Page 20 of Rescued Heart

Bianca tucked her hair behind her ears and tugged up the front of her dress. She totally should have worn something with straps.

Scarlette choked up on the bat, moving her fingers toward the barrel.

Eddie pitched, and Scarlette swung, sending the ball in the air right to left field. Bianca sprinted forward. The shortstop jumped, but the ball cleared his mitt and bounced on the edge of the infield. Bianca bent over and grabbed it with her bare hand. Scarlette had rounded first, heading toward second. There was still time to make the throw.

Bianca wound her arm back. Except the second baseman wasn’t near the bag. He gawked at her.

So did the shortstop. The third baseman had his phone out, aimed at her.

Eddie raced over, and in one quick motion of his hand, swiped something off the side of her dress along her leg.

Bianca turned in a circle. “Was it a bug?”

“No.” Eddie’s cheeks darkened. Was he…blushing? “Your dress had sort of flipped up on the hem, and your leg…”

Scarlette took her helmet off and adjusted her ponytail from second base. “Don’t worry. It was only the top of your leg. We couldn’t see your underwear.”

It was Bianca’s turn to blush. “Th-that’s good.”

Not exactly.

She dropped her gaze away from Eddie’s stormy expression.

He sighed. “Scout, it’s your turn up to bat. Tank, hand over your phone.”

Tank groaned. “But…”

Eddie shook his head. “Make sure it’s unlocked. Ms. Pearl doesn’t need anyone to see that video.”

No longer Bianca. Only Ms. Pearl. Sometimes she got tired of her middle name. Maybe joining practice to win over Eddie wasn’t part of the perfect plan.

Once Tank surrendered the phone, Eddie made a few swipes on the screen.

Bianca pushed back her shoulders and held out the borrowed mitt. “Thanks for protecting me again. You’re right. I don’t need any more poor press.”

She yanked at the hem of her dress along her legs and dropped her voice lower. “I really don’t mean to cause a distraction.”

Eddie lifted the bill of his baseball cap. “Was there something you needed?”

Finally, her cue. “Actually, I was wondering if we could spend some time together and maybe talk.”

Eddie’s gaze shifted to hers. “About the fire?”

Something seemed to burn in his eyes, and Bianca hesitated. “Um, that wasn’t exactly on my agenda.”

A laugh echoed from behind Bianca’s shoulder, and Eddie pointed his mitt right at Tank, who was on third base. “Don’t you dare throw another dirt clod.”

This was never going to work. She needed to suggest a different scene location. “What time is practice over? We can meet at, say, eight?” Practice wouldn’t be longer than three hours, would it?

Eddie rubbed his fingers along the seams of the baseball in his hand. “I have to run a lot of these boys home. It will be too late. But I’m glad you stopped by. It’s good to know that you’re…doing well. If you ever need to talk about the fire, or if you remember anything about the arsonist, I know the police chief or my crew would be ready to hear your report.”

His crew. Not him. He was declining her.

Rejection never got easier.

She handed over the mitt. “If I think of anything new about the fire, I’ll let your department know. Good luck with the team, and thanks again for everything the other night.”

She grabbed her heels, slipped them on, and filed out the gate to her rented car.

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