Page 33 of Hard Ball

I freeze, realizing he has a very good point.

He gives me one last smile before he turns and leaves, the dull throb of my knuckles the only reminder that I actually stood up for myself. Because right now I feel about four feet tall. How did that just happen? How did he take away all of my power with a single sentence?

How could I be stupid enough to think I could threaten him with something like that? Of course, his father would protect him.

That was so fucking stupid.

15

Josh

“Have a good night,” Henry calls from his office as I make my way to the front door. I decided to come sign some paperwork tonight since I had the time, and ever since my disaster of a game, I haven’t had much of that to go around.

As I walk outside, I stop, taking a deep breath, hearing footsteps behind me.

“Josh?” Harper’s voice echoes in the night as I close the door and turn, shocked that she’s here. “What are you doing here so late?” she asks, looking down, and my eyes can’t help but do the same.

“I came to see Henry.”

The confused look in her eyes is adorable, and so I give her a small smile.

“To sign some paperwork, you know the boring stuff that you leave for Henry.” I wink, knowing it’s actually the opposite.

She gives me a small laugh and I bask in it.

“So you’re going through with the deal?”

I nod. Will asked me the same thing this morning while we were practicing. I was told early on in my career to be mindful of small business contracts, but to me, this was a no-brainer. Stevens Place might be small in comparison to some other contracts, but they are a staple in Toronto. They love their clients and more importantly they love baseball, which is something that will never waver for me, and seeing that same dedication in someone else is refreshing.

“Yeah, I thought it was a good move, and I can’t deny the perks are pretty good…” I wink, loving the blush that’s dusting her cheeks.

My eyes can’t help but take her in once again, but this time in more detail. The heat of my gaze has her fidgeting and to be honest, I love the way she gets nervous around me. If I knew for one second that she wasn’t into this, I would leave. Yet, seeing the heat in her gaze as I take her in, I know she wants this, almost as much as I do.

When a gust of wind comes and whips her hair across her face, her hand comes up to touch her face, I suck in a breath, noticing the blood on her knuckles.

“Jesus, Harper, what the hell happened?” I growl, stepping toward her and gently taking the exposed knuckles and lightly brushing my fingers over them. When she flinches, pulling away from me, my eyes flick to hers.

“Nothing happened.” She averts her gaze, my first clue that she’s lying, but I can also see the fear in her eyes and at that moment a pit forms in my stomach.

“Sunshine, did someone do this to you?” My concern is thick as her gaze turns grateful, which sends a sense of calm over my entire body.

“Actually, I did this to someone else.” She smiles, almost like she’s waiting for me to laugh, but I don’t.

The idea of someone threatening her to the point she had to defend herself makes me angrier than I like to admit.

“I went to a bar with Mel and Cole showed up.”

I say nothing because as much as I want to know what happened, I have to restrain myself. But I don’t have to wait long before she answers that question for me.

“He wanted to get back together and didn’t like the fact that I said no.”

“Sunshine, that could have been so much worse,” I admit, my mind playing out all the other scenarios that could have played out. Before she can respond, I’m in front of her, both my hands cradling her face as I touch my forehead to hers. “You have no idea how much worse that could have been…” I admit, not knowing if I’m talking to her or myself. I know I’m trying to reassure myself that she’s fine and standing in front of me, but her hands come to rest on top of mine and her eyes lift.

All I want to do is kiss her.

“I’m okay. I showed him the business end of my fist,” she whispers, that slight smile killing me with every passing second. She keeps that up, I won’t be able to keep myself in check much longer.

“We need to get you cleaned up before this gets infected.” My hands leave her face as I cradle hers in mine. “Were you headed home?” I ask as her eyes travel to our hands. I can tell she’s in her own little world right now, so I squeeze her hand as her eyes jerk up to mine.

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