Page 26 of The Pickleball Girl Finds Her Match

Sebastian went to one side of the net, Paco to the opposite. Sebastian hit the first ball over, then Paco returned it. They hit the ball smoothly back and forth, with Endy counting the number of hits. Fifty-four before the ball finally hit the net, putting an end to their rally.

Endy heard a car door slam, and she saw Valentina crossing the grass toward her.

“Endy, thank you so much for always waiting for me to get here,” said Valentina, her hand on Endy’s arm. “I’m the Mexican mom who is always ‘almost there’ when I’m nowhere close to being ‘almost there.’” Valentina started laughing.

Endy grinned. “Well, I got up early this morning so I could be late for work without rushing.” She put her hands on her hips.

Valentina’s eyes crinkled. “We wake up late, and we’re late. We wake up early, and we’re …”

“… also late,” they said in unison, laughing so hard that they had to lean against each other.

“Girl,” said Valentina, wiping tears from her eyes. “We are so lucky. Promise that you’ll stay with us until Paco finishes high school. What would all of us do without you?” She put her arms around Endy and squeezed.

“Jeez, Mom, why do you always gotta be so huggy?” said Paco as he jogged up to them. “Let’s go.” He grabbed Valentina’s jacket sleeve and dragged her toward the car. Walking away, Valentina put her arm around her son’s shoulders and turned back to give Endy a wink.

Endy smiled as she watched them walk to the car. Then she turned to the mess remaining under the awning.

There, Sebastian sat on a tabletop, his feet resting on the bench seat. His hairline was damp, and he pulled the hem of his T-shirt up to wipe the sweat from his face. Endy glanced at his flat, well-defined muscles peeking out from the bottom of his shirt. She inhaled deeply, smelling his delicious scent, a citrusy and earthy masculine combination. Sebastian really was dreamy, and Endy’s body responded, leaving her a bit lightheaded.

Sebastian noticed her faltering, so he shifted on the table and patted next to him, the gesture both friendly and seductive.

He handed her a bottle of water as she settled in beside him. “I’m glad you’re wearing that cute little skirt,” he said, looking her up and down out of the side of his eyes. Endy felt her face getting warm, and she smoothed the lavender-colored tennis skirt across her thighs. “You had that on when we first ran into each other. But then, you also had on a T-shirt that said ‘big dink energy.’”

Endy laughed. “I can’t believe you remember that. Sorry again for running off that day. I was late—”

“You don’t like being late,” Sebastian commented with a grin. “But you’re sogoodat it.”

Endy chuckled. “You overheard Valentina and me.”

“Yeah. It seems like she really likes you,” Sebastian said as he turned to fully face Endy. “All the people here seem to really like you.” A breeze blew across the table, and Sebastian tucked a loose strand of Endy’s hair behind her ear.

Endy smiled. “I like them, too.”

“I kind of really like you,” said Sebastian, a slow grin playing on his lips. His gaze covered Endy’s face, and over the hum of the desert slowing for the evening, they stared at each other with shallow breaths.

Endy looked down and bit her lower lip. Sebastian’s hand reached out and …Clunk!A hard bright green plastic ball flew through the air, hitting and bouncing off Endy’s head.

“He likes you!” Paco called out, making kissing noises as he ran up to the table. “Forgot something!”

He grabbed his backpack from underneath them and ran back to his mom’s car.

16

Endy drove slowly around the perimeter of the racquet club, the golf cart making an occasional scraping noise as she rolled over the speed bumps in the road. Picklers weren’t scheduled for practice, so she could take her time and enjoy the end of the day. The air smelled of heat, and the club was quiet, with most people settling down to their first cocktail of the evening.

In the quiet of the approaching dusk, the noise coming from the two pickleball courts at the far end of the racquet club sounded raucous, with the usual music and loud whoops filling the air.

Endy smiled to herself as the golf cart rounded the farthest point of the property and the pro shop came into view over the manicured grass of the croquet courts. The LED lights mounted on the tall poles over the sports courts had not yet blinked on, but night was just minutes away. The paths in between the courts were deserted with the exception of an elegantly dressed, older woman holding the leash to a black-and-white cocker spaniel that had stopped to sniff at the base of a nearby bougainvillea bush.

A loud cheer came from the pickleball courts causing the dog to startle. He pulled his leash from the woman’s hand, then darted off.

“Ollie, come back this instant! Ollie!”

From the safety beneath the bougainvillea bushes, a black-and-white tail trembled. The woman clicked her tongue, and a muscle in her jaw twitched as she knelt to pick up the leash that had dragged across the path.

Endy slowed the cart and rolled to a stop. “Good evening, Mrs. Tennyson.” Endy remembered their last interaction, just a few days ago during the community meeting, when Barbara had given her an icy stare and questioned whether a full-time employee was needed to run the pickleball program.

The attractive older woman glanced up. “The same to you, Miss …”

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