Page 11 of Home Run Fiancé
The young girl with the flowers in her hair and fresh face devoid of makeup is gone. In her place stands a woman I don’t quite recognize.
She rolls her eyes and I finally see someone familiar. It’s oddly comforting.
“Pretty sure we agreed to Rhys, not silly nicknames.” She tilts her head. “Though you are getting up there in age. Perhaps you forgot our terms?”
That little minx. “Twenty-eight is hardly ‘up there’ and I remember you asked me not to call you nicknames. But I never agreed to it.”
I let that sink in, enjoying the fire that lights in those brown eyes. The eyebrow reacts next, arching higher on her forehead with her disapproval.
“Ready to go, old man?”
Guess she’s okay with nicknames.
Pulling my keys out of my pocket, I lock my door and stand close to her, purposely looking down at her in case she’s wondering who has the upper hand here.
“Ready if you are, sweetheart.”
I grab her hand and tug her after me, walking slower than normal so she doesn’t have issues keeping up in her stilettos. She’s gorgeous. I’m proud to have her by my side out for this date. But I almost miss the girl that stood up to me at Asher’s house, spitting fire while looking so innocent and naive. She roughly tugs her hand out of mine and I bite my lip to hide my smile.
When we reach my Escalade, I make sure she gets into the passenger’s side safely before shutting her door and rounding the hood to the driver’s side. I slide in, but not without letting out a quiet groan. Now that we’re back to Spring Training, our trainers have been pushing us hard, trying to get us ready for the season. My muscles feel it and while the round-the-clock soreness is a pain—literally—I know I’m getting stronger and that makes me happy. Stronger and faster means I’m a better trade for the Sliders to pick up.
“I was just teasing you about the old-man status, but now that you’re groaning getting into the car, I guess it applies.”
I glance over to Rhys, her face lit up with an impish smile. I’m discovering rather quickly I’ll have to stay on my toes around her. She seems super personable like Asher, but she has a much sharper bite.
“I use my body for a living, so yes, I’m sore quite often. I’ll try to keep my groaning to a minimum.” I start the car and pull into traffic. “Hey, do I smell okay?”
She leans closer and sniffs, her cheeks turning pink. “Um, yeah, why?”
I grin out the windshield as I maneuver through LA traffic. “Just making sure you can’t pick up on the Bengay I had to use.”
She scoffs and backhands my bicep, her many bracelets jangling with the movement. “Oh, shut up.”
“Hurt your hand?”
I see her shake her head in my peripheral vision. “That ego…” But she says it with a small smile.
We discuss music the rest of the way to The Ivy, finally finding a radio station we can both compromise on. I pull up to the valet and turn to her before I open my door.
“You ready for this?”
Her smile is shaky, and I don’t miss the way she takes a deep breath. “You bet.”
I like her enthusiasm.
I pop open my door and immediately a couple flashes hit my eyes. Asher did his job well, which doesn’t surprise me. The valet attendant takes my keys and I hustle over to Rhys’s side of the car. I open her door and she takes my hand to slide out like she’s used to exiting a vehicle to the flash of cameras.
We both have smiles plastered to our face and I just hope they look natural to everyone else. I tug her into my side and then into the restaurant quickly, like we don’t want our picture taken. Once inside, the paparazzi can’t bother us and the hostess seats us quickly.
I pull out her chair and ignore the glances from other tables. It’s like the Who’s Who of Hollywood and, quite frankly, I don’t care about any of that. I’m only here to be seen to set the stage for my trade to Texas.
“I think that went well,” I whisper to her once we’re sipping on water and perusing the menu.
Her face is flushed, but otherwise, she looks no worse for wear. Some women take to celebrity like fish to water. Rhys doesn’t strike me as a woman that cares one way or the other about the attention. But I’ve been known to get it wrong before.
“Easy peasy.” She smiles as she skims the menu. “What’s good here?”
I set my menu down and lean closer, catching her hand and holding it there on the table for all to see. “Everything.”
