Page 13 of Wild Pitch

“Remember, you’re supposed to be my girlfriend,” I say quietly. “You have to at leastactlike you can stand to be around me.”

She continues walking, forcing a smile. “Don’t worry,Val,” she says. “I’m great at wearing a mask at these things.” I cock an eyebrow in question because I have no idea what she means by that, but she just pushes her shoulders back and walks straight down the middle of the room. I settle a hand on her lower back as we make our way down the aisle, noticing that every guy stops what he’s doing and stares as she passes by. I don’t fucking blame them because she’s a goddamn knockout. But if they keep it up while she’s very clearly here with me, I’m going to add another fight to the long list of reasons I’m in deep shit with the team.

As we approach our table, Taylor turns away from the bar, catching my eye. I’m reminded of everything that was said in our meeting after I assaulted Friggle, and my mind starts going in a million different directions at once. As the panic starts to settle in, I grab Monroe by the arm and run to the nearest corner, spinning us so that her back is toward the room while I look beyond her shoulder nervously.

“What the hell are you doing?” she says, pulling away from me.

“I can’t!” I whisper-yell, shaking my head rapidly. “They’re going to know!”

Her brows pull together in confusion. “Knowwhat?”

I force an annoyed exhale, although I’m not sure why. It’s not like she can read my mind, especially when I was as cool as a cucumber ten seconds ago. I swallow, doing my best to stop the dry heaves that are threatening to make an appearance before I explain. “My dumb lie got us into this mess! What if they ask questions about our relationship and the word-vomit just starts coming out? I can’t be trusted, Monroe! I’m aliability!”

I’m about to go into a full-blown panic attack when she grabs hold of my shoulders, giving me a stern shake. “Look at me, Riggs.” As soon as she says it, I bring my eyes up to hers, and even though she looks annoyed with me, it’s calming. My heart rate slows, and I take a deep breath in through my nose, exhaling through my mouth as her gaze stays on mine.

“It’ll be fine, I promise. Just follow my lead, okay?” I nod my head as she takes my hand, weaving our fingers together and walking back toward the table full of Fury employees. Heat travels up my arm with every step, and I almost walk into several people because I can’t stop staring at where we’re connected. Even though I touched this woman on almost every inch of her body that night, for some reason, holding her hand feels more intimate than any of that.

“Valentine,” our shortstop, Dante Cole says with a nod. I lift my chin in greeting as Monroe slides over so her side is pressed against mine before extending her hand.

“Hi,” she says with a bright smile. I turn my head, taken aback because I’ve never actually seen this expression. I’ve seen her laugh like she does with my sister. Or the way she giggled at the baby she was playing with at my game the other day. I’ve obviously seen her pissed. I’ve even seen her cry via Facetime during Grace and Tanner’s wedding. But this—whatever kind of smile this is—is new. “I’m Monroe Decker, Riggs’ girlfriend.” They exchange a handshake, and she moves on to each person sitting at the table, introducing herself and striking up an easy conversation. I watch in awe as she captivates everyone, outwardly showing how interested she is in what they have to say.

While I love the way she’s leaning into her role, it’s unsettling how comfortable she is in what would otherwise be a veryuncomfortablesituation. We came in here fifteen minutes ago and she didn’t know anybody. Like it was something she’d been doing all her life, a mask of positivity slipped over her face as she initiated introductions with my colleagues and teammates before I even had a chance to tell them who she was. How did she get so good at faking the woman I’m watching right now? Because in the time I’ve known her and all the situations I’ve seen her in, this isn’t Monroe.

Just as she’s wrapping up her conversation with my centerfielder, José Maiello, Taylor makes her way over to the table. “This must be the girlfriend,” she says, a kind smile blooming across her face. “I’ve been dying to meet the woman that managed to tame this wildcard.” She motions to me, and I smile nervously. I’m just hoping I can get through this conversation without blurting out that none of this is real and that I’m not tamed. That Monroe isonly here because I bribed her by offering to help her start her business.

Thankfully, my new girlfriend once again takes the reins and does her own introduction. “Well, I don’t know if I’ve tamed him, but I’m certainly working on it,” she replies with a grin, wrapping her small hands around my arm and leaning into me. My muscle flexes under her touch, and I wish I could will away the sparks that are firing off under the taut sleeve of my dress shirt. “Monroe Decker,” she says, putting her hand out for Taylor to shake. She does, and then looks up at me with an expression of approval.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Taylor replies. “I’m sure I’ll see you around at the stadium. Have a great night, you guys,” she says to the table, and they all wave as she turns and moves on to the next group of people awaiting her. I breathe a sigh of relief, internally patting myself on the back for keeping all my nervous words inside my body.

Now that one of the people I need to convince is out of the way, I relax a little, pulling out a chair for Monroe to sit in. Playing the part, she gives me a sweet smile before moving to lower herself into it. But before she gets there, Taylor calls for her.

“Monroe!” She says, waving her hand. “Come over here and meet some of the ladies!” The overly happy expression that had fallen from her face goes right back on as she stands to her full height, kisses me on the cheek, and walks toward the group of women. I recognize some of them as the wives of my teammates, but I think some of the others are probably just here because it’s a charity event and they have a lot of money. I let her go, sitting in the seat that was waiting for her.

“She seems like a good one, Val,” José says, jutting his chin out to where Monroe is now waving her hands animatedly in conversation. “I guess your luck never runs out, huh?”

“She is,” I reply, unable to take my eyes off her. “I think I’ll keep her.”

TEN

MONROE

“Where are you from originally?”Dana asks as she holds her champagne glass gingerly between her manicured fingers. I learned that she runs one of the children’s charities the baseball team works with, so she’s here to thank everyone whose donations make a difference in the lives of the kids she works with. She seems nice, but something about her has been rubbing me the wrong way since I came over here.

“Well, I’m originally from California. But I met Riggs in Boston, where I’ve been living for the last two years,” I reply.

“We were all so surprised to hear that he actually has a girlfriend,” she says. “To be honest with you, for a while there, we thought maybe you weren’t real.”

“It was a whirlwind at first, but he ended up winning me over. Now I can’t imagine my life without him,” I say, glancing over my shoulder at the table where he’s talking to his teammates. It’s not a complete lie. Our night together was definitely a whirlwind. So what if the eventsthat have happened since aren’t exactly the stuff of fairytales? Fake it till you make it, right? I’m just here to make him look good so the team stops putting so much pressure on him to straighten up.

The woman next to me—Sasha, I think her name is—scoffs quietly. I slide my eyes over in her direction, narrowing them slightly becausewhat the fuck is this bitch’s problem? Ever since Taylor called me over here, I’ve felt a negative energy coming from her. I’m really good at reading vibes, and hers suck.

“What?” I ask, every nerve in my body on high alert as she slowly takes a sip from her glass and lowers it.

“Oh, nothing,” she says with a fake-as-fuck smile. “It’s just that everybody knows that Riggs Valentine doesn’t generally keep the company of a woman longer than a few hours. I know from experience that that man isn’t capable of giving more than a couple of orgasms before he makes his way to the next unsuspecting victim.”

I look up at the other women, expecting them to be shocked at her words, but aside from Taylor who now has her eyes averted to another part of the room, they’re looking back at me as if this is old news. As if they’re all in agreement that there’s nothing more to Riggs than what he does in the bedroom. But they’re wrong.

He and I may have our differences, and maybe we’ll never mesh, but I’ve watched him with his family and friends. I know that when his sister was younger, he and his best friend included her in everything they did, no matter how annoying she was. I know that when his dad had back surgery, he used almost his entire offseason to help him run their construction business, refusing to take any money in return. I also know that since I’ve movedhere, I haven’t added a single thing to his grocery list, yet all my favorites continue to show up in the delivery order.

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