From Left Field: A Hot Baseball Romance (Diamond Brides Book 7) (12 page)

And Adam knew what his problem was. Screw, fuck, a dozen other verbs—they were all things neighbors didn’t do. But neither did
sisters
, at least in their brothers’ minds. The guys didn’t want to think about him and Haley, they didn’t want to consider even a chance that she was like all the other women he’d bullshitted about over the years, all the women on the road, all the women who’d become casual stories he’d shared with these two men who were like his brothers.

Haley was different. He knew that. He’d known that for a long time, even if he’d only taken action a few weeks earlier.

Haley was different, but her brothers had no reason to trust him for saying so. “Look,” he said. “I’m not going to apologize. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t weird. But this thing between Haley and me…” He paused, trying to figure out how to put it into words they could accept. “It’s there. It’s real. And we both want it.”

That was enough for Billy—he shrugged and sealed his acceptance with a gulp of his high-end microbrew.

Michael, though, stared at Adam with unblinking eyes—the same hazel gaze as Haley’s. Adam thought of all the times they’d fought as kids, all the rough and tumble matches that boys thrived on. He’d broken Michael’s arm in an overachieving game of tag, marking a first visit to the emergency room. Michael had knocked out two of his baby teeth. They’d both taken kicks to the gut more often than he cared to remember.

But Michael said at last, “You’re grown-ups.”

Adam exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He reached for his glass, ready to touch rims and be done with this entire conversation.

But Michael wasn’t done. He leaned forward, planting both his palms on the table. “Let’s get one thing clear, though. If she adopts another animal when she’s done with you—anything, even a goldfish—you’re a dead man.”

Adam swallowed in a suddenly dry throat. “There won’t be any more animals. Not because of me. You have my word.”

That might not have been enough. But Artie chose that moment to show up at the table with a loaf of sourdough bread, a pot of soft butter, and a promise that their steaks were on the way. Adam probably only imagined the speculative look the old restaurateur gave the steak knives as he offered to bring them another round of drinks.

~~~

Haley stared at the detailed map of the Reeves farm. Brightly colored flags staked out every one of the stalls in the stables—she had enough funding to secure that building. A scattering of brave markers designated the barn. The bright green paper made her heart twist in her chest—Paws was so close to securing another building!

Of course, that left the old dairy, the smokehouse, and the long-disused stand-alone brick kitchen. Not to mention the farmhouse itself… And the minor problem that they couldn’t actually buy the farm piecemeal—this was an all-or-nothing deal.

But staking out the territory they’d conquered made Haley feel better. It bolstered her sense of purpose. Paws was almost half-way to its goal. Unfortunately, they’d spent far more than half their time. Only two weeks remained before the Reeves’ deadline.

Kate poked her head into Haley’s office. “Don’t forget! We’ve got a phone conference scheduled at three, with that shelter in Charlotte.”

Haley
had
forgotten. She’d forgotten just about everything except for strategies to get the farm. But she smiled and thanked her vice president, automatically reaching for the proper folder on her desk. “How many dogs did they say they could take?”

“Fifteen, for now. Maybe more in August.”

Fifteen dogs, transferred to a different city. It was an expensive way to protect the animals. They had to be transported, provided with food and water along the way. The receiving shelter would require full documentation, veterinarian certificates for every animal. But arrangements like that built lifelines, saved innocent animals.

That was the overall strategy for Paws to succeed—they needed to expand the pool of people who would consider adopting animals. Haley plucked at the hem of her old Rockets T-shirt. There had to be a way to build more public awareness of Paws, a way to reach out to large crowds of people.

Crowds like baseball fans, storming the park on game day.

“Kate?” she called out, and was rewarded by the immediate reappearance of her second-in-command. “When was the last time we had a community adoption program?”

“You mean bringing animals out to the public?”

Haley shook her head. “Not like the ones at the pet store. I know we do those every month. I’m thinking of something bigger. Sort of like the Paws to Refresh we talked about last month, reaching out to animal lovers en masse.”

Kate smiled tolerantly. “I thought you were the one who decided that sort of street fair was more than we could organize by our June 1 deadline.”

“That was when we were talking about building the entire event, creating an experience from the ground up. What if we went to where the people already are?”

“What people are you thinking of?”

Haley tested the idea one last time, rolling it over in her mind and then she said out loud: “Raleigh Rockets fans.”

“The baseball team?”

Haley’s grin grew. “The city blocks the streets off around the stadium before games. Vendors are already selling food and drinks. We could set up an adoption fair just inside the perimeter, take over one side of the street for one block. We’d need crates, of course, so the dogs could take a break if the crowds get to be too much. Food and water, too. We could promise to keep all the adopted animals until after the game, or arrange for pick-up within a week.” She spoke faster as the idea grew.

Kate laughed. “Blast-off to a Forever Home!” she proclaimed in a dramatic voice.

“Pups at the Park,” Haley countered. “Every animal we give away is one we don’t need to find housing for immediately. And we can launch a special campaign for donations—not just from the adopters, but from all the fans who walk by.”

Kate’s lips twisted into a thoughtful frown. “We’ll need to get permission from someone. We’ll probably need a permit. I don’t know if it’s the team, or the city.”

“Will you make some calls?”

Kate was already scribbling notes on a pad of paper. “We could put a bow on each dog, red and blue to show their team spirit.”

“Perfect!” Haley laughed at Kate’s enthusiasm. “Let me know what you need from me.”

“Well, as long as you’re asking…” Kate’s voice trailed off suggestively.

“What?”

“What about players join us? Having them sign autographs would be a huge draw. We could probably raise a few thousand dollars just on that. You’re friends with Adam Sartain, right? Could you ask for his support? See if he’ll bring other players along?”

Adam. Signing autographs for Paws supporters, just outside of Rockets Field. Like he’d really agree to help her out like that.

But why not? She’d attended his Foundation gala. A wry voice at the back of her mind reminded her,
And that turned out
so
well
.

Well it had. After she’d left in a huff.
Because
she’d left in a huff. She and Adam would never have gotten over the hump in their relationship if she hadn’t gone to the gala. They never would have realized that they felt more for each other than just being neighbors. They never would have had the most scorching sex she’d ever imagined in her life—at least for the couple of nights he’d been in town since the event…

She had to clear her throat before she could answer Kate. “Let me talk to him. I’ll see if he can help us out.” What was the worst that could happen? Adam could say no. And if he did, she’d make damn sure he’d make it up to her.

When she turned back to the Reeves map, she felt more hopeful than she had in weeks.

~~~

Adam stretched as he climbed out of his car, trying to ease the tightness in his lower back. The team had won in extra innings, beating Cleveland by a run in the bottom of the eleventh. But they never would have needed to play past nine, if he hadn’t bobbled a ball near the wall in the eighth. He’d cost the Rockets’ pitcher the win he deserved, and the ultimate result of the game was bittersweet.

He automatically glanced over at Haley’s house. The front light was on. Before he could decide to shuffle across the grass, though, a low voice came from one of the wicker chairs on his own porch. “Looking for me?”

There was a smile in Haley’s words, and he saw why the moment she stood to greet him. She wore a Rockets T-shirt—and nothing else. Before he could say anything, her mouth was hot against his, her lips yielding as he folded her into his arms.

She pressed against him, and he could feel her chuckle as his palms molded to her spine. She wasted no time stripping off his belt, sliding down his zipper, freeing his sudden hard-on that only throbbed harder against her eager hand.

He nipped her earlobe before he whispered, “What would you have done if someone else came down the driveway?”

“At midnight?” she asked, her fingers tightening enough to make him catch his breath. “On a school night?”

Nevertheless, he glanced over his shoulder at the peaceful night. She was right, of course. There weren’t any cars, not this late. He whispered against the corner of her mouth, “Aren’t you out after curfew?”

She laughed, and he wondered if she was remembering all the times they’d broken the rules when they were kids. Most of it was harmless stuff—stealing a six pack from her parents’ fridge and carrying it over the fence to drink in the moonlight by Old Man Reeves’ barn. Sneaking down the road with a dozen rolls of toilet paper, ready to target Danny Barthold’s house. Jogging over to the high school in the middle of the night to jimmy open the announcement board on the front lawn, rearranging the letters to spell half a dozen bad words.

She must have been thinking of the same games, and more. She threw back her head and laughed, exposing the long line of her neck. “Oh yeah,” she said. “I’m a very bad girl.”

To prove her point, she tugged his jeans and briefs down over his ass. She produced a rubber from somewhere, tearing off the foil before he could figure out where she’d been keeping it. She rolled it over him with a hell of a lot more efficiency than any high school girl he’d ever known.

His fingers slipped down the front of that ridiculous T-shirt, his palms barely acknowledging her tight nipples. He needed to feel more of her than that. He needed to know she was as ready as he was.

He flattened one hand against her naked hip, pressing just enough to make her catch her breath. His other palm cupped her, hard, and he slipped three fingers inside her slick, hot passage.

He flexed his wrist, curling deep inside her, and she breathed his name like a prayer. He found her mouth with his, and he drank away her gasps as he pumped his fingers in and out, steadily building his rhythm. She shuddered, fighting for balance, and he guided her back a half-step, a whole one. He folded his free arm behind her, cushioning her head against the door as he slipped his wet fingers free.

She moaned in protest, but he sealed his lips tighter to hers, using the motion to edge his knee forward. She parted her legs, letting the door take most of her weight. He plunged his tongue into her mouth as his cock drove into her ready body, and her heat almost made him come at the first thrust.

Her fingers tore into his shoulders, urging him, guiding him as she moaned like a wild woman. Her hips rose to take him; her thighs tightened into silky steel. He surged forward once, twice, half a dozen times, and he heard her excitement rise with every thrust. He was on the edge, balanced on that perfect moment when he knew he was going to come. He lowered one hand between them and found her throbbing clit with his index finger, the way she’d shown him she wanted to be touched that first night, in her bed.

He stroked and swirled, shuddering home inside her one last time. She collapsed around him, beneath him, and her nails tore down her back. He swallowed her cry, and the next one, and then he freed her lips to run a trail of greedy kisses along the line of her jaw. He collapsed against her, letting her take his weight, letting the door hold both of them.

And when his heart had stopped thundering in his ears, he finally pulled away from her liquid heat. He slipped his arm from behind her head and took a shaking step away.

“Wham, bam,” she said, and he laughed along with her.

“Thank you ma’am,” he said. He pulled up his jeans before he shoved his hand in his front pocket and pulled out his keys. “Can I at least offer you a drink?”

She struggled to get her legs under her, and then she pulled down her T-shirt. “I’d like that.”

She stepped aside enough for him to manage the lock. He didn’t turn on the light in the foyer, though. He didn’t want to blind them both after their perfect night vision. She leaned forward enough to brush a kiss against his cheek. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

He watched her climb the stairs to his bathroom, to his bedroom, to whatever else she wanted to find up there. Shaking his head, he headed back toward his kitchen, only stopping in the downstairs bath for long enough to deal with the used condom. In front of the fridge, he pulled out a Guinness, then added a Rolling Rock for her. Lightweight.

By the time she came downstairs, he’d knocked off the caps and carried the bottles into the family room. She collapsed on the couch and stretched out her legs—those amazing legs—putting her feet in his lap just like they were back in high school, in college, in all the long years of friendship.

She’d ransacked his dresser upstairs, managed to find a pair of workout shorts. The legs were loose on her, and he could have slipped a hand up her thigh. He almost did, too, already turned on again by the sight of her face in shadows, by the smell of her close at hand, by the unmistakable scent of sex.

But he held himself back and watched instead as she drank from her beer. She drained a quarter of the bottle in one steady pull, and she exhaled sharply as she set the glass container on the table.

“Hey,” she said. “I have a favor to ask.”

He laughed. “I’d say you pretty much have me wrapped around your little finger.”