Chad’s cell phone beeped with a text message from his mother. Your phone shows you’re at the park. Are you having lunch with that gal you bid on?
Mom was upset he hadn’t texted her a selfie of his supposed date from the night before, but of course, his helpful cousins had supplied plenty of pictures of him dancing with Helen.
He texted a reply. No, not her. I’m with someone else.
Two girls in two days? Show me.
Okay.
He cleared his throat and found Amber staring at him.
“S-suh-sorry,” he muttered. “My m-mom.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” she said. “I figured out something.”
“W-what?” he coughed and couldn’t clear his tight throat.
“If you can’t talk to me, you can text me. Would that work?”
He nodded and pointed to the phone, putting it in selfie mode.
“Sure,” she smiled, and he scooted around to the bench next to her, putting one arm around her and stretching his arm to take the picture.
Snap.
He also captured the moment in his heart, and it was bigger and better than any scientific breakthrough he could think of. For now.
Amber was right.
It was a beautiful day. Sunny, clear skies, green and lush, birds chirping, and a warm breeze.
And hopefully the start of something really, truly wonderful.
Chapter Ten
It was a soft, tentative kiss on the cheek, and just like that, everything changed.
Amber luxuriated in the sunny weather and downed the ice cold milk, sitting side by side with Chad on the picnic bench. Their thighs touched, and it was strangely intimate, even if his leg jittered and he fidgeted while texting her.
He didn’t hate her or resent her presence. If anything, it was she who was jealous of his sign-on bonus, and that had colored all her thoughts and feelings about him.
“I can’t believe you’re afraid of me,” Amber said, staring at the side of his face as he thumbed a reply to her.
Not afraid. Just nervous.
“You’re saying you can’t talk when I’m around? This is hilarious.” She stifled a giggle.
Not to me, it isn’t. It’s why I could never get around to asking you out.
“You wanted to ask me out? All this time, I thought you were constipated, or I stunk, or I had insulted you or something.” She noted the two spots of color on his face as he nodded, then quickly shook his head at the stinking part.
“But we might have missed our chance,” she mused, half teasing him.
Why is that?
“We work together. Doesn’t Mason have rules about coworkers dating?” She was usually nervous and awkward around men, especially potential dates, but with Chad, who was unable to speak, she felt unexpectedly lively and bold.
He shrugged, seemingly deflated, and she gave herself a little kick. Baiting Chad was too tempting. She’d finally found someone who was shier around the opposite sex than her.
“Look at me, Chad,” she ordered him, putting a hand on his phone screen. “If someone sees us, they’ll think I’m boring.”
The gaze he turned on her was so intense she almost flinched. She shouldn’t have made fun of him.
“Okay, I’m not boring, but I’m doing all the talking.” She couldn’t help noticing the flecks of gold in his brown eyes and the scar on his chin, the bright, white teeth, and the dark brooding eyebrows over his manly chiseled face.
The breeze blew warm, and birds flitted in the trees above them. She was so close to him, she could feel his heart beat and sense the heat under his skin, the dedication he had to his work, and the barely suppressed emotions simmering in his pulse.
He liked her—a lot, and the chemistry was hard to miss, even for a dork like her. He was tongue-tied around her, unable to speak without stuttering, but would he be tongue-tied if they kissed?
Amber wasn’t an experienced kisser, and she’d bet Chad wasn’t either. All the innuendo Helen threw his way seemed to have been lost on him, and he’d turned tail when the women swarmed his truck.
What would it be like to be the first woman to rock his socks?
She licked her lips and dropped her gaze to his strong and firm looking lips. His Adam’s apple bobbled, and his tongue also flickered at the edge of his teeth, and somehow, that was the hottest thing any man had ever done to her.
The few disastrous dates she’d gone on had been filled with fending off hands and messy lips. Dr. Forster was no different—the old goat.
Sure, she’d let him give her a ride to work this morning, only because Ginger had spent the night at Marsh’s and Dr. Forster was headed the same direction. However, she’d let him know she definitely wasn’t a young and impressionable intern, and he had apologized for being pushy the night before.
Shoving those disturbing thoughts away, Amber focused again on Chad. His eyes had moved to her lips and when he raised them, she saw the dark look of desire that had populated her fantasies.
She moved, barely, and he moved, and then her head tilted to the left, almost bumping into his right tilt. She corrected without missing a beat, and his lips were on hers. The spark shocked her and sent a tingle of delight throughout her body. Pressing hard, she kissed him, unsure of what happened next.
Usually, she was ramping down, struggling to turn away from unwanted kisses, but Chad’s mouth was so inviting, she dove in deeper.
Her hands went around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her. She sucked harder, unwilling to relinquish his lower lip, then his upper lip and then she wanted to taste him.
She parted her lips and let him in, tangling her tongue around his, wet and luscious. A tiny moan escaped her, and she felt herself blossom.
Goodness, what had she missed all these years? The real man was miles better than the fantasy. He kissed her strongly and with determination. His hands, large and firm, rubbed circles on her back and oh, she couldn’t get enough.
Somehow, she’d moved onto his lap, sitting sideways, and his hands were wrapped in her hair, his mouth greedy and his tongue agile and strong.
Nope. He had no trouble using it on her.
And nope. She had no trouble imagining him using that stuttering tongue on her lips, behind her ear, around her nipples, and oh, dare she indulge the fantasy further down?
The sound of footsteps and whispering snapped Amber from the torrential kiss.
She jumped from Chad’s lap as if it had caught fire and wiped the back of her hand over her guilty lips.
She’d thought the park was empty.
Instead, her sister, Candi, had her cell phone camera trained on them, and Troy, Candi’s fiancé, wore a grin as he hefted a giant duffle bag containing balls, bats, and gloves.
“Don’t mind us,” Candi said. “Carry on. We’re just here to set up for the co-ed softball game. But you, little missy, have a lot of explaining to do.”
“And you, dude,” Troy said with a smirk. “If you ever need any advice, just ask Dr. T. These Myers’ girls are a handful.”
“Hey, don’t give away all our secrets.” Candi elbowed her fiancé.
“You two staying for softball?” Troy winced and pulled the bill of Candi’s baseball cap down over her eyes. “Or were you getting ready to play softball somewhere more private?”
The way he ogled Candi’s bosom while she was blinded by the baseball cap made Amber’s chest heave, and she wasn’t sure she could catch her breath—especially since Chad grasped both of her hands with his and squeezed.
Okay, so he’d gotten the double entendre too. Amber’s mouth watered, and she held his gaze until Chad’s face was bright red. Coughing, he turned from her and ran his hand through his barely there buzz cut.
Oh, yeah. He definitely wanted to rake his fingers and any other cylindrical appendages over her body, and from the way that kiss had sizzled, she was sure she’d like every inch of him.
* * *
If Chad was in trouble before, he was n
ow in trouble big time. His tongue and lips had no trouble at all connecting with Amber, and now that he’d had a taste of her, he couldn’t let her go.
Unfortunately, she was already prying her hands from his and backing away, downplaying the crowning moment of his life, all because her sister had caught them kissing.
Amber wiped her hands on her jeans and reached to help Candi unzip the duffle bags. “You have to delete the video. Promise me. If it gets leaked, I’ll lose my job.”
“I’m keeping the video, but don’t worry, I would never leak it.” Candi tucked her phone into her front pocket and wiggled her shoulders. “Saving it for your wedding video.”
“W-wedding?” Amber’s jaw dropped, and she shook her head as if she were a terrier with a bone. “He’s sitting right there. Seriously, Candi, whose side are you on? I came to Sapphire Falls for my career, not to get hitched to the first guy I happen to kiss.”
“There’s a lot of hitching going on around here, for sure.” Candi laughed.
“It was only a kiss,” Amber said. “I know you think it’s funny, but please, don’t say anything. Not even to Honey and Ginger. Word tends to get around in this small town, and I can’t have my reputation ruined on my first day of work.”
Candi flung a worried glance at Chad before pursing her lips. “Okay, if it’s that important to you, I won’t say a thing.”
“Delete the video, please?”
Chad’s gut twisted at Amber’s desperation to suppress any evidence of what had just happened.
She was clearly embarrassed and mortified that she’d been caught kissing him. Was it because he was a junior researcher? She hadn’t been embarrassed to drive up this morning with the esteemed Dr. Forster in his Porsche.
“I’ll keep the video safe,” Candi said. “Sorry about teasing you. A word of advice. If you don’t want anyone to see you kissing hunky guys, don’t do it in public.”
“He’s not a hunk, he’s just a friend,” Amber said, sounding like a stubborn child. “We were experimenting.”
Experimenting? Was that all he was to her? An experiment? The hope in his chest splattered like a broken egg, and he turned to the picnic table to clean up.
The two sisters walked toward the closest dugout, each with an armful of bats and gloves. Meanwhile, the Dr. T man went back to the car for another duffel bag full of softball supplies.
Amber had dismissed him, and it was time for Chad to go back to work. He gathered the paper plates and cups and put them in the trash, put away the leftover food, and rolled up the checkered table cloth.
“Want to help me set up the bases and chalk the lines?” Dr. T set a duffle bag on the picnic table. He extended his hand. “I’m Troy Caine, by the way.”
They shook hands with a firm grip.
“Chad Powers. Sorry, can’t help,” Chad said. “I-I have to g-go back to work.”
“Understood.” The dark-haired man glanced in the direction Candi and Amber had gone. “Don’t let her see you sweat, and definitely, don’t let her think she’s the only one.”
“What do you mean?” Chad put his biology textbooks into his backpack and looped it over his shoulder.
“Women need challenges, too,” Troy said. “I heard her say you’re not a hunk. It means she’s got you friend-zoned. Or taking you for granted. She must know you’re crushing on her, and I may be way out of line here, but I’m guessing you don’t date much.”
“No, too busy with work.”
“Right, so she doesn’t think there’s any competition.” Troy crossed his arms, looking smug. “I’m a relationship counselor and I’ve seen it all.”
“Wh-what do you think I-I should do?” Chad asked, genuinely puzzled. “What competition?”
“You weren’t doing so badly last night,” Troy said. “When you had Helen coming on to you.”
“I didn’t like Helen. She was too pushy.”
“Ah, but she was good for your image. Ex-cheerleaders partying with you. Makes you the big man in town.”
“Sounds too much like high school.” Chad ran his hand over his buzz cut, still not used to finding no hair to twist. “Thanks for the advice, but I have to go back to work.”
“You’re not giving up, are you?” Troy spoke out of the side of his mouth as Amber and Candi approached, asking him to start chalking the lines.
“I’ll never g-give up,” Chad muttered under his breath.
Of course, he wasn’t going to turn tail and run just because Amber acted like the kiss was a big nothing.
If so, why had she sighed and pawed at him? Opened her mouth and moaned so sexy? She hadn’t been a shy wallflower with her tongue and her lips, and with the heat rising between them, she’d wanted him as much as he’d desired her.
“Good,” Troy said. “Then stay for softball and don’t let her run you off the field.”
“No one’s running me out of town,” he muttered to himself. “Hand over the chalker.”
Chapter Eleven
Chad put on sunglasses so he could keep his eye on Amber while pretending not to look. If she didn’t want to acknowledge him, then he wouldn’t acknowledge her either.
He held the chalking template as Troy dusted chalk onto the lines and pretended not to see Candi toss Amber her car keys, ostensibly for Amber to go home and change out of her white jeans.
If she thought she’d drive him away by ignoring him, she had another thing coming. He was going to stand his ground.
This wasn’t her town only. Sapphire Falls was also his new home, and he was rightfully a researcher for IAS.
Soon, his coworkers, Samantha, Kiran, and Harrison showed up.
“Where’s Amber?” Samantha asked. “I thought she was having lunch with you.”
Chad shrugged as if he wasn’t interested. “Went off somewhere. You ready to play?”
“I sure am,” Samantha said. “Need some help anchoring in the bases?”
“Sure, you know how to do it?” Troy asked.
“Been playing softball since seventh grade,” Samantha said. She motioned to Kiran and Harrison. “You guys come with me and help me anchor the bases.”
“Where’s Amber?” Kiran asked. “Isn’t she playing?”
“Does she even know how?” Harrison said with a smirk on his face. “She probably went back to work to get a jump start on Dr. Forster’s proposal.”
“Nah, she’ll be back,” Samantha said. “She told me she played softball in high school. Chad, didn’t you know her back then?”
Chad shrugged and kept his head down. He already knew about Amber’s softball prowess, although in college she’d given it up.
Not him. He’d gone to batting cages regularly, worked out with weights, and kept himself in shape, because once he became a dad, he would want to make sure his kids were good in baseball, football, and ice hockey.
As he and Troy finished chalking the lines, more cars and trucks pulled into the parking lot.
Mike showed up with his girlfriend, a pretty blond gal with a ski-jump nose and a cheerful smile. Marsh, of course, had his arm hanging over Ginger’s shoulder, and Max and Honey brought their two children, four-year-old Mattie and almost two-year-old Sarah.
Apparently, this year, with the explosion of children in Sapphire Falls, they were holding a T-ball game on the other diamond. That was where Max and Honey, as well as his boss and wife went.
Mason and Adrianne’s two boys were old enough to hold the bat and glove, and once the large Bennett family showed up, boys and girls swarmed the adjacent diamond.
“Listen up!” a man with a megaphone yelled, bringing his attention back to the singles and those without children. “I’m Derek and this is Peyton. We drew straws, and we’re the team captains.”
“Is it going to be men against women?” Harrison shouted.
“No, co-ed means men and women against women and men,” Derek said. “The rules are, we pick teams until everyone is on one team or the other. Everyone gets to bat, even if we have more
than nine on a team, and all extra people play outfield.”
His cousins Marsh and Mike were picked first on opposing teams. Samantha told everyone she’d played softball in college and was quickly snapped up by Derek.
After everyone except Amber and him were chosen, Derek tapped Chad and said, “You there, Dung Man. Over here.”
Everyone laughed as Chad shook his head. “I don’t answer to that name.”
“Oh, come on,” Derek said. “Everyone has a nickname here. You’re one of us, now. Dung Man.”
The price to pay for acceptance. Chad shrugged and stepped to Derek’s side of the diamond.
“Here comes the last pick,” Peyton shouted, waving as a car pulled into the parking lot.
Amber stepped out of the car, stopping all the joshing and bantering. Derek and all the men around gaped, slack-jawed at the statuesque vision sashaying toward them.
Her long brown hair bouncing in the breeze, her mile-long legs bare under cut-off shorts, and her midriff showing beneath a short tank with spaghetti straps, she sashayed over to the baseball diamond and slapped her hand in a glove.
“I’m ready to play,” she announced, looking confident. “All city softball champ in high school. Ranked nationally.”
“You’re on our team,” Peyton called out. “What position?”
“Pitcher.”
“Whoo hoo! Peyton’s Predators are on the move.” Everyone on Peyton’s team whooped and cheered.
“Okay, guys, let’s get them Predators.” Derek had everyone on his team put their hands over a bat and they all shouted. “Dungballs!”
While Peyton selected the lineup, Derek organized the defense. “What’s your position, Dung Man?”
“C-catch-her,” Chad replied, hooking a thumb at Amber who volunteered to be pitcher. “M-mine.”
He figured he’d be caveman about Amber, now that he’d kissed her. Once he made the claim, the Sapphire Falls bro-code would be honored, according to his cousins, and despite all the guys drooling over Amber, they’d back off.
“You’ve been bitten by the Sapphire Falls Love Bug,” Derek winked at him. “Happens to better men all the time.”
Sapphire Falls: Going Gets Hot (Kindle Worlds Novella) (My Country Heart Book 4) Page 6
