Page 52 of Taking the Pitch
I snort and take off my hat, running my fingers through my still damp hair.
“I’m glad my dilemma brings you joy.”
Setting the hat back on my head, I turn to her. “No, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that’s how my brother met his fiancée.”
Amelia lifts an eyebrow at me. “Really?”
I nod. “Yeah, it’s actually a pretty crazy story. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it.”
We watch Bruno as he comes trotting back, plopping down at our feet, panting. “Actually, now that I think about it, I remember reading an article about them when they first started dating.” She shakes her head. “I completely forgot about it.”
“I’m sure Lucy would love to talk to you about it,” I offer. “She’s a huge fan of yours and even got Kessler into your books.”
“Shut up, Kessler Davis reads my books?” she says with a shocked expression.
A jolt of jealousy courses through me. “I didn’t realize you were such a big fan of my brother,” I say dryly.
“Are you kidding? He’s one of the best catchers in the history of the MLB. I thought for sure he was done after that injury, but he proved everyone wrong and came back better than ever. It’s really too bad you guys didn’t make it to the World Series this year. That would have been icing on the cake for his comeback,” she gushes.
“I didn’t realize you were such a huge baseball fan.”
She looks at me with a guilty expression. “I might follow it a little bit.”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Anyway, I’d love to talk to Lucy. If you think she’d be willing to?”
“I’m pretty sure she’d think about giving you one of the twins for a chance to even meet you,” I joke.
“Oh, that’s right. She’s pregnant with twins.” She laughs. “I don’t want one of their kids, but I’d love to set up a time to talk to her.”
An idea hits me, and I look over at her petting Bruno with a wide grin. “Come to Sunday dinner with me.”
She freezes and peeks at me from the corner of her eye. “What?”
“Come to Sunday dinner with me,” I say again. “We have dinner at my parent’s every Sunday unless we’re out of town. It’s Mom’s way of taking care of us, even though we’re grown and out of the house.” I shrug. “Lucy, Kessler, and my nephew Hudson will be there. It’s a perfect time to get both Lucy and Kessler’s side of the story.”
Amelia pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and bites at the skin.
Reaching over, I grip her chin, using my thumb to gently pull her lip from the punishment of her teeth, and turn her face to look at me. “It’s just dinner, Shortcake.”
“With your family.” Her eyes nervously bounce back and forth between mine.
I shrug and pull my hand away. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. Friends have dinner with their friends’ families all the time.”
“I don’t know,” she says quietly, looking down at Bruno.
“You can bring Bruno if that’s what you’re worried about. Hudson has been begging for a dog for a while now. He’d love it.”
She huffs a laugh. “Who am I to deny the chance to convince someone’s parents to get them a dog?”
My heart speeds up and I sit forward a little. “So, does that mean you’ll come?”
She nods and I mentally give myself a high five.
Me
I’m bringing a friend to dinner Sunday. Don’t be weird.
