Jack approached with the little boy who held the door open for us earlier.
“I wanted to give my friend Kevin here some swag for helping us out with the door before.”
“Oh sure.” I stood and walked over to Jack’s box and pulled out a few things. He quickly signed and handed them to the boy.
“And don’t forget that there will be tickets for your family at the window on opening day,” he said.
The boy’s smile could have lit the room. “Like I’d forget. Thank you so much.”
They shook hands and he took off across the room, his arms filled with loot.
“That was nice,” I said.
Jack shrugged. “He’s a good kid.” He walked back to the table and held out my chair. Taking his cue, I sat. Once I was settled, he took a seat on the other side of Lexi.
Sabrina’s eyes shifted to Dan as he walked on the other side of the room. Besides being totally besotted by the man, I know she’s also watching him for any signs of a limp. Thankfully there isn’t one.
“He looks great,” I said. “You’re a miracle worker.”
She opened her mouth to say something, then Jack cleared his throat. Smiling, she said, “Thank you.”
“When are you two leaving on your trip?” Jack asked her.
“Wednesday.”
“Going anywhere good?” I asked.
“We’re going to Jamaica for a few days,” she said.
“It’s their honeymoon,” Lexi chimed in. “Grandma and grandpa are staying with me and my cousins are coming over for the weekend.”
“The house may not be standing when we get back,” Sabrina said.
“That would be a small price to pay to spend time alone with my bride.” Dan had snuck up behind us. He leaned down and kissed Sabrina’s head, then straightened and held out his hand. “Another dance?” he asked.
She nodded then stood, and the two practically floated to the dance floor while Rod Stewart’s voice crooned through the room.
“Tonight was pretty fun,” Jack said. “If we can do things like this, my probation might not be so bad.”
“You’re not exactly on probation,” I said.
“I’m not exactly not,” he countered.
“Either way, I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.”
“I’m sure you will since I’m dragging you along with me. There’s a method to my madness.”
I couldn’t respond. His crooked smirk shot my heart into overdrive and my mouth went totally dry. Meanwhile, other parts of me are not so dry.
If the man has that effect on me with one small smile, what would happen if he actually touched me? I squirmed at the thought.
Thankfully Lexi asked Jack questions about his “probation” and I had some time to pull myself back together. From what I heard of the conversation, Jack answered her without getting into the dirty details. Then he somehow managed to get her off the subject of him and onto her plans for the next day.
I lost track of the conversation as I cast an admiring glance around the room, appreciating the event the committee had managed to put together. As someone who plans things for a living, I know how much work goes into making them look effortless.
Dan and Sabrina left the dance floor as the music changed tempo, and joined Cal near the bar. Just like I’d predicted, people felt more comfortable to approach the players as the night wore on and soon the three were surrounded. Lexi’s voice pulled me from my observations.
“Hannah, you didn’t dance at all.”
“I’m not much of a dancer.”
“Everybody can dance.” she said, then jumped down from her chair and held out her hand. “Come on. It’s fun.”
I can’t resist that face. Taking her hand, we made our way to the dance floor. An old rock song had ended and the radio version of a popular pop tune thrummed from the speakers. My slight detour into the fast lane as a teen came rushing back and my body easily remembered the dance moves that had graced some of the most popular clubs in Los Angeles.
“You’re really good,” Lexi said as she danced with a child’s inhibition.
Jack slipped around me and grabbed Lexi’s hand then twirled her around and back. Her giggle filled the air along with his sweet, spicy scent. I’m not sure what kind of cologne the man wears, but it makes my mouth water.
The beat kicked up as a new song started. Sabrina and Dan joined in, followed by Cal. I gotta say, these three guys have moves. I allowed myself to relax and enjoy the moment, and I stayed on the floor for two more songs. Unfortunately, the DJ decided to slow things down and soon The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra floated through the speakers.
Sabrina nodded at Dan and smiled. He held out his hand to Lexi and said to Jack, “Do you mind if I have one dance with my daughter? You’ve been hogging her all night.”
“Hey, you have your own girl,” Jack said. “But sure, go ahead.”
Dan pulled Lexi closer and they rocked from side to side, her smile beaming up at him. I blinked back tears and memories of dancing with my own father. We’d been so close once, but now it’s just complicated.
Cal took Sabrina’s hand and pulled her into a perfect dance form.
“You better keep space between you,” Dan said. “I’m watching.”
“Pay attention to your own dance partner.” Cal chuckled and spun Sabrina so his back was to Dan.
I turned to leave the floor and stopped when a hand touched my arm. Looking back, I saw Jack.
“We can’t be the only two not joining the party,” he said. “Would you like to dance?”
Jack
Ignoring how perfect Hannah feels in my arms, I concentrated on dancing like my mother taught me. You know, the right way. The times I’ve danced properly since high school have been few and far between. Mostly women just plaster themselves against me, throw their arms around my neck, and we sway in a slow rhythm. Not that I’m complaining, but I have to admit this is nice.
We’re practically eye to eye...at least we would be if she didn’t have her head slightly turned, focusing on a spot over my shoulder. Her breath hitched as I tightened my grip on her waist and she snapped her head in my direction.
“You like Frank?” I asked since I finally had her attention.
She smiled. “Who doesn’t? He’s classic.”
“What kind of music do you normally listen to?”
“A little bit of everything. My Pandora is on shuffle and it can go from Dean Martin to Metallica from one song to the next.”
“I listen to a mix, too. But my go-to is classic rock. It’s just easy to listen to.”
It’s interesting. I’ve known Hannah for a decade but don’t know much about her beyond what she does for the Waves, which seems to be a mix of public relations, event planning, and marketing. And it’s not just me...I don’t think any of the players know her story.
“So are you all ready to head to St. Pete?”
She scrunched her nose. “Not yet.”
That surprises me. Hannah is the most organized person I know. I figured she’d already have her bags packed and waiting by the door. Unless...
“Are you really dreading the trip?” I asked. Telling Mr. Hanover I wanted her attending all the events with me was a knee-jerk reaction. I can tell him I’m okay on my own and I told her so.
“No, it’s fine. After all these years, I should experience spring training, right?”
A small dimple peeked out on her right cheek. Another thing I never noticed.
“Are you renting a place or staying at the team hotel?”
“Team hotel,” she said. “Most of the rentals close to the park were already taken. I got one of the suites, so I should be good. I’ll probably only be there to sleep anyway.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’ll have an office at the stadium. Besides, I can’t hang around the hotel too much and be a buzzkill for the players staying there. That’d be like having your teacher around during spring break.”
“I don’t know if it would be that bad.” I chuckled, letting her know I’m joking. “Seriously, the guys all think you’re great.”
“They still think of me as an authority figure, even if I’m not in charge of them.”
“You may not be in charge of them, but you do a great job keeping them in line,” I said. “And I know that’s not easy.”
“It used to be much easier, that’s for sure. It seems like the players coming up the last few years just don’t want to cooperate. They’re always late to events, if they bother to show up at all. And even though they have a phone permanently glued to their hands, they don’t answer my calls. I constantly have to hunt them down.” She froze, then rushed to catch up to our dance and stepped on my foot in the process. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”
I pulled her tighter and righted our steps.
“No problem,” I said. “What upset you?”
“I just realized what I said. I shouldn’t be venting to you...or anyone for that matter.”
“You can vent to me anytime and be assured I won’t tell a soul.”
Something flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before I could decipher it.
“But I know what you mean about the newer players. Most of them need to be constantly reminded where they need to be and what they should be doing. During games they’re usually fine, but otherwise it’s like herding cats.”
Frank Sinatra ended and I was happy when another slow song started. I didn’t give Hannah a chance to end the dance, I just kept twirling her around the floor.
“When I first came up, I was so in awe of the senior players,” I said. “I’d follow them around, trying to soak up any morsel of their greatness I could. Some of these kids act like they could teach me how to play and can’t wait for me to retire.”
“Hopefully that won’t happen any time soon.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” I said, not wanting to talk about retirement…ever. “So besides working, what are your plans while you’re in St. Pete?”
“I haven’t really thought about it. Any suggestions?”
“There are a lot of great clubs down there, if you’re into that,” I said.
“That’s not really my thing.”
“It’s not mine anymore, either. For the most part, I take it easy down there. I only play in about half the games, and I use the time to work on whatever needs fixing. And when I’m not doing that, I relax. Spring training is literally the calm before the baseball storm so I use the time to prepare for the season, both mentally and physically.”
How did the conversation swing back to me?
“I’ll probably rent a boat and get out on the water a few times while I’m down there.”
“By yourself?”
I chuckled at the look of horror on her face.
“No, I usually drag at least one of the guys with me. Last year, Dan and Cal came along and we sailed down to Key West. It was a lot of fun. I think it’s on the agenda this year while Sabrina and Lexi are in St. Pete. Maybe you can join us.”
She froze again, but recovered quickly enough that we didn’t miss a step.
“You okay?”
“I, uh, yeah I’m good.”
The song ended, and she pulled away. Something had upset her...that was obvious enough, even to a shallow prick like me.
I followed her off the dance floor and had to practically run to keep up.
How the hell does she move so fast in those heels?
Once we reached the table, she sat and grabbed her water glass like it was a lifeline. After emptying the glass in one long gulp, she set it down and held onto it with both hands. Not wanting to startle her, I slowly pulled out the chair next to her and sat.
Resting my elbow on the table, I shifted in my seat to fully face her. I’m used to seeing her poised and professional, but now she seems foggy and distant. I want to give her time to collect herself, but I obviously upset her and need to say something
“Hannah,” I started, then took a breath and let it out. “I’m sorry if I overstepped out there. I wasn’t...I mean, I know you and Sabrina get along and I just thought it’d be nice for her to have another woman on the boat. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t,” she said. “I’m fine, Jack. Really.”
I studied her face. The smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and the look in those brown depths told me otherwise. But I wouldn’t push. Not here. Not now.
Chapter 5
Hannah
The doorbell rang just as I finished zipping my suitcase closed. Expecting pizza, I grabbed money off my dresser and ran to the front door. Instead of the delivery boy, my neighbor stood on the other side.
“Mrs. Button. Hi. Come on in.” I stepped back, giving her room to enter.
“I got your message,” she said as she cleared the threshold.
She’d just stepped inside when the delivery boy appeared. I handed him the cash, took the pizza, said thank you, and closed the door.
“Have a seat,” I said. “I’m having pizza and wine. Join me.”
“That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
She sat at the dining room table while I ran to the kitchen to get the wine.
“Lambrusco okay?” I asked.
“Ooh, my favorite. It’s like grape juice for adults.”
I grabbed the wine, two glasses, as well as plates and napkins and made my way back to the dining room. After I poured the wine, we each grabbed a slice and settled in to eat.
“I’m so glad you came over instead of just calling back,” I said. “This is nice. We should do it more often.”
“When I saw your car in the driveway, I wondered if you were sick and wanted to come check on you. You never get home this early.” she said. “So I’m happy to see you’re in good health.” She took a big bite of pizza.
Mrs. Button lives next door and she truly is one of my favorite people. She’s smart, funny, and as spunky as Betty White. After retiring from her career as a librarian, she and Mr. Button traveled extensively. Unfortunately, he passed away two years ago, and while she has tons of friends and keeps herself busy, I know she still misses him. I spend as much time with her as I can, but with my crazy schedule and her early bedtime, that’s less than I’d like.
“I’m fine, but thanks for worrying.”
“So why are you home?”
“I’m packing. My boss actually told me to take the whole day off, but I had some stuff to get done, so I went in for a few hours.”
“In your message you said you’re going to spring training. You’ve never done that before. Why this year? Did you get a promotion?”
“No, there are some events down there I need to oversee.”
I pushed the last bite of crust into my mouth and chewed, feeling Mrs. Button’s attention on me the whole time. Her eyes narrowed when I finally looked in her direction. Then she smiled.
“Events for anyone in particular?”
I’m not sure how a seventy-five-year-old woman’s chuckle could make me blush, but it did.
“There are some for the whole team and a few for individual players.” Not exactly a lie. There are always things happening with the team.
“Any hot individual players?” She sat back in her chair and fanned her face with her hand.
Like me, Mrs. Button has a soft spot for a certain shortstop. The only difference is that she’ll tell anyone within hearing about hers. I don’t even want to admit mine to myself.
“Yes, I’ll be doing some things with your favorite player.”
“If I was forty years younger, I’d teach him a few things. You know I loved my Manny...” She wiggled in her seat. “...but that Jack Reagan is so yummy.”
After I moved here about eight years ago, I invited Mr. and Mrs. Button to a Waves game. She met a few of the players beforehand, including Jack, which started this obsession.
“Although from what I read in that book, he already knows quite a bit.” Again with the dirty chu
ckle.
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t read it.”
“Why not?” she asked. “Don’t you have to know what’s being said about him so you can use your public relations magic to make it go away?”
Not that I’ll admit it to her, but I have been tempted to buy the book. But not only do I not want to give that bitch an extra penny in profit, I also don’t need any additional sexy Jack tidbits in my head.
“No I don’t need to read the book.”
“When are you going to admit that you have a thing for him?”
I stood and collected our plates and napkins.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, before heading for the kitchen. I placed the plates in the sink and threw the napkins in the garbage. Walking back into the dining room, I continued the conversation. “Jack is just another guy on the team. What makes you think I have a thing for him?”
“The way you try to not talk about him. The way you look when you do.”
I’m hoping my face isn’t showing everything I feel right now.
“I’m, um, I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Oh honey, it’s all right there on your face, in your eyes.”
I hope that’s not true.
I didn’t realize I’d spoken the words out loud until she continued.
“Don’t get me wrong, you hide it well. But I’m old. I know the signs.” She winked. “And yours are practically neon where Jack Reagan is concerned.”
Resting my elbows on the table, I rubbed my temples.
Mrs. Button placed her hand on my arm and squeezed.
“It’s okay, Hannah. Really.”
“If Jack knows about my little crush, it won’t be.”
I dropped my hands to the table with a thud.
“I’m sure he doesn’t.”
“You picked up on it.”
She fluffed her blonde hair. “But I’m incredibly astute.”
“It is really obvious?”
“I’ve seen you at work and you’re a closed book,” she said. “Besides, men rarely notice things like that unless you’re being totally blatant. And you’re definitely not.”
Waste of Handsome (Carolina Waves #2) Page 4
