Petey stares up at me, his eyes wide. I pick him up and nuzzle him. At least my animals love me as I am. So do Hayley and Katie.
And Brady likes you, my heart whispers.
I shove the unpleasant family thoughts aside and focus on Brady. I think he could be someone who truly understands me. Especially the stuff with Ari. Not the fact that we don’t get along, of course, as he is incredibly close to Brody. But the constant comparisons to your sibling. I know he knows what that feels like.
I consider this as I set Petey on the floor and rise from my seat. I pick up my bowl and take it back into my tiny galley kitchen, thinking of how Brady not only has to handle the sibling comparison to his brother but do it in the public eye. On social media. With questions from reporters. I can’t imagine having to deal with that issue being shoved in my face all the time.
Now, that would take my irritation to a whole new level.
I head back into the living room and walk toward my bedroom. I call for Willy and Petey to come, as it’s time for me to get back to work. They dutifully race into my room, and I smile happily. No matter what is going on in my personal life, these two boys bring me such joy.
“Mom has to go back to work,” I say. Both of my boys run inside their cage. It’s funny. I’ve ferret-proofed my room so they can run freely while I’m gone, but they do prefer to nap in their cages if I’m not home. I shut the door behind me, take a moment to gather my things, and then I’m off. I trot down the stairs, and as I hit the last one, my phone rings.
I have it in my hand with my keys, so I flip it over. It’s Hayley.
“Hello?” I say, answering it as I head outside. Today, it is overcast, with a twenty percent chance of rain, but for now, it’s holding off. Which is good, because I have to walk a block to get to my parking spot.
“You had a date with Brady!” Hayley yells into the phone.
She’s not asking. She’s telling me.
Which means Brady must have told Brody.
My heart skips a beat. This is an excellent sign, that he told Brody.
Wait. My heart stops skipping and comes to a screeching halt. Or being that they are twins, they share everything, and this isn’t an indication of how much he likes me, but merely a conversation.
I need to go back to The Torn Page and get that Twinsense book so that I can decode this.
“Addison, are you there?” Hayley cries.
I blink. “Yes, I’m here. And yes, I did.”
“Oh my God, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t sure what would happen,” I say as I once again navigate my heels over the cobblestones. “I didn’t want to have you get your hopes up that we’d click, then come back and tell you we didn’t. I didn’t even know if he’d ask me out again, you know?”
“Oh, my dear sweet friend, I could have told you that if Brady asked you out, he’s immensely interested. He hasn’t asked anyone out since Grace. During spring training, he told Brody that he wasn’t going to pursue dating or hookups or anything; he was all about pitching. But something changed his mind. And that would be you.”
I’m so surprised, I trip over a cobblestone. “Ouf!” I blurt out, throwing out my hand in the air for balance. Whew! I right myself before I faceplant on the sidewalk.
But as soon as I’m standing upright, Hayley’s intel hits me all over again.
Brady came here intending to stay away from women.
Until he met me.
All the giddy feelings hit me at once. My heart skips. My stomach flutters. A chill sweeps over my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
And nothing but pure exhilaration and joy fills me from head to toe.
“Addison? Are you okay?”
“Yes!” I cry in delight. “So, what did Brady say about it?”
“Oh, I know exactly what he thinks, but I might have to withhold it because you didn’t tell me you had a date with him.”
“Hayley!” I nearly shout. “Tell me!”
Hayley laughs as I resume my walk. “Okay, okay. He told Brody he met you again at the photo shoot and that you hit it off. He asked you out, you said yes, and he had a great date with you, and he’s going to see you after the game tonight. Hey! Speaking of which, do you want to go? I’m going with Barbara and Dominik. Katie is studying for finals, so we have an extra seat.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t want Brady to think I’m stalking him.”
I hear a loud snort on the other end of the line. “He’s not pitching tonight; I fail to see how this is stalking him.”
“I don’t know,” I say, mulling it over.
“Come on. It will be fun! Ooh, take the Metro, and Brady could drive you home.”
I blush. “But what if he thinks I did that so he could drive me home?”
“Oh my God, you are making me mental. He is coming over after the game. He wants to see you. You are giving him more time to be with you, and not only that, you are going because you go all the time with me. Trust me, he’s not going to freak out.”
I’m being stupid. Hayley is right.
“Okay, I’ll go.”
“Perfect! I’m having dinner with Barbara and Dominik first, so come on over for that. Dinner is at five-thirty if you can make it.”
Ooh, that does sound good. I love Hayley’s elderly next-door neighbors, and Barbara is a master of old-school cooking. Whenever Hayley invites me to come with her for a visit, I leave feeling happy and nourished, both with food and love.
“You’ve sealed it,” I say. “If for any reason I can’t make dinner, I’ll text you.”
“I’ll email you your ticket, so you have that. And let Barbara know you’re coming; she will be happy to see you. She’ll want to know everything about your date. As do I!”
I blush happily. “I’ll share, I promise.”
I reach my car and end the call with Hayley. I slip behind the wheel and take a moment to send Brady a text:
I know we agreed to meet at my place after the game, but Hayley just invited me to the game tonight, and I’m going to go. If I take the Metro, would you like to drive me home afterward?
I wait a few minutes to see if he responds before I start driving.
He doesn’t.
I sigh and turn on my car. I know he’s probably doing something at the ballpark. Hayley said pitchers will often study film with their catchers, so in this case, Brady would be working with Mario Luchetti, the backup catcher to Brody. Or, in the case of Lino Reynaldo and Brady, the preferred catcher.
I feel a worry line form in my forehead as I think about Brady not having Brody catch him. It makes no sense. I know after that one horrible game where Brody did catch for him, Mario became Brady’s catcher. And the fact the twins don’t work together has been the topic of speculation in the media ever since.
Both brothers tap-danced around the subject publicly, but my gut tells me there’s so much more to this on Brady’s part.
Perhaps someday, he’ll share that with me, I think.
I make the quick drive back over to Feathers to Paws and get out of my car, the spring sun making a brief appearance through the clouds and warming my skin as I tilt my face up toward it.
The sound of a car coming causes me to turn and look over my shoulder. It’s one of our animal rescue trucks returning. I have the same reaction every time I see it—a desperate desire to see what animals are being brought in and to help.