Page 192 of Out of Left Field

The cocktail dress was a tad bit too tight. As was the security team surrounding us. The entire week had been like this. Crushing. Invasive. Boring.

Boring because every minute of every day was planned down to the last second. Seth wouldn’t hear any argument I made about standing this down, so I put up with his overprotectiveness.

Owen had been at my game. Somehow he’d slipped through the stadium security and ours. And even more chilling, he'd deliberately provoked Seth.

I had no idea what Owen hoped to accomplish. His career was over unless he rehabbed his image, but going missing hadn’t helped and if he was stalking us, well, there wasn’t much he could do to come back from that.

Or maybe we overreacted. Maybe Owen was just an asshole doing asshole things.

“The party is in here,” Mercedes said as we got off the elevator. “Every guest had to pass through security, every member of the catering staff was vetted and checked as they entered the stadium.”

“Thank you,” Seth said, his hand on the small of my back. “You ready for this?”

I plastered on a smile. “Of course.” It was a small, intimate fundraiser for the Mantas richest fans to make donations to a sensory friendly section of the stands. All they asked for in return was to have a glitzy evening with the Mantas and their significant others.

So here we were, dressed to the nines, for a night of fancy food and small talk with strangers. Willa appeared at my side immediately, threading her arm through mine.

“About time you two showed up. What took so long?”

Seth arched an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “Ev’s date canceled. So I’m his plus one. I mean come on, Seth. I get to dress up, spend the night with my guys, and my new best friend.” She grinned at me.

“And you look gorgeous.” I swept my hand down her floor length, skin-tight, black sequined gown.

“Not so bad yourself. You look hot in sleeveless gowns. Your arms are incredible!”

I flexed because why not? “So we’re debating between a whiskey distillery tour in the British Isles or a rum distillery tour in the Caribbean.”

“I’m sensing a theme here,” Seth replied. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Willa batted her lashes. “I don’t understand why we’re debating. Let’s do both!”

I laughed. “I’m not sure my liver can do both.” Not that I minded the idea of traveling somewhere outside the States during our time off. Maybe if we all went to England, Seth and I could branch off from there and see France, Italy, or Spain. Maybe all three.

Seth shook Everett’s hand. “So what’s your vote? Whiskey or rum?”

Everett shrugged. “I’ve lived almost my entire life on an island in Florida. Let’s go north.”

“It will be cold,” I teased. “Can your thin blood handle winter in the northern climes?”

“If there’s enough whiskey anything is possible,” he teased right back.

Willa beamed up at him. “I can picture you stumbling out of a Scottish pub.” She gave his beard a gentle tug.

Everett blushed. “I, uh, yeah. That will probably happen. Hey, I just saw Chris. I need to ask him something about the pitching rotation.” He dipped his head and left like an afternoon thunderstorm. Fast.

But if Willa noticed his blush or stammering, she didn’t show it. “So, I know Seth won’t leave your side for all the money in the world, but I was assured we are quite secure in here.” She shooed him away. “Why don’t you go talk shop with these rich people and let me have some girl time with Annalise.”

Seth pursed his lips. He wasn’t happy. But he wasn’t going to fight us either. He pointed at Willa. “Keep her safe. I’m trusting you.”

“Let Annalise breathe!” She pushed him towards the throng of tuxedos. “Finally!”

“Thanks for the assist.” It was nice to have some space.

“No problem. You had this tight look on your face and Seth said something about doubling your security. I decided to swoop in.”

“How often do you talk to Seth?” I wasn’t jealous. Just…curious. They seemed to have a shorthand. Sometimes he’d pick up the phone, say four or five words and hang up. When I would ask what happened he would shrug and just say “Willa.”