The Closer (All About the Diamond #5)

by Naomi Springthorp

  Text from Carter - Working on your access card. Please send me a current photo.

  I send him a quick selfie and send it to D while I’m at it.

  Then I get a link, with access to the game live or whenever I want.

  Text from Carter - West Coast night games can be hard for East Coast fans ;)

  Text to Carter - Thank you

  Text from D - Hey, beautiful :)

  Text to D - Hi, handsome ;)

  He sends me a selfie in front of his locker in the clubhouse.

  Text from D - How’s packing?

  Text to D - I’m done packing my initial boxes. I have eight boxes ready to go.

  Text from D - I’ll get them picked up and shipped, your stuff will be here waiting for you on Friday.

  Text from D - I’ll call after the game tonight.

  Text to D - :)

  I watch the game live and fall asleep before it’s over. I’m woken up by my phone ringing, “Hello?”

  “Hi, baby. I woke you up. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I was waiting for you to call. I like to hear your voice. How was the game?” My voice is sweet and it’s all because of him.

  “We won. I slammed the door with three strikeouts in the ninth inning to hold the score to 4-3 Seals.”

  “Keep it up and stay focused. I can’t wait for October baseball with you. I’ll watch the end of the game in the morning.”

  “Go back to sleep, Ang. I’ll see you Friday. I love you.”

  Wednesday

  The boxes I packed get picked up while I’m watching D get the save in last night’s game and trying to get motivated for the day. I’m spending the day in the office getting my desk cleaned up and organized, making sure I have everything prepared that I need to work with from San Diego. I might need a desk when I get there. Nah, I’ll work from the table on the balcony. It’s gorgeous out there and I love the warm sun.

  Sitting in my office, I find myself daydreaming while I stare at my roses. He loves me and I doubt anyone else ever has. More importantly, I love him and it’s not lust. Everyday I’m away I miss him more.

  Lucy walks into my office and looks me up and down, “What are you doing now?”

  “It’s a day game today.”

  “You’re sitting at your desk watching the game and wearing a baseball jersey. Have you looked at yourself? Where’s your office attire?”

  “Some things are more important,” slips from my lips without a thought. Shit. Try to cover it up, “I have issues, Luc. You know what it’s like. Especially at the beginning, in the honeymoon stage.” I show her the selfie he sent me, hoping my hunk might buy me some understanding.

  “I guess you can do what you want. You’re one of the bosses.”

  I smile in victory, “Thank you.”

  I hear Sherry yelling when Seno comes up to bat. I want to be there to cheer for D. Seals won 9-2, no closer needed today.

  I get home, counting down the hours until I leave for San Diego. I find a Thursday night flight and book it. I send the confirmation to him via text and my phone rings.

  “Do you like flying on Thursday nights?”

  “I guess. I wanted the flight that would get me to you soonest.”

  “I love it. I’ll be there to pick you up.”

  “I’m counting on it. Going to bed early, I have a long day tomorrow. Love you, D.

  Thursday

  I wake up Thursday morning and I’m not rested. I get up and do what I have to do anyway. I meet with my clients and handle business, spending two hours on the road and a couple more in the office. Lucy is starting to freak out and I’m already anticipating the D thunder. It’s an unstable situation. We hit happy hour and she follows me home, ready to give me a ride to the airport.

  Text from flyaway - Your scheduled flight has been delayed

  Fuck. I start to search for details and…

  Text from flyaway - Your flight has been canceled

  Text from flyaway - Please contact us to reschedule your flight. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.

  I check for available flights and the next one is tomorrow at 10am.

  Text to D - Flight rescheduled to tomorrow.

  Text to D - I hate this. Call me after the game.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Angie

  I wake up Friday morning when Lucy is banging on my door, “Are we going to the airport today or not?”

  Why is she yelling? I open my eyes. Why is the room spinning? I yell out, “Lucy, come in. Use your key.”

  My door opens, “Angie?”

  “In my bedroom.”

  “Open your eyes and get up. You’ve got a flight and Super D waiting for you.”

  Tears stream down my face, “The room spins when I open my eyes. What do I do? Help me here!”

  “You look warm and a bit green,” she checks my forehead. “You definitely have a fever. Where’s your phone?”

  “Nightstand.”

  She picks up my phone and dials. The voice on the other end comes through clear, “Hey, I’ve been worried about you, beautiful.”

  “Why thank you, but this isn’t beautiful. Well, I’m beautiful but I’m not your beautiful. This is Lucy and I’m putting you on speaker. First, it’s nice to finally talk to you, I’ve heard a lot about you and I’m happy you have finally found each other. Only a little bit jealous.”

  “Where is she? She didn’t answer my call last night. Is she okay?”

  “I’m right here, D.”

  Lucy takes control, “She’ll be fine, but she’s not getting on a plane today. She may not be getting on a plane for a few days. She has an ear infection or something. She’s dizzy and has a fever. I’ve got her taken care of on this end.”

  “Baby, are you okay?”

  “The room spins when I open my eyes and my head hurts. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Play hard and I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m sorry, D.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.”

  “Lucy, please send me a text. I need your number. Thanks for taking care of my girl. I wish I could be there to take care of her myself.”

  “D, go play ball. I love you.”

  “Love you, too, babe.”

  Lucy chimes in, “You two make me sick, bye.” She disconnects the call. “Fine, I like him. You can keep him. But, you heard me and I’m not kidding, you’re stuck here for a few days. Go back to sleep. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Angie

  I wake up Monday afternoon, finally coherent and not spinning. I sit up and grab my phone. I lost three days.

  Text from D - Been in contact with Lucy for updates, didn’t want to wake you up.

  Text from D - Hope you’re better soon. Call me when you can. Love you, Ang. I always have and I always will.

  I call him immediately, and he answers, “She lives!”

  “Yes, I’m alive. I miss you.”

  “I miss you more. I think about you all the time. I always have, but now it’s different. You’re real and what I want isn’t a fantasy anymore. I need more than one night with you. Please don’t change your mind and stay there.”

  “I’m not changing my mind. I want to be with you, D.”

  “Your boxes are already here. The team is off on Thursday, but it’s a travel day. I’m on a two week road trip starting on Thursday. Don’t rush and fly out here. Relax and get better. Stay and work or pack or whatever you want. We’ll be together soon. I wish I wasn’t going on a long road trip. I love you, Ang.”

  Angie

  I spend the next couple weeks watching every Seals baseball game and wearing my Super D jersey to the office for day games. Lucy laughs at me for yelling at D when he’s playing, but I don’t care. She took a video of me doing it and didn’t tell me. I had no idea until D told me she sent it to him and he loved it. The office is tighter, cleaner, and running better than it ever has. Every room in my apartment has been gone through from top to bottom
, sorted, cleaned, and reorganized. I miss D. I’ve done everything I can to keep my mind occupied and be productive. He’s expecting me on Friday and he should be home late Thursday night. I can’t wait anymore, I’m going a day early to get unpacked and be there waiting for him when he gets home.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Angie

  I get off the plane in sunny San Diego and get an Uber home. Home. Interesting, it is home. I take my luggage up the elevator and I’m home when the doors open. I immediately go out on the balcony and take a selfie, texting it to D.

  Text to D - I’m home and waiting for you

  Text from D - I wish I was home with you. See you tonight.

  I use every minute of time until he gets home, getting unpacked and organizing my closet. It’s huge. There’s a spot for every single pair of my shoes, hangers for skirts, pants, even a longer area for dresses. There’s a built in dresser, even a velvet-covered ottoman to sit on. I lay my favorite blanket out over the ottoman and put my box of D memorabilia on top of the dresser. One of the nightstands is empty, I claim it setting my autographed books up neatly and plugging in my gaggle of electronic devices. I get rid of the empty boxes and hide my suitcases in the back of my closet. I’m home. It’s perfect.

  Houck

  I’m almost home and I can’t wait to see Angie. The last three weeks have been worse than the fifteen years I waited for her. It’s not her fault or mine, it’s the way it is. Neither of us have talked about the night we spent together. Maybe we don’t need to. There was a connection, and now that it’s been made we can’t go back. It was special. It always will be special with us.

  I get home and it’s dark, “Angie?” The light’s on in our bedroom. I walk in to find her sleeping in my bed. She’s beautiful and I’m happy she’s back home. I drop my bags where I stand and climb in bed with her needing to kiss her. I wrap my arms around her and roll over on the bed, holding her on top of me. “I missed you. I love you, Ang.” I kiss her and squeeze her in my arms.

  She giggles, “I missed you, too.” She rubs against me and my cock gets hard instantly. “Super D missed me, too.”

  “We both did.”

  She unhooks my belt and unbuttons my pants, “Can you get rid of these? They’re in the way. I’m going to need this dress shirt you’re wearing to go, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She climbs off the bed and turns her back to me as she slides out of her pants and pulls her shirt off over her head, revealing her matching black lace panties and bra. “See anything you like?” She asks as she shakes her hips and ass at me.

  I’m lying on top of the bed naked and she walks to me, “Everything, except the pretty lace needs to go.”

  “Do you want me naked?”

  “Yes, and I’ve got something waiting for you,” he says as he wraps his hand around his huge cock and gives it a stroke.

  “I was hoping you’d be ready for me. I need you, D,” she climbs on top of me straddling my waist. Her tone changes, sweeter, maybe more feminine, “I want all of you, it’s more than sex. I love you, Doug. I need to be close to you. Please let me love you.”

  My already open heart about melts as her hands caress my chest and her words reach my ears. She strokes my hard cock with her hand and she shakes with need. She moves, guiding me in and takes me completely. Her whole body shivers and she sighs in relief. She lies down on me, her cheek to my chest and her hands on my shoulders. I hesitate, “Angie, should we talk about the birth control thing before we do this?”

  “Your call. Always your call.”

  Fuck. “Ang?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You can trust me with everything, but you might not want to trust me with that decision.”

  She gazes up at me in contemplation, “Why not?”

  I wrap my arms around her, “I’m going to come deep inside you every time. I can’t help myself.” I take a deep breath and whisper, “I want to knock you up. I want you barefoot in my kitchen with a baby belly full of Baby D.”

  “I’m okay with that,” she says plainly.

  I sit up with her in my arms and she wraps her legs around me. “I’m sorry, did you give me permission to get us pregnant?”

  “Not exactly,” she takes my hands and places them on her breasts. They’re plump and round and obviously sensitive to my touch. “I haven’t had my period since we were together. I’m late and I have symptoms. Your hands on me are driving me insane, I can hardly contain myself. Seriously D, I want to scream out your name.”

  “You’re making me crazy. Are you pregnant with my baby?” She doesn’t answer. “Angie? You need to answer me.”

  “It can’t belong to anybody else, Mr. Fucked-me-bare-and-came-inside.”

  “Yeah, I did and it was better than I dreamt it’d be. I’m going to do it again.” I grab her around the waist, holding her on my hard cock and she giggles.

  Angie

  I lean in to whisper in his ear, “I love you. I did a test this morning and it was positive. I’ll schedule an appointment to get checked in a couple weeks. If not, keep doing what you do because I’m happy to give you what you want.”

  “I fucking love you,” he takes my face in his hands and kisses me tenderly. He gazes into my eyes, “I promise to always take care of you and our Baby D’s. Never leave me. Marry me and be my Mrs. D. Angie, seriously, please be my wife. There’s nothing I want more in this world than to have you as my partner. Pregnant or not, Angie, I want you.”

  I laugh nervous, not often my defense mechanism kicks in, “I don’t see a ring.”

  He reaches into the top drawer of his nightstand and pulls out a ring box, “I’ve had this ready to give you for almost three weeks. I had this whole elaborate plan to propose when you got here two weeks ago, but none of it matters.” He opens the box and takes a simple diamond solitaire out of the box. He lifts me off of him, leaving me sitting naked on the bed and gets down on one knee at the bedside. He takes my hand in his and gazes up at me. His eyes teary and his whole body shaking, “Angie, I’ve loved you since the moment I met you and I want to spend my life with you. I know this is quick, but you’ve always been the one. We’re a match. I promise to love you and take care of you for the rest of my life. There’s no one else and there never will be. Please, make my dream come true and be my wife.” He places the ring on my finger and holds my hand up to show me.

  I lean down to kiss him and he takes me in his arms, naked on the floor. “Yes. Always, D. You and me, and whoever may come from us,” I laugh happily. “Now, please love me all night, my Super D. Close this game.”

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to my team for their continued work and support! Irene Johnson and Katrina Fair, my books would be ugly and editing nightmares without you.

  Thank you to my Naughty Admins and readers for the daily inspiration you share with me, for sharing me with your friends, and for continuing to read my books.

  Thank you to some of the best author friends a girl could have. Tonya Clark and Cassandra Robbins, you both rock socks in different ways.

  Playlist

  “Angela” by The Lumineers

  “Somebody” by Depeche Mode

  “Dangerous Night” by Thirty Seconds to Mars

  “Something Human” by Muse

  “Simplify” by Young the Giant

  “Walk on Water” by Thirty Seconds to Mars

  “Heaven” by Bryan Adams

  “Wonderwall” by Oasis

  “Sex Type Thing” by Stone Temple Pilots

  About the Author

  Naomi Springthorp is an emerging author. The Closer is her seventh release, and An All About the Diamond Romance, Book 5. She’s also writing other contemporary romance novels and novellas featuring music, firemen, and more.

  Naomi is a born and raised Southern California girl. She lives with her husband and her feline fur babies. She believes that life has a soundtrack and half of the year should be spent cheering for her favorite baseb
all team.

  Join her newsletter at

  www.naomispringthorp.com/sign-up

  Also by Naomi Springthorp

  An All About the Diamond Romance

  The Sweet Spot

  King of Diamonds

  Diamonds in Paradise (a novella)

  Star Crossed in the Outfield

  The Closer (a novella)

  Up to Bat… coming soon

  Stalking Second… coming soon

  Novellas and standalone novels

  Muffin Man (a novella)

  Confessions of an Online Junkie… coming soon

  Finally in Focus (a novella)… August 2019

  Betting on Love (Vegas Romance)

  Just a California Girl

  Jacks!… coming in November 2019