Page 13 of Fielder's Choice

Now that I have her in bed, the guys are staring at me expectantly, waiting for me to tell them why they’re here.

Ari is the first to speak, either tired of waiting for me or ready to just give me shit. Knowing him, it’s the latter.

“So, how’s Liv?” he smirks.

“Again, who the fuck is Liv?” Knox grumbles.

“I would also like to know,” Josh says.

I sigh and sink into my sofa. “Liv is a woman I met yesterday when Ari and I were at Urban Grind.”

Ari laughs. “Met is one way of saying you were flirting with each other.”

Josh perks up. “You actually flirted with someone yesterday?”

Knox chimes in. “When was the last time you flirted with someone?”

I want to be irritated, but Josh and Knox have been there for me for years. Those two and Cole are the ones who supported me when I found out I was going to be a dad.

We all play on the Stars together with Ari. Josh is our third baseman, Cole is a killer shortstop, Ari plays first base, and Knox is the best starting pitcher in the entire league.

It’s really nice to be able to play the game you love with your closest friends. We even won the World Series together last year.

Well, not Ari. He still played for the Thunderbirds, who, ironically, are the team we beat to bring home the pennant.

He’s still a little salty over that.

“Yes,” I finally reply. “I flirted with Liv when I met her yesterday. She approached me first and seemed to have no idea who Ari and I were.”

“She was also completely shy and awkward,” Ari chuckles.

“I thought it was adorable,” I smile softly.

“Okay,” Josh says. “We know who Liv is now. What does this have to do with why we’re here?”

“Because I ran into Liv again today.”

Ari lights up. “Did you finally tell her your name, you cocky bastard?”

That pulls a laugh out of me. “Yes, I did. But she kind of already had it.”

“What does that mean?” Knox asks.

“It means that she knew the name Lane Brooks not as the guy from the coffee shop but as the father of Sage.”

“You’re being confusing and vague,” Josh chides.

I lean back against the sofa and look at the ceiling. “Liv that I met yesterday isOlive, my daughter’s fucking ballet teacher.”

“No shit!” Ari yells. “Small world.”

“Seems like you’re going to be seeing Liv a lot,” Knox adds.

“Yeah,” I sigh. “But I also learned that she’s fucking twenty-three.”

“Ooh, age gap!”

“You need to just form a book club with the girls, Ari, because you read as many romance books as they do.” He just shrugs. “I’m almost a decade older than her. What the hell can I do about that?”

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