Page 254 of Out of Left Field

I stroked my beard. “She’s smart. Really nice. Knows baseball.”

“So she knows what she’s getting herself into?”

There were typically two kinds of women who intentionally dated baseball players. Group One was obvious. They were the set that wanted to date an athlete. The other set were the ones who genuinely loved the game. “She does.”

“Then I hope it works out for you. If you start catching feelings, bring her around. Rosie will give her a thorough evaluation.”

That she would. But I wasn’t worried. Rosie already loved Willa. “Any other questions?”

“As your brother? No. As your coach…”

Fuck. “What did I do?”

When he didn’t reply I glanced his way and found him grinning. “You’re kicking ass, Ev. Seriously, pitching better than ever. Is there some sort of secret sauce I can sprinkle on the rest of the bullpen?”

I grinned because there was a special sauce, but it wasn’t the kind I could share. For the first time in my life I wasn’t trying to be a pitcher. I just was one. I wasn’t chasing a particular pitch or spin rate. I wasn’t trying to mimic a particular style. I had my own. I knew my capabilities. I had my arsenal and came to every game with a plan.

But the most important ingredient in all of that was being happy. And that was all Willa. She was the secret sauce.

17

WILLA

Iwish I could go back in time and tell eighteen-year-old me that one day my dinner table would be filled with amazing, talented, brilliant women I called my friends.

Marley, Melody, Kristin, and Charley all enthusiastically agreed to the party. So did Zoe, Olivia, Annalise, and Kate. Jeri had a date so she declined. I was doubly glad I decided to throw this dinner party because the Mantas were on the road and I needed the distraction.

It had been two days since I went to Everett. Two incredible nights. I was addicted to him. Having a few days apart was probably a good thing, but my sex-crazed body wasn’t getting the memo.

“How do you decide which road trips to go on?” Marley asked Zoe and Olivia. Zoe was married to Erik Cassidy, the Mantas second baseman, and Olivia was married to Chris Kaine, one of their starting pitchers. Unlike Kate, neither of them worked for the team and couldn’t tag along on trips in the same way she could.

Zoe shrugged. “It depends on what I’m working on. If I’m writing, I tend to stay home and bury myself in my fictional worlds. Unless they’re going somewhere I really want to be. But if I’m editing or taking a week off, I’ll usually hop a flight and go.”

Olivia shrugged. “I can’t go as often as I’d like. Not with Linc in school. But he’s still young and it’s not like he isn’t used to being the child of a professional athlete. His father is a football player.”

Marley’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, Chris isn’t Linc’s father?”

She shook her head. “Stepfather.”

Melody refilled all our wine glasses. “Hold up. I’m the biggest outsider in this group. I need to make sure I have all of this right. You don’t happen to have a murder board around to keep track of who’s connected to who, do you?” she laughed.

“Oh we should make one.” I grabbed my tablet and opened one of my favorite drawing apps. “I’ll take everyone’s picture too.” I went around and snapped photos, placed them in the app and drew lines between us. “It’s simple really. Zoe, Olivia, and Kate are all married to Mantas. Kate is best friends with Jeri, which connects to Annalise and Charley. But Annalise is also dating Seth, who is a Manta.”

Zoe raised her hand. “And Chris’s brother Scott adapts my books into movies.”

“That I have worked on as well,” I finished for her.

“And I bought the Tangerines,” Kristin joined in. “And I’m friends with Scott.”

“And me!” Marley called out.

“That’s just the people in this room.” Melody shook her head. “I feel like the kid always picked last.”

Charley leaned back in her chair. “I’m barely connected to these clowns.”

Marley punched her in the shoulder. “We’ve been hanging out.”

“Can I have another roll?” Kristin said as more conversations broke out. I picked up the basket and sent it down. “So who is Jeri out with tonight?”