Page 7 of Sacrifice Bunt

“They said the same about you,” Stacy said.

They were all led to a table in the back of the restaurant, where it was quiet. He pulled out a chair for Zara, and while she took it, he could tell she was trying hard not to scowl.

The waiter came over immediately, taking drink orders. Both Kevin and Stacy ordered alcohol, but he stuck with water since he had a game the next day. What shocked him the most was when Zara ordered club soda.

“I've had a long day,” she explained, obviously noticing Kevin’s look at her drink order. “Alcohol and jet lag don't mix.”

“I hear that,” Kevin said. “Last week, I flew in from Berlin, and I think I was a zombie for three days. I'm not a young man anymore, and I like my sleep.”

Noah would put Kevin somewhere in his fifties, but he still looked pretty fit for a guy who sat in an office all day.

“I guess we should get right to it,” Stacy said. “We love what you do on and off the field, Noah, and how you present yourself. Kevin and I have kept up with the negotiations and are aware of everything going on. Noah, we would be proud to have you as a sponsor of our sports drink.”

“I'm honored,” he said truthfully. “I know that you could have gone with any other athlete in any other sport. That you chose me means a lot. I promise I won't let you down.”

“Everything was outlined in the contract that we sent Hannah. If you agree to all of that and you don't have any questions, we can go ahead and sign. This dinner was just a formality. We wanted to meet you, get to know you a little, and enjoy our evening before we set a date to start the campaign.” Kevin leaned back in his chair, looking pretty happy for a guy that was about to pay Noah millions of dollars.

“Sounds great to me,” Noah said, looking to Zara for confirmation.

She nodded her head. “Hannah gave the go-ahead. It was up to Noah to make the final decision.” She smiled a real one, not a fake one. And he knew the difference. He'd seen the fake one many times. The real one he only saw sparsely.

“Fantastic!” Kevin said. “Let's get some food and celebrate. I know you have a long day tomorrow, Noah, so we won't keep you out late.”

All days were long when it was baseball season. His days consisted of going to the gym in the mornings, a big protein-packed breakfast, a nap, and then heading to the stadium for batting practice. He didn't like to stay out late in the off-season, let alone nights when he had games the next day.

They ate and chatted for a couple of hours, talking about all kinds of different things. He learned that Kevin was married and had two kids, both heading off to college in the next couple of years. Stacy was single after just coming out of a long relationship. She wasn't looking to get into another one anytime soon. Both of them lived in New York City and, from the sounds of it, enjoyed the hustle and bustle. Noah joined in, telling them about his life growing up with his parents and his sister in Colorado, his love of baseball from an early age, and what he did in his free time, which was honestly nothing, but they didn't need to know that. He also didn't tell them about his dad, who had passed away years ago from a tragic accident.

That was something he didn’t talk to anyone about.

Not ever.

He wasn't even sure if anyone on his team knew his dad was no longer living or that he died one night while fighting a fire.

It wasn't something he liked to talk about, think about, or even remember.

If his mom brought it up, which she did any time he saw her or talked to her, he quickly changed the subject, never wanting to hear about the night he lost his dad.

The night his world changed.

It was part of the reason why he'd freaked out the night he walked in on Zara naked. That fire in that building was reminiscent of the fire that had killed his dad. His mind was overtaken with thoughts of death, and somehow reflexes he hadn’t even known he’d, had kicked in, helping to get them both out of the building alive. His adrenaline was high, and by the time he got her outside, he was breathing heavily, his body gripped with fear. All he could think about was getting away from there as fast as he could.

Because breaking down in front of a woman he’d just seen naked, and then saving her life, was too much for him to handle.

He kept his feelings bottled up and never told anyone about them. Unless you counted his therapist. She knew everything and was trying to get him to be more open and deal with the situation.

He wasn’t ready. Not even twelve years after his dad’s death or seven years after the incident with Zara.

After about two hours, dinner was over, and Kevin and Stacy were heading out.

“I guess we should get out of here, too,” Zara said.

He wasn’t in any hurry to leave Zara’s company, but there was nothing to say to keep her there any longer. He pushed back in his chair, standing. He held out his hand for Zara, and just like earlier, she dismissed him, standing up on her own and walking in front of him toward the exit. The car was waiting for them outside, and they both slid inside. When the door shut behind them, Noah had just about enough.

All the emotions he worked so hard to control around Zara emerged.

“Do you hate me?” he asked, his voice showing every bit of his annoyance.

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t try to pretend like you don’t know why I want to keep my distance from you.”

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