Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)

by Violet Duke

  But there was very likely no use in arguing. Hailey Conner had always gotten her way—especially from males. It wasn’t worth the effort.

  “I need to get these notes from Adrianne before she washes them off,” he said, changing the subject. “We were heading to her house.”

  “Oh, well, that’s silly. Here.” Hailey pulled a notebook out of her purse and handed it to Mason. “Copy your notes right here. Then we can let Adrianne get cleaned up and I can take you to lunch.”

  “That’s okay,” Adrianne said quickly. “I don’t need to go.”

  Hailey quirked an eyebrow. “You’re not going to wash that off?”

  “I’ll…” Adrianne glanced down at herself, then back to Hailey. “I guess—”

  “You have to wash it off,” Hailey said with an eye roll. “It’s not like you can walk around with long sleeves on. It’s almost ninety.”

  Adrianne gave in with a sigh. “You’re right.”

  Mason flipped open the notebook and took the pen Adrianne held out. The same pen he’d used to mark her. He’d written fairly small so he had to get closer to Adrianne to read his notes. “Thanks for letting me do this. This formula could be a big deal,” he said quietly as he wrote.

  “I’m enthralled,” Adrianne said. “Watching this idea come to you like that and knowing that my arm holds the secret to some big agricultural revelation in another country is pretty exciting.”

  She was pretty exciting.

  “You really did do homework on me.” She had to have gathered a lot of details—and read them—to know that he’d worked on projects for crops in other countries.

  “Homework for what?” Hailey asked.

  “His profile,” Adrianne said without looking at her. “All the info about his company and everything he’s been asked to do.”

  Hailey had evidently not read his profile.

  Mason thought maybe he should be more surprised, or even disappointed, about that. But he wasn’t either.

  The last of the notes ended well above the dip of her dress, but Mason had seen the glorious curves underneath the blue cotton and his mouth got dry as he finished copying the formula from along her shoulder.

  “Thanks again,” he said to her.

  “Sure. I’ll see you at the softball game.” She bent and grabbed her clipboard, then was gone without a look back.

  Mason watched her go, thinking that he should be grateful she was gone, he was no longer on his knees and he was about to have lunch with the girl he’d had a crush on for five years of his life. At one time, he would have given anything to have Hailey Conner’s attention—her positive attention. He’d experienced her attention in a big way one time. That had been more than enough.

  Which was probably part of why he didn’t want to have lunch with her.

  But it seemed that a bigger part of it was driving away in a blue sundress and black ballpoint-pen ink.

  There had been nothing predictable about this trip at all.

  He didn’t like unpredictable, dammit.

  “THIS IS GREAT!”

  “No, Phoebe, this is definitely not great.” Adrianne hauled the big box of softball supplies out of the back seat of Phoebe’s car. “I almost had sex with him right there in the great outdoors.”

  “Well, where would you expect a genius farmer to have sex?” Phoebe grabbed the bats from Adrianne’s trunk.

  “Really?” Adrianne asked. “You think he takes women out into cornfields all the time?”

  Phoebe laughed. “Probably not. He lives in Chicago after all. But so you almost had sex with him. Outside. Big deal. I think it’s great.”

  “What’s great about it?” Adrianne asked, starting toward the field.

  Some of the guys were already there and would help them set everything up, but Adrianne couldn’t help but think that this was how things always went with Hailey. She’d come up with a kernel of an idea and then expect Adrianne to iron out the details and make the damned thing happen. Like this game. Hailey had wanted to have an event that could be put between the other festivities on Friday that would involve all the investors and the alumni group gathered. It had to be fun, a place where there was something to do but everyone could still talk. Something that might be sentimental for some of them, bringing out their sense of home and affection for Sapphire Falls and loosening their wallets a bit.

  Adrianne had talked with Phoebe and Matt and they’d told her how Sapphire Falls used to have a big co-ed softball tournament every fourth of July.

  It wasn’t the fourth of July, but since the tradition had died out sometime over the past ten years, Adrianne thought it was the perfect fit for Hailey’s event requirements.

  And now Adrianne was hauling bases and catcher’s gear to the field on a sunny, ninety-two-degree day, working up a nice sweat forty minutes after showering, her hair already falling out of the ponytail she’d pulled back when she realized she wouldn’t have time to do anything more with her hair.

  While Hailey had lunch with Mason.

  The whole letting-Hailey-have-the-spotlight thing was starting to suck a little.

  Phoebe put the bats and bag of softballs next to the bench in the closest dugout and turned to take some of the stuff from Adrianne’s arms. “What’s great about it is that Mason Riley, the biggest dork in school, the never-had-a-date-in-high-school guy, is now getting it on with the hottest girl in Sapphire Falls. Good for him.”

  Adrianne felt sick. “You think they’re getting it on?”

  Phoebe faced her. “They? I meant you and Mason. Who’s he with?”

  “Hailey. They’re having lunch. Supposedly.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “They left together from the farm.” Adrianne checked her watch. “Of course, there’s plenty of time to eat, have hot, sweaty sex and still make it here in time for the game.”

  “Dammit,” Phoebe muttered, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. She dialed and then leveled a stare at Adrianne. “What part of ‘keep them apart’ doesn’t make sense to you?”

  “I tried but—”

  “Matt, it’s me,” Phoebe interrupted as she spoke into the phone. “Mason’s with Hailey having lunch.” She paused to listen and then said, “Check there first, but drive by her house too.” She hung up and looked at Adrianne. “Seriously. Keep them apart. Period.”

  “She’s my boss. He’s a guest. He’s practically a stranger to me. I can’t control—”

  “I’m thinking you have more control over him than you know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re the hottest girl in Sapphire Falls. And he’s getting frisky with you. And you like it. This is great.”

  Adrianne felt her eyes go wide. “I’m the hottest girl? What the hell are you talking about? You’ve met Hailey Conner right?”

  Phoebe waved that away. “Yeah, yeah. She’s Hailey, always will be. But she’s always been here. And she’s dated pretty much all the eligible men. You’re new. You don’t date guys from here—which drives them crazy but also intrigues them. Hailey’s out there with her…stuff. You’re much more understated. You make them all nuts.”

  Some of the guys came over to gather the equipment so Adrianne kept her mouth shut and gave them smiles and casual greetings. As soon as they moved off, she said to Phoebe, “You’re nuts.”

  Phoebe held out her phone. “Call Matt. Ask him. It’s true. Hailey shows it all off in her skirts and heels, with her hair and her lips and her boobs. You go around in jeans and Tshirts and tennis shoes, pony
tails, no makeup. You’re more of a mystery. They haven’t known you since kindergarten—which makes some of us much less of a mystery. They don’t know your grandmother who can tell them every embarrassing story about you they don’t already know.”

  “But—”

  “You’re the girl next door. And you’re sweet,” Phoebe went on when Adrianne tried to interrupt. “You’re nice. You’re genuine. Guys like that. These are good guys from a nice town. While they do tend to think with their penises more than they should, deep down they all want a nice girl. Like you.”

  Adrianne stared at her friend. Then felt a little dizzy. “No,” she groaned. “No, no, no.”

  She didn’t want any of that.

  Her look, her attitude, her lifestyle were all simply a product of doing the opposite of what she’d done for years. She was downsizing, simplifying, uncomplicating her life.

  Sapphire Falls was her haven. This was where she could be herself, where she could relax.

  Dammit. How could she relax now that she knew what the guys were thinking?

  She didn’t date guys from here because she didn’t want a relationship with anyone from here. Dating a guy from a small town like this was more than dating just the guy, or even his family. It was like dating the whole town. Everyone would be involved, invested, full of opinions, judgments and advice.

  No way did she want that kind of pressure.

  “Anyway,” Phoebe said, seemingly unconcerned by Adrianne’s distress. “I think it’s great that Mason gets to show the other guys around here what he’s got.”

  “He’s not going to show them anything. It’s not like he’s going to be bragging in the locker room.”

  Phoebe laughed. “They’ll notice, Ad, trust me. And he hasn’t even been here for a whole day. This is gonna be great for him.”

  Adrianne sighed. Terrific. “I think I need to stay away from Mason Riley.”

  “No,” Phoebe said quickly. “No, you can’t. We have to keep him and Hailey apart and you might be the only one who can really keep him interested in something else.”

  “He’s that interested in her?” Adrianne asked, feeling her stomach dip again.

  “I don’t know.” Phoebe shrugged. “He used to be and I’m not willing to risk it now. I wanted you to be the one to tell him about the project, but now it looks like there’s even more reason for him to spend time with you.”

  “You don’t think that we—and when I say we I mean you—are overreacting here a little?”

  Phoebe shook her head. “No way. This is important. The future of your candy shop is on the line here.” She looked at Adrianne contemplatively. “Why don’t you relax and have fun? He’s obviously got you a little riled up. Enjoy it. It’s only a few days.”

  That was exactly the problem. She was riled up and she hated that. Being riled up, worked up, wound up—she avoided all of that. She was in Sapphire Falls for the very fact that things were laidback, even-keel, even boring here.

  And it was only for a few days. Then he’d be gone. It wasn’t worth it.

  “My heart can’t take this stuff.”

  Phoebe sighed. “Sweetie, your heart…thing was two years ago.”

  “It was a heart attack,” Adrianne said. “Not a thing.”

  Her doctor, thank God, put up with her neuroses and reassured her regularly she was doing everything right. But he did want her to stop obsessing. Which she obsessed about a little.

  “You’re perfectly healthy now. You’ve stopped smoking, drinking, cut down on caffeine, reduced your stress, changed your diet, you work out…honey, you’re fine,” Phoebe said. She wasn’t Adrianne’s doctor, but Phoebe made Adrianne repeat her doctor’s advice whenever she got worked up. Or Phoebe would repeat it to her. “At least fine enough to spend some time with a hot guy who looks at you like I look at Snickers bars.”

  Adrianne smiled at that. “Maybe. But I do not want drama with Hailey. If she thinks I’m moving in on a guy she wants—”

  “Hailey shouldn’t always get what she wants. It’s already made her a brat. Help her not become a total bitch. Get in her way.”

  “I’m not sure a two-day fling with a guy I may never see again is worth the risk.” She rubbed the spot on her chest over her heart. Dammit. She didn’t want a guy who made her heart flutter just by thinking about having a fling with him.

  Phoebe looked at her for a long moment. Then her eyes flickered to something over Adrianne’s left shoulder. Her mouth stretched into a slow, knowing smile. “Tell me that he’s not worth the risk after you spend the next two days with him.”

  Phoebe left Adrianne standing there and she slowly turned with apprehension. Sure enough, Mason was striding toward her.

  She forgot how to swallow. He was in a black T-shirt that stretched across his broad chest and shoulders, and gray cotton athletic shorts that showed powerful muscles and tanned skin.

  Her heart raced and she pressed her fingers over the pounding.

  There was no way around that really. Simply seeing him caused that reaction, and she couldn’t very well duck and hide every time she saw him coming over the next forty-eight hours. But she could avoid kissing him. Probably.

  “This is a really bad idea,” he said as he got close. He was frowning.

  Yeah, well, she had a whole list of really bad ideas. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

  “This game. I don’t play softball, Adrianne.”

  “Oh, this is for fun. No pressure. Not even that much exertion.”

  “No, I really don’t play softball. Like I’ve never swung a bat.”

  She frowned. “How is that possible? You never had to play Wiffle ball in PE class?”

  “If I did, I’ve blocked out the memory because it was so awful.”

  She chuckled. What a drama queen. “Okay, here.” She handed him a bat. “Show me.”

  “Show you that I don’t know how to swing a bat?”

  “Have you ever seen a baseball game? On TV? Anything?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then use that genius brain and try to imitate what you saw them do.”

  He took a very awkward-looking batting stance, lifted the bat and swung.

  She did not laugh. But looking into his face, she was sure he knew she wanted to. “Okay, you’re right, that’s not great.”

  “Thanks so much for the confirmation.” He looked seriously pissed.

  “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Look, Adrianne, I don’t really care what these people think of me. Honestly. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to make an ass of myself.”

  “Okay, okay, hang on.”

  Hailey wanted him to play, and she’d find a way of dragging him into the game. And possibly make an ass of him.

  Adrianne didn’t want that to happen either. Whether or not he put her at risk for another heart attack with the way he made her feel, she liked him. Sincerely.

  “Here’s what we’ll do,” she said, a plan coming to her. “We’ll get on opposite teams. I’m going to pitch. When you’re up to bat, I’ll walk you.”

  He stood staring at her.

  “Do you know what a walk is in baseball?” she asked.

  “Adrianne, I know things like phenolic compounds are composed of one or more aromatic benzene rings with one or more hydroxyl groups.”

  “Right. Okay. If a pitcher throws four balls before he throws three strikes, the batter gets a walk—to automatically go to first base. A ball is when the ball is thrown outside of the strike zo
ne and the batter doesn’t swing.”

  “I know what a ball is.”

  “Thought I’d be sure.” She fought another smile. Not because he didn’t know much about baseball, but because he didn’t want to know, seemed exasperated by the idea of needing to know and would possibly never use the knowledge again. And he was okay with telling her he didn’t know anything about it. “So I’ll pitch four balls. You stand there and don’t swing. Then you’ll get on first and no one will know you don’t play.”

  He looked skeptical.

  “Do you know what happens after you’re on first?”

  “I go to second.”

  “You run to second. And not until the next batter gets a hit or gets walked.”

  “Then to third?” he said dryly.

  She grinned. “You’re catching on.”

  “Which brings up another problem. I’ll have to play in the field too. And have no clue.”

  “Hmm, I’ll make Matt be the other coach. Then he can put you in right field. Probably the lowest chance of having to do anything. Basically, if it gets hit out there, run after it, pick it up and throw it to the closest person.”

  He sighed. “This is going to be so much fun.”

  She patted his arm—his warm, strong, thick arm—and said, “It’s one game. It’ll be fine.”

  Thirty minutes later, Adrianne wasn’t so sure it would be fine. Her blood pressure was definitely up anyway. Hailey had finally shown up, dressed in a tight tank top, short shorts and full hair and makeup. Adrianne rolled her eyes. At least she’d known better than to wear heels.

  Hailey had successfully put herself on Mason’s team and was using that as an excuse to give him a pep talk while he was on deck waiting to bat. Adrianne was having a hard time concentrating on throwing the ball even near the plate while her peripheral vision was filled with Hailey pressing up against Mason, her hand stroking suggestively up and down the bat he held, stretching up on tiptoe to whisper something—surely quite instructional—in his ear. Adrianne ended up lobbing one to Stephanie Wilson who hit it to their short stop, landing her safely on first base.