I’m twenty minutes early, but I was ready and pacing the floors of the apartment. I needed to get out of there before I called Holden to bail, so here I am. Pulling into a spot next to the building, I put my car in park and reach for my phone. I’ll scroll through social media and check my email until he gets here. I barely have the screen unlocked when a knock sounds on my window, scaring me half to death. Holden waves and smiles.
Here goes nothing. Grabbing my keys, my purse, and sliding my phone inside, I climb out of the car. “You’re early,” I tell him.
“So are you.” He leans in and hugs me. “Thanks for coming, Parker,” he says softly before pulling away. This sweet, softer side is new, and if he keeps this up, it’s going to make it harder for me to pretend I don’t want him. He laces his fingers through mine and leads me into the diner. My hand tingles from the contact as the warmth of his skin soaks into mine.
He moves past the patrons, nodding when they call out to him, but he doesn’t stop until we reach a booth in the very back corner. He releases me, and I drop onto the bench.
“I’m starving,” he says as if his hug and hand holding didn’t just light my entire body on fire.
“How long have you been here?” I ask, finding my voice.
“About a half an hour or so. I didn’t want to miss you.”
“We said nine.”
“Yet here we are, sitting across from one another before nine.” He winks. “I hate to be late. It bothers me.”
“I don’t like to be late either. I hate to think that I’m holding someone up. And with college, I hate to be the last to enter class, with all eyes trained on me. Yeah, I’ll pass.”
He nods. “I get a lot of attention because of my career. I’ve found that if I’m one of the first to arrive at an event, there is less hoopla that comes my way, and instead, it’s shined on my teammates.”
“You don’t like the hoopla?” I ask.
“Nah, not really. Sure, I go with it. It comes with the job. I just wanted to play ball, you know? I wanted to make it my career, and it doesn’t feel like work. I get to play and train for the game I love.”
“You love to train?”
“It’s more like it’s a part of me. I started playing T-ball, and my coach then was adamant about physical fitness. My dad says he made us run at that age to wear us out so we would focus, you know, get rid of all of the excess energy.” He smiles. The look on his face tells me it’s a fond memory for him. “It just stuck with me. Even when the coach didn’t require it, I put in the work. In high school, I doubled my efforts. Going pro was my dream. One I wasn’t sure would happen, but I knew I was going to give it all that I had. I would know if I didn’t make it to the professional league that I gave all that I am to the sport and to my efforts to make my dreams come true.”
“That’s some serious dedication.”
“Nothing new to you. Your dad was one of the best first basemen in the league. And your brother-in-law is damn good too.”
“I see you’ve done your homework.”
“You made it easy when you showed up at our meeting last week. The guys talk. It helped that Cameron called out that you were his sister-in-law.” He laughs.
“Cam is a great guy. He loves my sister and my nephew something fierce.”
“As he should.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “I’ve seen a mix when it comes to professional athletes. There are guys like my dad and Cam, and then there are guys like Travis Henderson who openly sleeps with every cleat chaser who so much as looks at him. He brags about it. Did you know he was married for a while? He cheated on her, and she stayed with him for so long. Finally, she got smart and divorced his cheating ass.”
“What a dick.”
I tilt my head to the side to study him. “Cheating is a deal breaker. I don’t care how much I love someone. No excuse can back up the act.” I might as well make my thoughts on the subject clear. Not that I think that whatever this is will get to where I need to worry about being cheated on, but it’s good to be clear about what you want. To be clear about what you expect.
“I agree with you.”
“Well, I’ll be. Two of my favorites who haven’t been to see me in far too long,” Hattie says. She’s the owner of Momma’s Grill. Her great-grandmother opened the diner many, many years ago, and it’s been passed down from generation to generation.
I open my mouth to say hello, but I immediately clamp it shut when Holden stands from the booth and gently wraps his arms around the older woman. “Missed you too, Hat,” he tells her.
“It’s been too long,” I agree when he takes his seat.
“What can I get you kids?”
Holden nods for me to order. “Big breakfast for me. Bacon, wheat toast, over easy, and milk to drink.” I ask for my go-to breakfast order.
“And for you?” Hattie asks Holden.
“I’ll do the same.” Holden hands her back the menu without even looking at it.
“Coming right up.” Hattie gives us her signature friendly smile and rushes to put in our order.
“You want to see the houses?” he asks. There’s a sparkle in his eyes, and I admit his excitement is contagious.
“Yes.” I offer him a smile at the same time that he lifts his phone and snaps a picture of me. “What are you doing?”
“I wanted to capture your smile.” He taps the screen and turns his phone so I can see the picture. My eyes are bright, brighter than they should be after my sleepless night wondering how today would play out.
“House, Bailey,” I remind him.
“Right.” He slides out of his side of the booth and moves to sit next to me. I want to protest, but it does make it easier for both of us to look at his phone at the same time, so instead, I scoot over, giving him more room. “This is the first one.” He shows me a two-story monstrosity.
“That’s huge for one person,” I comment.
“They’re all big. They have a decent amount of land and privacy fences and gates.”
“My parents and my sister have the same at their places. It’s still a big place for just you.”
“Well, when you come to visit me, it won’t be just me.” He winks.
“I’m buying you a dictionary.”
“Perfect. I can put it in my new office once I choose a house.”
“You’re terrible.” I chuckle.
“Here we go, kids,” Hattie says. She places our plates overflowing with food in front of us, as well as two tall glasses of milk. “I’ll be right back with some jelly for the toast and syrup for your pancakes.” With that, she scurries away.
“Good choice, sweet pea,” Holden says, squeezing my thigh under the table.
My breath hitches in my chest, and I pray he doesn’t notice, but I should have known better.
He leans over, placing his lips right next to my ear. “You’re beautiful.” He turns back around and dives into his food. His hand is no longer on my thigh, but his leg is pressed against mine, and I can still feel his hot breath against my skin. My body can’t seem to get the memo that we’re taking this slow. Holden’s touch is electric, and I can see myself easily craving his touch, craving his warmth.