Page 9 of Leave It On The Field (Grand Slam 3)
“I’m here!” Maisie bursts through the front door. Joe grabs her and pushes her against a wall. She screeches. “Jesus, Joe! It’s me. Lighten up.”
“Have you ever heard of knocking?” Joe releases her slowly. “Don’t surprise me. You know I hate that. How did you even get in here? Security didn’t call to clear you.”
“The door was open. And I’m on the no-ring list. You know how much Sophie hates that intercom going off.” Maisie pats his back. “You really need to settle down. I mean, you’re hyper most of the time but the World Series is going to kill you.”
“Sophie,” Joe says, narrowing his eyes, “what did I tell you about the no-ring list? The more people you put on it, the more confusing it gets for the guards. They make more mistakes as the list grows longer. I don’t want anyone surprising you—not even your best friend.”
“Maisie’s the only person I’ve added,” I say, pulling her away from Joe and hugging her to my chest. “But yes, this is a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?” She looks at Seb who’s trying to subtly shake his head at her. “Seb asked me to come over and hang with you until his parents get here.”
“Seb.” I look back at him—my eyebrows raised. “Really? I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I’m your husband. I get to be worried.” He puts his suitcase back down. “Too many people are talking about you right now. The social media stuff has gotten out of hand. That one bitch said she would kill you—”
“It’s a figure of speech,” I say. “She didn’t mean it literally.”
“Joe,” Seb says, “has she posted anything since this morning?”
“No. And I agree with Sophie. It’s just smack talk. You should be used to it by now.”
“I’m used to it for me, not for Sophie.” Seb pulls me back over to him. “I’m going to lose it if people don’t stop talking about her.”
“Babe,” I say, rubbing my forehead against his chest. For some reason that usually calms him down. “It’s gotten so much better since I deleted my accounts. I don’t even look at it unless you show me.”
“Seb.” Joe points toward the door again. “Now. Let’s go.”
“Okay.” Seb’s voice is as tense as his body.
“I’ll be fine,” I say, looking up at him. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“I wish you would let me hire a bodyguard—”
“Seb, no. We talked about that. I don’t want a stranger following me around.” I nod back at Maisie. “She can be my bodyguard.”
He grunts. “Well it’s better than you being alone. Mae, will you stay until my parents get here?”
“I’m not leaving her side. And who’s going to get to her in this house? It’s on an island with only one way in.”
“No one monitors the bay,” Seb says. “They could come off the water.”
“Your security system—including on the bay side—is almost better than what they have at the White House,” Joe says. “All we’re missing is Secret Service agents.”
“Okay.” Seb takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. “Soph, remember to text me when you leave for the hotel.”
“I will. Go. You’re playing in your first World Series. I’m so proud of you, baby. Promise me you’ll enjoy every minute of it.”
He nods and finally smiles. “I promise, but just for you. Come on, Joe. Hurry up. We’re late.”
“Unbelievable,” Joe says as he watches Seb walk out of the door. He turns to me. “I’m going to kill him by the end of this.”
“You’re a saint, Joe.” I pat his shoulder. “Not many people could deal with him when he gets this way.”
I close the door and turn back to Maisie. “Good Lord. I didn’t think Seb would leave. He’s been pacing around all morning.”
“He’s worried about you.” She takes my hand and pulls me into the kitchen. “I didn’t think he would recover after that guy grabbed your ass at the game in June.”
“The only reason he recovered is because I agreed to sit in the owner’s suite for games now. There’s no way he could concentrate if I was still sitting in the stands.” I take a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator. “Too early?”
