched to a stranger. Jean remembered the conversation well.
As soon as she’d answered the phone, Erin’s excitement had been almost palpable. “Jean, I’m going to do it. I’m getting married!”
“Really? I didn’t even know you were dating someone. Who are you marrying?” For a moment she’d been hurt that her friend had been dating someone and hadn’t even told her about it.
“That’s the thing. I have no idea. None. A man. That’s all I know!” Erin had sounded amused by the whole thing.
“How can you marry a stranger?” Jean pushed away from her desk and walked to the water cooler. There was no way she could work and concentrate on this conversation.
“I was surfing the internet the other day, because I was avoiding grading speeches, and I found this website where you go through all this testing to find the perfect match for you. And get this…they introduce you at the altar.”
“That sounds…scary. Are you really going to do it?”
“I already went through all my testing, and it’s happening. Just waiting to be told when to show up at the church and marry him.”
Jean paused for a moment, thinking about how nice it would be to just be matched to someone and not have to go through all the rituals of dating. She was shy and had trouble with the entire dating process. But Erin was outgoing and fun. She’d never had problems getting a date. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind? That sounds like something I should do, but not you! Why?”
Erin had sighed. “I can’t just start dating someone after Randall. When he died, he took a hunk of my heart with him. I can’t imagine ever loving someone else, but I want children…”
Jean leaned against a window, looking out over the skyline of downtown Atlanta. This was the prettiest time of day in Georgia. Sunset always made her happy. “What’s the name of the company?”
“Are you going to give them a call? I think you should. Dr. Lachele comes highly recommended. My sister knows several couples she matched.”
“I might call them. But only if you decide to give me the name of the company…”
Erin laughed. “I’m so excited I keep forgetting to answer your question!”
“And you still haven’t.” Jean and Erin had been roommates all through college and adored each other. Erin wasn’t usually quite this flighty.
“Matchrimony. Don’t you just love that name? It has a great ring to it.”
“It does.” Jean glanced at the clock on the wall. As a stockbroker, her whole life was based on the clock. After hours trading had just finished, and she had several phone calls to make yet. Twelve hour days were the norm, not the exception for her. And tax season, her busiest time of year, wasn’t for a few months. “I have to get back to work.”
Erin sighed. “You need to stop working so many hours. I want you to take a six-month sabbatical.”
Jean laughed softly. “Like that will ever happen.”
“But you’ll fly up for my wedding, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” After ending the call, she’d wandered back to her desk and sighed. Looking up Matchrimony would have to wait. She hadn’t heard of them, so they must not be a publicly traded company.
Jean shook her head slightly, realizing only then that she was ignoring her friend’s wedding. She watched as Erin and her new husband, whose name Jean hadn’t caught, kissed for the first time. When Erin turned, she had a huge grin on her face. The newlyweds took off for the back of the church, and Jean smiled at Megan, Erin’s sister who was standing up with her as well. “Looks like Erin is pleased.”
Megan nodded. “It does. I wonder what has her so excited.”
Jean shrugged. “No clue. He’s handsome.”
“He is.” Megan sighed and rubbed her belly. “Maybe we’ll have babies close together.”
“Wouldn’t that be great? I hope it works out that way. Maybe I can have one soon after. Dr. Lachele and I are driving to Culpepper to see you tomorrow. We’ve heard so much about Bob’s Burger Barn that we have to drive out and eat there at least once.”
“Is she going to do your evaluation in the car?”
“She said she could. We’ll be working on it during lunch as well, I’m sure, but we’ll at least get started on the way there.”
“What time are you coming? I can have lunch with you.” Megan and Jean had been friends for almost as long as Erin and Jean had. The Krol family had accepted her as one of their own.
Jean had been raised in foster care, bouncing from one home to another. She had no family of her own, so it was good to be accepted for a change. “I’d love that. I think we’ll be there around noon. Does that work for you?”
“Sounds great. I’ll warn Bob to have some fried cheese curds ready.”
“Fried, what?”
“Trust me. You haven’t lived until you’ve eaten one of Bob’s taco burgers with some fried cheese curds.”
Jean smiled. “Sounds like you’re happy you married your burger maker.”
“I couldn’t be happier.” Megan started toward the back of the church and the fellowship hall, where a small reception would take place. “Mom and Dad are freaking out about Erin’s choice, but I keep reminding them that it’s exactly that—Erin’s choice. She’s a big girl now, and she gets to make her own decisions.”
“She should feel blessed to have someone care about her so much.” Jean had lived in Atlanta since graduation, so five years, and she had only made a few friends, who were really just work acquaintances. She was alone when she wasn’t working, and while it suited her at times, it didn’t always. She flew back to Wyoming on every vacation she had, because she wanted to spend time with people she cared about.
Megan hurried off, mumbling something about the baby tap dancing on her bladder, so Jean went on to the fellowship hall alone. Even without Erin or Megan, she knew the Krols, and they wouldn’t let her stand around alone looking lost, which was her specialty at big events. She’d also met Dr. Lachele from Matchrimony, though she wasn’t sure how much good that would do her. Dr. Lachele was…well, ‘odd’ was the word that sprang to her mind.
The older woman was short with purple hair and the most beautiful green eyes Jean had ever seen. She was full of life, laughing at her own jokes, and demanding “boobie bumps” from everyone who saw her. She was definitely an odd bird.
She stood alone at the edge of the room for a moment, scanning the crowd for someone she knew. Surely Erin had invited other college friends, and she would know them. Erin had very kindly included her awkward roommate in absolutely everything she did during her college years, determined that Jean wouldn’t sit in their room alone studying all the time.
“Trying to avoid me?” asked a voice close to her ear.
Jean jumped, startled, as she turned to confront the person. Dr. Lachele. She should have known. “Of course not.”
Dr. Lachele threw back her head and cackled. Her laugh couldn’t really be described any other way. “You don’t think I can see the panic in your eyes when you think about spending all day tomorrow alone with me? I promise, I’ll make i
t as painless as I possibly can. I won’t make you talk to strangers or even break dance on the highway.”
Jean blinked at the purple haired woman. “I never thought you would.”
Dr. Lachele laughed again. “What do you do for a living Jean? Maybe we can ask a few ‘getting to know you’ questions as we wait for this party to get started.”
“I’m a stock broker.”
“Sounds hideously boring. Do you like it?”
Jean thought about that for a moment. Did she like her job? It was the only thing she’d done since receiving her degree in finance, and she was very good at it, but did she like it? “No, I don’t think I do. But it pays well, and I’m good at it.”
“What would you rather do?” Dr. Lachele asked.
Jean hadn’t expected the question, and she furrowed her brow as she thought about it. “I really don’t know. It might be nice to own a little book store and do nothing but read and help customers find books all day.” She shook her head with a laugh. “It would never work for me, though. I’m terrible at that sort of thing.”
“How do you know? Have you ever done it?”
Jean shrugged. “Well, I’m pretty much afraid of people. How could I possibly own a store and make it profitable if I’m afraid of people.”
“And you don’t have to talk to people in the work you do now?”
Jean shrugged. “That’s different. I get paid to talk to them now. It’s my job.”
“And it would be then too!” Dr. Lachele sighed. “I hate looking at a young woman, knowing she goes to a job she detests every day. It doesn’t seem right.”
“I never really thought about whether I liked it or not. I just knew it’s what I had to do to pay the bills, so I did it. Isn’t that the American way? You do whatever it takes to pay the bills, and crush all your dreams under your heel?”
Dr. Lachele shook her head. “I do exactly what I love. I don’t care if other people don’t like me. I live life as I please. I wish you’d do the same.”
Jean gave her a sad sort of smile. “I don’t see that happening any time in the near future. Maybe someday.”
It Could Happen to Us: Quotable Romance Page 9
