Page 38 of Sacrifice Bunt

She wasn’t sure how long she sat out there, just looking up at the sky and thinking, but when she saw the sprinklers come on, she knew it was time to go.

Her phone buzzed on her way home, but she ignored it while she drove. When she got home, she changed into her favorite loose shorts and a tank, made herself a frozen pizza, and snuggled into her couch with the remote to watch something on TV. Her phone buzzed again, and when she picked it up, she saw two texts.

From Noah.

She fumbled with the phone, almost dropping it, before finally clicking on his messages.

Noah:

Heath gave me your number. Don’t be mad at him. I just wanted to talk to you.

Noah:

I take it from your radio silence that you don’t want to talk to me. I’m putting my phone away now to prepare for the game, but if you ever want to text me back, I’ll answer when I’m not playing.

Her heart was thumping in her chest. He thought she didn't want to talk to him. Damn her for not checking her phone as soon as she got home. She checked the time and saw that it was after nine her time, and since his game was in Texas tonight, it was getting ready to start.

She might not be able to talk to him, but she could watch him on TV.

And she could text him back, so he got it when his game was over. She typed and retyped until she finally settled on something simple.

Zara:

I was driving and forgot to check my phone when I got home. Play hard.

She got comfortable on her couch to watch the game. She told herself it was for work since she had clients playing, but that was a lie. She was watching for Noah.

When the camera panned to him in the outfield while he chased a fly ball, she held her breath, sitting forward and never taking her eyes off him. He caught it easily, his strong, powerful arm, throwing it to the second baseman to stop the stolen base. She breathed a sigh of relief.

It mainly went the same way for the rest of the game. Fly balls he caught, ground balls he fielded, and a few powerful throws to stop runners. On offense, he hit a single, knocked in a run, struck out, walked, and at his final at-bat, hit a home run with two guys on base.

The Emperors came out on top six to two, with Noah being the game's strongest player. It was like the universe was trying to tell her what she was pretty sure she already knew.

Noah Ashe was an all-around good guy and quite possibly the guy for her.

Just as she turned her TV off and headed to bed, her phone buzzed in her hand. She flipped it over, not thinking anything, and then almost tripped over her own feet when she saw it was Noah.

Noah:

I think your message to play hard reached me out on the field.

That made her laugh. She flipped off the light and quickly padded to her room, jumping into bed before texting him back.

Zara:

Seems like. That home run at the end was pretty.

Noah:

You were watching?

She rolled her eyes and snuggled lower into her bed. She knew he was wondering if she watched the game for him. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside that he seemed to want her to watch.

Zara:

Of course, I was watching. I had clients playing.

Take that. She could imagine his boyish expression of sadness when he read her words.

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