Page 14 of Unexpected Forever
He sips his drink. “Yeah, but it’s all I ever wanted to do.”
“Really?”
“Baseball was the only thing I focused on.” He swirls his glass. “I waited until my senior year to go into the draft so it wouldn’t take much to finish my degree in business from the University of Tennessee. I guess in some way I knew I couldn’t play the game forever. But it still sucks not being there.”
“Whydidyou retire? I mean, you’re not old.”
With a chuckle, he sips his drink before answering. “Thirty-seven is considered getting old in the majors.”
“You’re thirty-seven?”
“My knees know it. I’ve been squatting in the catcher position for a long time. I’ve been a catcher for more than twenty years.”
He pauses, searching my face before continuing. “I wanted to go out on top. And the doctors told me my knees would have permanent damage if I went on much longer. Most catchers average about thirteen seasons and I was on my sixteenth. Plus my lower back decided enough was enough.”
“Well, you had an amazing career.”
He smiles into his glass before taking a sip. “I hit all the goals I had for myself when I entered the league and more. It was the right time.”
“Megan’s so proud of you, but I know she’ll be glad to be able to see you more often. At least until you go into managing.”
He doesn’t say anything, just raises a brow, with a slight smile on his lips.
I play with the ends of my hair, my stomach fluttering. “Megan told me. I’m not keeping up with you or anything.”
A grin curves his lips, making my stomach flip. “You know, she told me a lot about you too.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Things like you’re a little firecracker. You’re loyal to your family. You took her in like one of your own and helped her get a job, and even though she’s only known you a few months, you’re the best friend she’s ever had. Which is saying something. Megan gets along with everyone, but hasn’t always had luck with friends.”
Pushing off the column behind him, he sets his glass on the railing and steps toward me, nearly closing the space between us. “But there is one thing she didn’t tell me.”
I tip my head back slightly, which makes my chest push out toward him. “What’s that?”
Is that breathless voice mine? It’s ruining myplay it coolgame. But as I watch his lips while he talks, I want them on my skin so bad I can taste it.
I have no chill where this man is concerned.
“That meeting you would make me feel like I’ve been hit in the head by a fastball.” He licks his bottom lip. “To be honest, I haven’t been able to think straight since I opened my door and saw you in that dress.”
My breath backs up in my lungs, and he shifts his body, bringing him even closer.
He looks at me from underneath beautifully long lashes and rubs his chin. The look tells me he wants to devour me in two big bites.
I’d die a happy woman.
“What? This old thing?” I run a hand over my hip and bat my eyes, despite the fact my heart races.
His grin widens. I wonder if he even knows the power of his smile. “I shouldn’t like your mouth so much, but I can’t help myself.” He lifts a hand and pushes a lock of hair behind my ear.
With the heat of his body against my front and the cool wood against my back, goose bumps break out over my skin and I tremble.
I swallow hard before I find my voice. “I shouldn’t want you to touch me, but I can’t help the fact I want your hands all over me.”
Lust flares in his eyes and a zing of electricity rushes up my spine when he finally steps close enough to cage me between his big, broad body and the column behind me. Excitement and anticipation fight for top spot in my belly as I look up at him.
“Wouldn’t my touching you break that sabbatical of yours?”
