Author: Jaci Burton

She took out her phone to check for messages. There was a text from Gavin.

Early game today. Didn’t want to wake you. Don’t feel like you have to be there. Will understand if the mermaid is hung over. Have had your car brought back to you, too, in case you need it. Cul8tr. G

Mermaid? She frowned, trying to remember . . .

Oh. The dip in the ocean last night. She smiled, remembering how he’d indulged her idiotic idea to go skinny dipping. Bet his cock and balls hadn’t appreciated that chilly dip. Then again, she had no problem at all recalling their steamy shower sex, so obviously he hadn’t suffered any ill effects from the icy ocean swim.

She read over his text message again. And again. Then realized she was mooning over his message as if it were a love note. How very stupidly high-schoolish of her. Disgusted, she tossed her phone on the table and picked up her orange juice, taking several tentative sips.

Her stomach, though a little queasy, decided it would accept the orange juice, so she drank more, then picked up her coffee cup and took several caffeine-laden swallows.

She went into the kitchen and fixed a couple of eggs and some toast. After eating she felt immensely better, though she looked like hell. Going to bed with her hair wet and uncombed was a disaster. She took another shower, did her hair, and put on some makeup. She drank another cup of coffee and opened her laptop to do some work. She made a few calls and lost track of time.

Her phone rang while she was typing out a letter. It was Shawnelle.

“Hey, why aren’t you here?” Shawnelle asked.

“Where is here?”

“The game, dumb-ass.”

“Oh. I’m working today.”

“Bullshit. You’re hung over and making Haley and I suffer here in the heat by ourselves.”

“No, actually I feel fine. And I was doing some work and just lost track of time.”

“Well, your boy isn’t doing so well today. He needs his lucky charm. Get your ass out here.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I’m not his lucky charm. He can play just fine without me.”

“No, he can’t. It’s bottom of the fourth, and he’s oh for everything. Besides, I need sympathy. I feel like hell.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll be there in a half hour.”

She dressed and headed out to the ball field, found Shawnelle and Haley hiding under floppy hats and dark sunglasses.

“Feeling good today?” she asked as she took the spot they made between them.

“You should know,” Haley grumbled. “This is all your fault.”

“Don’t blame me. I didn’t put that glass in your hand. Nor did I drink those three pitchers by myself.”

Shawnelle groaned and laid her head in her hands. “Don’t remind me.”

“So how are they doing?” Elizabeth asked.

“They’re down by two runs in the sixth,” Haley said. “We figured maybe your presence could light up Gavin, who isn’t batting for shit today.”

Elizabeth snorted. “Probably because he was up late tending to his drunken house partner.”

“Girlfriend,” Shawnelle said.

“What?”

“You’re his girlfriend. Not house partner. Not roommate. Girlfriend.”

“I’m not his girlfriend.”

“Really. Then what are you?”

“His agent.”

Haley snorted. “You’re sleepin’ with him. Do you do that with all your clients?”

“Of course not.”

“Then you’re not just his agent, are you?”

“You two make my head hurt. Give it a rest, will you? Gavin and I are just having some fun together. It’s nothing.”

“I might be wearing dark sunglasses, but trust me, my eyeballs are rolling clear out the back of my head,” Shawnelle said. “Are you really that far into denial?”

“Yes. Now watch the game because that’s what I came here to do.”

In fact, in her rush out the door she’d forgotten to bring her laptop with her, so she was going to be forced to give the game her full attention. Dammit.

The Rivers were up to bat, and Gavin stood in the on deck circle, waiting for his turn at bat. He swung the bat a few times to warm up, then scanned the crowd, saw her, and his lips lifted.

And her body warmed. She smiled back.

You have it so bad for him, Elizabeth.

It was really pathetic how wound up she was around Gavin. And how badly she was going to be hurt by him when he decided he was bored with her and kicked her to the curb.

It was Gavin’s turn at bat. There were two runners on base with one out. Elizabeth clasped her hands together and leaned forward as the first pitch sailed by and was called a ball. Elizabeth held her breath on the second pitch. Gavin swung and it fouled off to the right. One ball, one strike. She swallowed, wishing she’d stopped to get a cold drink before she sat down. The third pitch was high, also a ball.

Gavin swung on the next pitch and it dropped into short center. Elizabeth stood and screamed. Gavin dug in and made it to first base. The runner on second base scored, and the runner on first base had to stay at second.

But Gavin had batted a run in. Elizabeth, Shawnelle, and Haley hugged and squealed as Gavin got a good lead off first and looked like he might run on this pitcher.

Dedrick was up to bat.

“Oh, God, they’re going to try a double steal, aren’t they?”

“Likely,” Shawnelle said. “Dedrick will take a strike if it means Gavin and Jose can advance.”

“Or Dedrick could just hit a home run and put up three more runs on the scoreboard.”

Shawnelle grinned. “Well, yeah, that would be nice. But I’ll take a double steal, and then my baby can drive those two runs home. Either way works for me.”

“Me, too.”

The pitcher kept his focus on Gavin, tossing a few pitches to first base to keep Gavin from leading off too far from the base. Gavin was quick, though, and made it back to safety without a problem. As soon as the pitcher turned his attention back to Dedrick, concentrating on winding up the pitch, Gavin and Jose were off, digging into the dirt and running like hell. The pitcher turned and fired off the ball to second base.

Elizabeth held her breath for the entire ninety feet. Jose slid into third, Gavin into second. Both were safe and the crowd erupted in cheers. Elizabeth, Shawnelle, and Haley screamed, jumped up and down, and hugged each other again.

She wanted to cry and didn’t think she’d ever been more excited about watching a preseason baseball game before.

This was going to ruin her reputation as a cool and unaffected agent.

And when Dedrick hit a line drive into the left field corner and both runs came home, she was certain she’d have no voice left by the end of the game, because she screamed nonstop until Dedrick got to second base, a wide grin on his face.

It was now three to two in favor of the Rivers, and by the time the inning ended two more runs had scored.

The Rivers ended up winning six to three. Elizabeth was exhausted from the sun, the screaming, and her hangover. She knew Gavin would be busy, so she headed back to the beach house to finish working. Unfortunately, once she hit the sofa, she passed right out.

When she woke, it was dark in the house. Disoriented, she reached for the lamp on the table next to the sofa, grabbed her phone to check the time.

It was eight p.m. She’d slept three hours. She sifted her fingers through her hair, stood, and went into the kitchen to fix herself a glass of iced tea. She took the glass out onto the deck, expecting to find Gavin sitting out there.

He wasn’t. Surprised, she headed into the bedroom and bath, thinking he might be sleeping or showering, but he wasn’t there, either.

Huh. Maybe he went out with the guys after the game.

She shrugged and went back out on the deck to sip her tea. She checked her phone, but there were no messages from Gavin.

Okay, so he didn’t owe her anything. He didn’t report to her. They weren’t a couple. Hadn’t she been telling everyone that?

Still, he always left her messages letting her know where he was going and where he was going to be. So why nothing now? She kind of expected him to come home after the game. Okay, she didn’t really expect him to, but it might have been nice if he’d let her know if he were going somewhere else, just so she wouldn’t worry about him.

She went back inside and picked up her laptop to do some work, but she kept staring at her phone, disgusted with herself for her own weakness.

Dammit. She’d known this was going to happen, that it was going to come to this if she let her heart get wrapped up in Gavin. Now she was checking her phone every five minutes, hoping he’d toss her a crumb.

She was spending entirely too much of her time on Gavin and not nearly enough on herself, which is what she normally did. Her career was vital to her happiness. Not a man. She knew what focusing on a man—on love—could do to a woman. It could make a woman lose all sense of herself, could change her career-driven focus and skew her priorities.

It was time she altered her trajectory and stopped worrying about Gavin other than as one of her clients. She needed to think about what was best for his career, because what was best for his career would be what was best for her career. And what was best for his career was definitely not her.

Everyone already thought of her as his girlfriend, which was going to screw up his image once the season started. Gavin Riley off the market was a death sentence for his PR.

Gavin had a reputation as a hotshot first baseman and a sexy, product-endorsing single guy who played the field.

He hadn’t been playing the field lately. He’d been playing with her. Just her. No one else but her.

She was not good for his image. Lots of young, sexy women throwing themselves at him were very good for his image.

Fun and games were over. It was time to get back to business. Her business. The thing she most loved and needed to make a priority in her life.

Her work would never hurt her. And with the way things were going with losing Mick and now Steve Lincoln, playing house with Gavin was the last thing she should be doing.

Spending time on her clients should be a priority. Getting Blane McReynolds signed with Tampa Bay in the first round of the draft needed to be a priority.

She hadn’t been focusing on her work because she’d been too busy playing with Gavin.

That had to stop. Now.

She searched the airlines online and found a flight back to Saint Louis early tomorrow morning. She could drive down to Miami, stay at one of the airport hotels, and be ready for her flight in the morning.

Which meant she’d have to pack and get out of here in a hurry, just in case Gavin was on his way back to the house. She didn’t want to face him, didn’t want to have a conversation with him about her leaving.

She packed up, changed clothes, and tossed her bags in the car. As she hovered near the front door, she decided at the last second to jot down a note for him. No text message because that was too immediate. When he got home, he’d see the note.

She pressed the lock on the door and pulled it shut, climbed into her car and clenched the steering wheel in her hands.

“You’re doing the right thing. Career first. Always first.”

Never let a man have power over you, Elizabeth.

“Damn straight, Mama,” she said as she backed out of the driveway.

It’s too bad her mother never had the strength to take her own advice.

Gavin,

Have to head back to the office. The draft is coming up soon and I need to focus on a few deals. Plus, it’s time I get back to work. It’s been fun.

E

Fun? That was it? What the hell was this bullshit blow-off note?

Gavin crumpled up Elizabeth’s note and tossed it across the room, pissed at himself for even being angry that she had left.

He had no idea what the hell set her off running this time, but he was tired of wondering. Or caring.