Page 74 of A Spot of Trouble
“Say yes. Forget about Guns and Hoses. Let’s agree to do this—you and me, no matter what happens on the softball diamond.” Intensity rolled off him. It was almost enough to make Violet believe that was he was saying was possible.
She took a shaky inhale. “No matter what?”
“No matter what.” He reached for her hands and squeezed them tight.
This was madness. A million things could happen between now and the Fourth of July, and not one possible scenario ended with both of them winning. The only possible answer to his question was a resounding no.
She opened her mouth to tell him so, but the word that slipped out was quite the opposite.
“Yes,” she heard herself say.
Wait, that wasn’t right. That’s not what she‘d meant to tell him at all.
Sam grinned and Violet’s knees turned to water. “Yes?”
“Yes,” she said again, and this time there was an imaginary exclamation point after her answer.Yes! Yes, yes, yes.“No matter what happens.”
“No matter what,” he murmured, and then he took her face in his hands and kissed her.
And the moment his lips came down on hers, Violet knew this kiss was different from the others. There was an urgency in the way he held her, and a desperation in her grip as she balled his jersey into her fists. She and Sam were no longer playing games. This was happening…and it wasreal.No matter what.
“I’ve got to go win a bet now,” he whispered into her hair as he held her tight.
“I’d wish you good luck, but you know it would be a lie,” she said.
Would it, though? Did she even care how this tournament turned out anymore? Violet wasn’t altogether sure. Somewhere along the way, things had changed between her and Sam. Whatever they were, she liked it a lot more than simply being softball adversaries.
Violet didn’t evenlikesoftball. How had she let herself get so caught up in all of this feud craziness in the first place?
“See you later.” Sam gave her another quick kiss—tender and sweet this time—and then he called Cinder to follow him.
He flashed her a wink as the door to the cupcake truck swung shut behind him.
Violet sighed dreamily and sagged against the counter. “Did that really just happen, Sprinkles?”
The Dalmatian yipped and did a little tap dance inside her pink crate.
“Don’t you worry. Your days of being imprisoned are numbered.” Violet grinned as she slid the order window back open.
The first six innings of the game passed in a blur. Violet did her best to keep up with the action on the softball diamond, but she had a constant stream of customers throughout the morning. She’d never sold so many cupcakes in her life. It was a good thing she’d made extra.
As the game wore on, she noticed that people seemed to be ordering the Dalmatian cupcakes almost exclusively. During a quiet moment in the top of the seventh inning, she planted her elbows on the counter and peered toward the field.
The police department was up by just one hit. The Hoses were up to bat, and Sam waited on the bench, next in line. As usual, Cinder was situated right beside him. But her behavior was strikingly different than it had been during the other games she’d attended. Come to think of it, Violet wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Sam’s dog so excited.
The Dalmatian paced back and forth in the dugout, rising up to plant her front paws on the chain link fence when the bat made contact with the ball. As Sam’s teammate rounded the bases, Cinder jumped up and down on her back legs, as if she were on a pogo stick.
Violet laughed out loud. She looked like a little doggy cheerleader out there.
“Nash!” Chief Murray yelled toward the dugout from his position near third base. “I can’t believe I’m having to say this, but you need to get that dog under control.”
“Well, well, well,” Violet said, grinning at Sprinkles. “Look who’s the best-behaved Dalmatian now.”
Sprinkles had indeed been extra sweet lately. Not that she wasn’t always Violet’s favorite dog in the entire world, because she definitely was—no matter how many chewed-up shoes and stolen cupcakes might be sacrificed to Sprinkles’s naughty streak.
That naughty streak had been somewhat subdued lately, which only proved Violet’s point that a dog would behave just fine as long as you heaped loads of love and affection onto the canine in question. Respect too, obviously.
Finally,Violet thought. At long last, she was getting her life in order. Her Dalmatian was starting to settle down and her cupcake truck business was booming, thanks to her spotted black-and-white culinary creations. Even her love life was looking up. It was almost too good to be true.
