Page 62 of The Double Play

“I’ll call Brock over breakfast and get his thoughts. It’s probably going to be a little chaotic for a couple of days,” I say, because I want to be honest with her. “But like I said last night, we can get through it. If I need to, I’ll give June a talk about school and what to say to people.”

Hazel sighs. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Me either, but she’s a smart kid. She’ll understand if it does, and I’ll make sure her teachers know to watch out for her in case any kids try to bother her.”

“If the media drags June into this, I’m going to hate them as much as you, maybe more,” Hazel says sourly.

I chuckle. “That’s my girl. You’ll have to keep that fire if you’re sticking around.”

“I meant what I told June,” she says, her voice more confident than before. “As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be here.”

My throat tightens at her declaration. I cross the distance between us and press a fervent kiss to her soft lips. She kisses me back with the same passion. Though neither of us says the word aloud, it’s felt in the all-encompassing nature of our kiss.

Forever.

Chapter twenty-nine

Emmett Foster

Istepoutsideafterfinishing the last bite of the pancake I grabbed to go with my coffee. There was no need for syrup, but June and Raven seemed to disagree. I’d much rather still be inside, hiding my laughter while Hazel explains golf to June…Hazel knows as much about golf as she does about baseball. Miles would be appalled. I considered recording the conversation for him. I would have, if I didn’t think he would hyperfixate on my recording Hazel at all. It’s not going to be fun telling the guys about our relationship. Jason is going to spend the better part of an hour giving a speech on how heknew it all along.

Even as I think of all the ways they’ll tease me, I can’t stifle the smile tugging at my lips. That’s becoming more and more normal for me because of Hazel. I used to reserve my smiles for family, but Hazel is softening me to more than just her. Emerson will be thrilled if he ever gets over my laughing at him. We’ll see at practice later.

My thumb sticks a little to my screen as I find Brock’s contact and hit call. While I might be able to smile about the guys teasing me, there’s no grinning through this conversation. Brock might be happy for me as a friend, but as myagenthe’s not going to like that I flipped the script on him in such a delicate situation. He could have gotten ahead of this, but now I’ll look duplicitous. Which means he’ll have more damage control to do.

“This is Jones,” he answers in lieu of hello.

“Are you a sports agent or a secret service agent?” I ask in an attempt to lighten his mood. Based on his lack of laughter, I don’t think it worked. I shouldn’t have tried to joke like the other guys would, it doesn’t suit me.

“What’s wrong?” Brock asks, getting straight to it.

There’s an odd beeping sound in the background. It reminds me of when I was at the hospital with Hazel recently. The noise was incessant and I didn’t understand how the nurses could bear listening to it all day. Where is he? I push away the curiosity. Wherever he is, he won’t appreciate me delaying our conversation to ask him. He’s probably got more people calling him right this second.

“Nothing’s wrong,” I tell him. “But there’s been a change in plans.”

He sighs. “You’re in love with the girl, aren’t you?”

I scratch the back of my neck. “I’m on my way there, yeah.”

“Why couldn’t you have–” he cuts off. The beeping sound in the background intensifies, making me frown. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle retracting the previous statements. It would be good if you posted something on social media, maybe a photo of you two at your next game. Butonlyif this is serious,” he emphasizes.

“You know I’m not the type to have a fling.”

“I also thought you were the type to be straightforward with me, but here we are.”

I wince at his tone. It’s not entirely undeserved. If I would have been less afraid of my feelings in New York, this whole situation would be a lot easier. Not easy, but easier.

“You’re right, and I’m sorry. I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself back then.”

Another weary sigh. “No, I’m sorry for snapping at you. This is a part of the job. You shouldn’t shift your life around to work for what’s best for me. I’m the agent, not you.”

“I shouldn’t make your life harder though.”

He laughs, but it sounds hollow. “This is a cakewalk compared to the other things I’ve had to deal with this week. Don’t worry about it, Emmett. Just follow what I said,lay low, and enjoy time with your new girlfriend. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Is there anything else I can do to help?”

I know all the guys have been concerned about him working too much, me included. I hate that I’m adding to his burden rather than taking away.

---