Page 48 of Stepping Up to the Plate

“Slow down, Honeybun. You’re asking more questions than the reporters at the press conference,” he laughs. “I am doing great, much better now that I can see you in the flesh. All the Rivera women are good. They both send their love. And I’ve put on a couple pounds of muscle since I saw you last. Only you would notice such a small change. You look skinnier than last time I saw you. Mama will send you food if she finds out.”

My cheeks heat at the intensity of his inspection. “You’re imagining things. It’s the shorter hair. I lost a little weight after the Phil debacle, but the food scene here brought it right back.”

Georgie’s eyes darken with what I can only describe as unbridled anger. “Don’t even say his name, Lo. He doesn’t deserve a single moment of recognition from you. I can still kick his ass if you want. There is no statute of limitations on punishment for fucking over my friend.”

“No need for that, but I appreciate the sentiment. We’re getting divorced. I’ve moved on. He’s… I don’t know what he’s doing and I don’t care.”

“That’s my girl,” he praises. “Speaking of moving on, where is this new guy? I want to meet him. I already know he’s not good enough, but I want to see how much.”

Georgie has always been overprotective of me. It’s part of the reason we went to prom together. Since he deemed no other man at our school worthy, he took me himself. Not being able to intimidate my dates when he was away for college was hard for him.

Even though he didn’t like Phil, at least he knew he could scare him. And he did. They were not each other’s biggest fans. It’s not hard to see now that Phil was threatened by my relationship with Georgie because I had another man in my life treating me better than he did. I wonder if my marriage would have ended sooner if we lived closer.

“You can’t judge him. You hardly know anything about him. He is amazing and you guys have a lot in common if you would give him a chance.”

“Hmm, we’ll see. Where is this guy not worthy of breathing the same air as you?”

“Be nice! He’s on his way. He should have left work a few minutes ago. Listen, Georgie, I really like him. He treats me like a queen. He makes me feel things I never thought I could.”

“TMI, Lola!” he interjects.

“Not like that,” I gasp.

“Notnotlike that, though,” a new voice says as Carina joins us.

“Carina,hermosa, being married agrees with you. Congratulations on the wedding. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, but some of us had to play in the All-Star game. You were a goddess among mortals in the pictures Lola sent.”

“Thank you, Georgie. You were missed. You’ll have to get all your flirting out now, though, before the hubby gets here.”

“Possessive, is he?” Georgie jokes.

“Oh yeah. But he’s got nothing on Lola’s man. Have you met Brady yet? They should be here by now. You also have to meet Tiffany. She’s been vying to replace you as Lola’s bestie. You better step it up.”

“Honeybun, how could you?!” he gasps in mock outrage.

“I didn’t do anything. She’s the one trying to steal your spot. She makes some good points though…” I tease.

“I’ll have to up my game then,” he says, pulling me into his side and kissing my hair.

Before I can respond, a voice booms over the music, “Get your fucking hands off my girl right now, Rivera, if you ever want to pitch again.”

Shit. I try to scoot away from Georgie, but he tightens his grip as we turn around to see a raging Brady. This isn’t off to a good start.

ChapterTwenty-Three

• BRADY •

Walking into Holler's, it is more crowded than usual. It doesn’t take long to discover it’s because some of the Foxes, the team we finished playing, decided to come here to lick their wounds. You’d never catch me out at a bar after losing away, but to each their own. I ignore them and search for my girl.

Her friend Georgie is in town for work and tonight, I finally get to meet her. Lola talks about her all the time, but I feel like I don’t know too much about her. I don’t even know what type of work brought Georgie into town.

As I approach the VIP section, I groan seeing my least favorite Fox chatting up two girls. It isn’t until I get closer that I realize those girls are Lola and Carina. I watch him put his arm around Lola, kissing her on the top of the head and I see red.

“Get your fucking hands off my girl right now, Rivera, if you ever want to pitch again,” I roar. As I approach, I see Lola try to shift away, but Rivera’s hold tightens. He has quite the reputation with the ladies, but he is sorely mistaken if he thinks he can hit on my woman.

“Did you not hear what I said, jackass?” I ask.

“Brady, calm down,” Lola interjects. Before I can respond, Rivera does.

---