Playing the Field: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel

by Jennifer Seasons

  Shaking her head, she fell into step behind them, feeling bemused until she noticed a man standing by a large carousel horse aiming a camera at them. When she passed he lowered it, gave her a greasy grin, and said, “Hello, Sonny.”

  She stopped dead and stared him down. “Excuse me? Do I know you?”

  “I know you.” He tipped his weak chin at her son and smiled like they were sharing secrets. “Must be a dream come true for you, finally finding Charlie a daddy.”

  Her stomach lurched and her blood went cold.

  Now she wasn’t bemused at all.

  JP’S APARTMENT WAS pitch black when he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Ducking his head back into the hall, he looked at his guests and said, “Give me a second and I’ll be right back.” The entry light bulb had burned out a few weeks ago and he hadn’t found the time to fix it, so he had to turn on the lamp by the sofa.

  Once the living room was lit with a warm glow, he headed back to the door and opened it wide. “Come on in.”

  Sonny ducked under his arm and he was surprised to find that he was nervous having her in his home. All the times they’d been together had been everywhere else but here. What if she didn’t like it?

  Charlie charged into his apartment and stopped, eyes huge. “Whoa.”

  JP gave his apartment a quick once-over. He supposed it was pretty cool. At least he’d thought so when he’d been traded to Denver last year. The place was in a renovated warehouse downtown and had hardwood floors and exposed brick. Duct work was exposed and left its original copper color. To his right were wood and metal stairs that led to his master bedroom and the kitchen was through the swinging door straight ahead of him on the other side of the huge living room.

  The apartment was rustic and industrial and had tons of character. He especially liked all the storage space for his toys. If it weren’t for that frigging neighbor cat it would be terrific.

  JP gestured with a hand, indicating the room at large. “Have at it, kid. My place is yours to explore.”

  “Really?”

  Yeah, really. “Adios.”

  With that the boy took off, making a dash for the swinging door that divided the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. Once he was on the other side he called out, “This kitchen is huge! And guess what, Mom? There’s a TV in here!”

  Sonny shot JP a questioning look and he shrugged. “I like to watch ESPN while I cook.”

  A cute little crease marred her brow. She looked surprised. “You cook?”

  Of course he cooked. Exactly three things. “I make a mean Denver omelet.”

  “Is that so?” The woman didn’t look like she believed him.

  Charlie had vacated the kitchen for the spare room under the stairs, so he decided to take advantage of the privacy and snagged Sonny around the waist, pulling her close. “Tell you what. One of these mornings I’ll make one for you.” He liked the idea of waking up next to her and making her breakfast.

  That reminded him of when he’d first laid eyes on her at the charity. He remembered thinking something very similar then. Like he’d instinctively known she was the woman he was meant to cook for. How about that?

  Sonny snuggled into his embrace, her curves flush against him. When she looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes his brain went haywire and started sizzling. What had he just been thinking?

  She leaned up and gave him a kiss that curled his toes, then pushed out of his arms when she heard Charlie coming out of the room. She cleared her throat and smoothed her shirt, and she looked so damn cute that he wanted to scoop her up and give her another kiss.

  “Do you mind if I have a look around?” She was already scanning the books on the shelf behind him.

  The boy waved her over. “You should see these pictures, Mom.” He glanced at JP, his face scrunched in question. “How old were you in these?”

  JP watched Sonny walk across the living room, open his linen closet, and peruse the messy pile of towels while his gaze lodged at the hemline of her shorts. She had the longest, silkiest legs he’d ever seen. And if Charlie wasn’t there right now he’d take her to his bed and show her just exactly what those legs did to him.

  “That one next to you with me posing is from fifth grade I think.” Hell if he could remember. It was a long time ago.

  Sonny traced a finger over the simple wood frame and darted a sideways glance at him. “Your place isn’t what I expected.”

  He leaned a hip against the back of a gray chenille couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “How so?” His place was an average guy’s pad. Lots of toys—mountain bikes, camping and climbing gear, giant flat screen. A fly-fishing rod was leaned in the corner. Even a pair of taped hockey sticks from his high school days hung on the wall.

  “I don’t know exactly. It’s just that I’d pictured it differently, with less stuff. Especially all the pictures.”

  He loved his family. What could he say?

  While he watched, she climbed the stairs, her butt swaying seductively with each step. His hands had been all over that ass recently and the knowledge made him hungry for a repeat. Shoving away from the couch, JP strode toward the stairs and was stopped by Charlie.

  “Dude! That’s such a big flat screen. Can I turn it on?”

  Brilliant idea, JP thought. That’d give him a few minutes in his room with Sonny. “Sure thing, kid.”

  The boy beamed at him. “Sweet.”

  Turning his attention back to the woman in his bedroom, he darted up the stairs and stepped through the door. Sonny was in the middle of his room, a weird expression on her face.

  When she spotted him she said, “I just heard the strangest thing.” He opened his mouth to speak and she shushed him. “Shhh. There it is again.”

  JP closed his mouth and listened. Just as he thought, the neighbor’s Siamese was at it again. “It’s the cat next door.”

  Worry made her frown. “Is it okay? Do we need to call somebody?”

  No, but he needed a new place to live. “It’s fine. The cat’s just in heat.”

  Sonny’s glance skimmed over his bed and she blushed. “I’ve recently become acquainted with the feeling of sexual frustration. Poor cat.”

  Really now? That sounded promising. It was always a good thing to have the woman you were in love with hot and bothered over you. But, since they were on the topic, “It’s been going on for a long time and isn’t going to end any time soon. The neighbor refuses to get her fixed since she’s a show cat.”

  Her blue eyes were filled with sympathy. “That sucks for you.”

  Yeah, well. “It’s a situation.” In fact, he’d been thinking about this situation some the past few days. He needed a new place, and things were going really well between the two of them. He was beginning to think that maybe they should have a talk, find out where Sonny saw the two of them heading. Because he was beginning to see them heading toward moving in together. And yeah, he knew it was soon to be thinking such things. But he couldn’t help it. Thoughts like that just kept popping into his head.

  JP took a step toward Sonny, distracted by the straps on her top and the way it bared her shoulders. She cleared her throat and gestured around her. “I like your space in here.”

  He liked her. “It works.”

  She waved at the wall. “Look at that brick. And I love the way you kept it minimal in here with the earth tones to keep the focus on the architecture.”

  The woman sounded like a decorating show. “I’m glad you like it.” He bet that he could get that top of hers undone with one hand.

  He took another step and so did she. In retreat. “You keep surprising me. Just when I think I have a handle on you, something new comes to light, completely throwing me.”

  He didn’t consider that a bad thing. Here was something else for her to chew on. “I’ve got to find another place to live soon. The cat situation is out of control.”

  Sonny’s gaze snapped to his face and she eyed him warily. “I’m sorry?”


  JP studied her closely, searching for an inkling of her feelings. “Yeah, me too. But, I was thinking that maybe we should have a talk before I look for someplace new. You know, one of those ‘where is this going’ kinda discussions.”

  The woman took a keen interest in her cuticles all of a sudden. “Sure. Whatever.” Her voice sounded off. Then her body tensed and he could tell he’d stepped wrong somewhere. She made a move past him. “It’s getting late. We should be going.”

  Yeah, something was very wrong. He could tell by the way she’d closed up tight on him. Even the expression in her eyes was remote. “Is everything all right? Did I say something?” What was going on here? Was this about the stupid fame thing?

  She ignored him and asked instead, “Didn’t you have something that you wanted to give Charlie?”

  Though his instincts were on high alert, JP nodded and took to the stairs. “It’s down here.” He glanced at her over his shoulder as he made his way down. “Are we okay?”

  She tossed him a brief smile. “Of course.”

  He didn’t believe that at all. Maybe he’d overplayed his hand with the moving. “I freaked you out, didn’t I?” Her gaze flicked away. Yeah, he’d scared her all right. “Shit. I’m sorry, Sonny.”

  Suddenly Charlie called out, “You gotta see this, Mom!”

  Sonny waved him off and avoided answering. “Let’s find out what he’s up to.” Then she practically leapt past him down the stairs, leaving him staring after her with a sinking feeling.

  The boy’s gaze was glued to the screen. It was JP on the evening news recap being interviewed. How about that for bad timing? “Eh, you don’t want to watch that, kid. Why don’t you put down the remote and come with me?”

  Like it was a hot potato, the kid dropped the remote and dashed toward him. Sonny was busy pretending to stare at his family photos, so he led the boy into the spare room. Finding the right box, JP reached in and pulled out his old glove from Little League.

  Charlie’s eyes went round when he spotted it. “Can I hold it?” he asked.

  JP handed the mitt to him, happy that the boy seemed excited. “You can do more than hold it, slugger.”

  “What do you mean?” He couldn’t take his eyes off it.

  “I mean that it’s yours if you want it. I thought you might like to use my old mitt.” He still couldn’t believe that his mom had kept it around all these years.

  The boy darted over and gave him a spontaneous hug. JP’s chest went tight and hot and it was hard to breathe. “Thank you!”

  With a throat suddenly too small and dry, he hugged the kid back and saw Sonny watching them from the doorway. She had the strangest expression on her face.

  “Charlie,” she said quietly. “It’s getting really late and we need to get home.”

  The blond-haired boy hugged the mitt to his chest after he turned toward the door. “Did you see what he gave me?”

  Sonny nodded, her eyes unreadable. “I did and that’s great. But we need to leave now.”

  For whatever reason she had pulled back and was acting distant. And he didn’t like it one little bit. Tonight had not gone as planned, JP thought.

  Not as planned, at all.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  * * *

  SONNY STILL COULDN’T believe that she’d agreed to go to a barbecue at Peter Kowalskin’s house. There was still so much that she needed to sort out. But Charlie had begged her to go after JP mentioned it and now, well, here she was.

  On a Saturday no less.

  Still off balance from what had happened at his place, she pulled her minivan into the neighborhood where Pete lived and chewed her bottom lip. She still didn’t know how she felt about JP moving so fast. Well, okay, she did. It flipped her out. Totally and completely flipped her out. They’d only been dating a short while and their relationship was precarious at best. What had he been thinking?

  More to the point, what was she thinking continuing to see him?

  On an exhale she glanced over at her son. “We can’t stay super long, kiddo.”

  Her boy gave her a cheeky grin. “Yeah, I know. It’s our cleaning day.”

  Damn straight, Sonny thought as she located the address and found a place to park. JP’s red Toyota was parked in front and she could hear voices from across the street. Nervous and jittery, she grabbed the rearview mirror and checked her make-up one last time. Satisfied there were no mascara smudges, she reached for her ChapStick and put some on. There, now she was set.

  As much as she was going to be.

  Turning to Charlie she asked, “You ready?”

  He gave her an exaggerated wink. “I was born that way.”

  Laughter bubbled up and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, kid.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  Opening the minivan door, Sonny smoothed her dress before she climbed out. Since she’d been invited to a pool party barbecue during high summer, she’d decided on a pale yellow cotton sundress that hit at her knees. And because it was a summer barbecue and she didn’t know what else to do, she’d made a big bowl of potato salad. Professional ballplayers ate that, right?

  Reaching for the large plastic bowl with the bright red lid through the sliding door, Sonny had to lean across the Honda to grab it from where it had slid during the ride. One foot rose as she balanced, very aware that she had on a short dress and skimpy panties. A flip-flop dangled precariously from her lifted foot.

  From behind came a whistle. “Damn, woman.”

  It was JP.

  Her heart did a little dance of joy even as her stomach dropped. Having such contradictory feelings about the shortstop had plagued her for days. One minute she was all over his cheese puffs, thinking to herself that he was the best thing ever and it was all going to work out amazingly well. The next she was battling her issues with the tired, inadequate tools she possessed and the desire to tuck tail and run was almost unbearable. It was an exhausting game of emotional ping-pong and she wanted it to end.

  Emerging from the minivan with the salad, Sonny turned around to greet JP. When she saw him her heart overrode her stomach. She was just happy to see him. All the other stuff fell away.

  For the time being. She wasn’t fool enough to think that it would stay that way for good. “Hi.” Why was she suddenly feeling shy?

  “JP!” Came the shout from Charlie when he spotted the shortstop. “Look! Mom let me bring a water gun.” He held up a neon and black mega soaker.

  JP stood on the front yard grass barefoot and grinned at her son. “Nice. We’ll fill that in a bit and get Pete with it, okay? First I have to talk to your mom.”

  Her boy gave him a mock salute. “Aye aye, Captain.” He rounded the Honda. “Can I go inside and look for my friend?”

  Sonny nodded, her gaze on JP. “Sure.” The way he was looking at her was making her toes curl.

  Once Charlie had made it to the door he asked, “Who’s his friend?”

  Sonny busied herself with the bowl and her purse and locked the Honda by pushing the remote. Not that she needed to set the alarm. Pete lived in a swanky neighborhood. Her car was the most beat-up one on the street.

  With a hand she brushed her loose hair over a shoulder. “The one from the pizza party at Mark’s place a few weeks back.” He looked like he was drawing a blank. “They played Pokemon together.”

  Memory dawned. “Oh, right.”

  The way he was standing had her walking by him to get to the door. When she was within arms’ reach, he pulled her close and kissed her lingeringly. By the time he was done, she’d forgotten her own name. And he knew it, too, by the self-satisfied smirk he wore.

  “I’m sorry for the other day back at my place. I jumped the gun. Can we just forget that I said anything?”

  Unable to resist, Sonny hummed softly and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him again. His strong arms slid around her waist and he took her mouth hotly. She almost dropped the potato salad.

  Five minutes ago she�
�d been thinking about Charlie’s feelings and the best way to break up with JP. But the moment he touched her all she wanted was more of him. His laugh. His big heart and even bigger smile. Even his inflated confidence and swagger. What the hell was she going to do?

  Releasing her mouth, he gave her another quick squeeze and escorted her toward the house. “So it’s behind us then?”

  Sonny gave a brief nod, not really meaning it. It wasn’t behind them, but she didn’t know what else to do at the moment without causing a confrontation that she wasn’t ready for.

  He patted her butt briefly and grinned. “You are going to enjoy this. It’s become a tradition for Kowalskin. Every season, at least once, he throws a backyard bash. Every player and his family is invited. It’s loud and chaotic and you’re going to love it.”

  The way he kept his hand on the lower part of her back made her feel sexy and protected—and so conflicted. JP’s hand was so large that it practically covered her back from one side to the other. The heat of his palm felt delicious through the thin fabric of her dress.

  Sonny discovered very quickly when the door opened that he wasn’t kidding. People were everywhere, and the noise level was impressive. Kids of all ages ran in and out and from somewhere she could just barely hear the strum of an acoustic guitar.

  It was loud and chaotic and she loved it, just like he said she would.

  Charlie dashed by in front of them, immersed in a group of similarly attired boys. Sonny didn’t even get a smile as he sped by. God, he was growing up fast.

  JP leaned down and said against her ear, his breath hot and moist against her skin, “The food’s out back, if you’re hungry.”

  She nodded and he led her through the sprawling house to the huge kitchen in back. Ten or so people were milling around laughing, and a petite redheaded woman was bouncing an infant on her shoulder. Through the French doors the back patio was visible. More people were out there, holding red plastic cups.

  JP made brief introductions as they went, but he didn’t stop until they were outside on the concrete. Leslie was there, plastic cup in hand, chatting with Lorelei and another woman Sonny didn’t know. When they spotted Sonny, the blonde smiled and waved her over.