Ryan made it until morning before the nuances of his conversation with Kari started eating at him. He didn’t blame her for acting the way she did, but she hadn’t been able to give him the security he had so hoped to receive from her. She hadn’t told him she loved him too.
Last night had been an emotional roller coaster for both of them. Kari had ping ponged between being his girlfriend and feeling rejected. His emotions had gone through the ringer when Brandi had cornered him and then again when he couldn’t find Kari.
His concern that she hadn’t met him at his car had erupted into full-blown panic when she hadn’t returned his texts and he discovered she wasn’t with Ben or Maya either. He couldn’t remember another time when he had been so scared, except when he’d learned of his mother’s accident. Had his emotions not been so close to the surface, he doubted he would have admitted to them.
He pulled open his refrigerator door and stared at the contents—chicken salad, leftover meatloaf, and a few slices of Steak Diane. He chose the steak and put it in the microwave to heat. His gaze swept over the rest of the tidy kitchen.
A clear glass bowl on the counter held two glossy red apples, three bananas, and a cluster of grapes. He ran a finger along the bowl, realizing it wasn’t something he had purchased. The bread box beside it was also new. Other than leaving Kari some cash for groceries while she was taking care of his mom, he hadn’t given her any money to buy things for his house.
The home plate housewarming gift she had given him was displayed on a decorative easel in the other corner of his kitchen counter. He let himself read the saying again: The best things in life happen at home. He wondered if Kari realized that little by little she had made his house into his home.
He replayed their conversation from last night, reminding himself that he had known Kari for only a couple months. Admittedly, he’d already spent days sorting through his feelings for her, and his declaration had clearly caught her by surprise. Now he ached to know where she stood on their relationship. Did they have a future together? Was it possible that she would someday love him too?
“Good morning.”
Ryan looked up to see his mother slowly making her way into the kitchen, her cane now the only outward sign of her accident.
“Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?”
“Hungry.” The microwave dinged. “Any chance there’s some of that meatloaf left?”
“Yeah. Do you want me to heat it up for you?”
“I can do it.” Using her cane, she set about fixing her food while Ryan retrieved his own from the microwave and sat at the table.
“We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?” Ryan asked. “I’m having steak for breakfast. You’re having meatloaf.”
“There’s nothing wrong with making sure good food doesn’t go to waste,” she said, joining him a moment later with her plate.
“True.”
Susan took a bite of her meatloaf. “Kari’s a pretty good cook.”
“Yeah, she is.” Ryan lifted his glass to take a sip of orange juice.
“Have you decided to marry her yet?”
Ryan choked, more of the orange juice going down his windpipe than into his stomach. His nose burned and his eyes teared up as he struggled to catch his breath.
“Careful there.” Susan reached over and slapped him twice on the back. “I figured you’d already been thinking about marriage with what you told me the other night.”
Ryan cleared his throat and blinked several times while his body struggled to remember how to breathe air. He took another sip of his juice, this time managing to swallow it as intended. Looking over at his mom, he attempted to put her comment in perspective. The truth was he had looked for rings more than once over the past week. He probably would have bought one if he had found one that suited Kari, but none of them had seemed quite right.
Deciding he could use a dose of reality right now, he confided in his mother. “Last night I told her how I feel.”
“And? What did she say?”
“Not much. She was pretty shocked when I told her I love her.”
“Don’t fool yourself,” Susan said. “She might not have gotten used to the idea yet, but she’s every bit as in love with you as you are with her.”
“How can you tell?” he asked, desperate to believe her words.
“Honey, the sun rises and sets on you as far as that girl is concerned.”
Doubt colored his voice. “I thought Brandi felt that way about me too, and it didn’t take long to find out how wrong I was.”
“Brandi wanted the lifestyle. Kari wants to build a life.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wadded piece of tissue paper. “I know you might want to get her something fancier, but if you want, you can give her this.”
Ryan took the offering and unwrapped the tissue. Inside it lay an intricate silver engagement ring, the square-cut diamond set among four smaller stones, two on each side. “This is beautiful. Where did you get it?”
“It was my great-grandmother’s. It’s been passed down through the oldest daughters for generations. Since I won’t ever have a daughter in the traditional sense, I thought you might want to give it to the woman you intend to marry.”
Touched to the core, he turned the ring over in his hand and studied it. It was exactly what he’d been looking for, and Kari would love the sentimentality behind it. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
* * *
Women’s voices carried down the hall as Kari headed toward the kitchen. She supposed it said something that she had adjusted to having her breakfast at ten in the morning. Ryan’s meals were at weird times because of his crazy schedule, and over the past few weeks, she had adjusted her eating habits to match his.
She smelled the Indian flatbread Maya often made in the mornings, and her mouth watered. The minute Kari entered the kitchen, Maya waved at the built-in warming tray. “I saved you some naan. It’s in there.”
“Thanks.” Kari grabbed a paper towel in lieu of a plate and retrieved a piece. She glanced over at Lauren, who was sitting at the counter. “Did you get some?”
“Yeah. I was just telling Maya she should think about hiring a cook so she’d have more free time.”
Kari laughed. “Maya wouldn’t want someone else messing up her kitchen.” She took a bite and rolled her eyes with pleasure. “This is so good.”
“Glad you like it.” Maya moved to the sink to start on the dishes.
Kari took the spot next to Lauren and broke off another piece of bread.
“What happened to you yesterday?” Lauren asked. “It’s like the minute we got to the game, you disappeared.”
“I was helping with a PR thing the team was doing,” Kari said. “I didn’t know about it until I got there.”
Maya turned to face her as she dried a frying pan. “I assume you and Ryan got everything sorted out last night.”
“Yeah, we did,” Kari said, warmed by the memory of how things had ended between them. “Which reminds me, he wanted me to drive with him to the game today. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“No problem,” Maya said. “I was thinking about going early too so I can show Lauren around and introduce her to some of the guys.”
“Who’s Ryan?” Lauren asked.
“Kari’s boyfriend,” Maya answered.
“Boyfriend?” Disbelief and embarrassment illuminated Lauren’s face. “You’re already dating someone else?”
“Yeah,” Kari admitted. “We’ve been together for a couple months.”
“Kari, I am so sorry.” She was clearly distressed. “I never would have told Austin how to find you if I had known.”
“Wait, what about Austin?” Maya asked.
“He was the ‘present’ Lauren brought me.”
“Austin was here?” Maya set the pan down and looked at her with disbelief. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“Things were kind of crazy yesterday,” Kari said.
“Tell me more about the boyfriend. Who is he? What does he do? How did you meet?” Lauren said, cutting off Maya so she couldn’t press for more information.
“He’s one of my brother’s friends,” she said, feeling oddly protective of her relationship with Ryan.
“Will I get to meet him?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” Kari’s cell phone chimed. She looked at it to see a message from her mom. Not revealing the source of the text, she held up her phone. “I’d better get ready to go. I’ll see you at the game.”
“Okay,” Maya said, not letting Lauren question her any further. “We’ll talk to you later.”
Kari headed upstairs to shower and change. When she got dressed, she deliberately chose one of Ben’s jerseys to wear instead of Ryan’s. No reason to give Lauren any more clues as to whom she was dating. The last thing she wanted was for her college friends to start flooding her with questions about dating a professional baseball player. She’d already experienced far more attention than she was comfortable with when her friends realized Ben was her brother.
After collecting her purse and ball cap, she headed to Ryan’s house. To her surprise, Susan opened the door.
“Hi, Miss Susan. How are you doing?” Kari asked as she walked inside.
“Doing well.” She winked. “Give me another week and I might just try to take in a ballgame myself.”
“That would be great. I’m sure it’s been too long since you’ve been able to see Ryan play live.”
“My thoughts exactly.” She led the way to the living room. “Ryan should be out in a minute. He said he needed to make a couple phone calls before he leaves.”
“Okay.” Kari motioned to Susan’s knee. “You know, I was thinking we should ask the doctor at your next appointment how soon you’ll be allowed to drive. He probably wouldn’t want you to drive all the way from Woodbridge up here, but I could get Maya to come with us and pick up your car if you want so you would have it here.”
“I actually talked to the nurse about that very thing a couple days ago.”
“And?”
“Do you think Maya is busy next Thursday?”
“Since the guys are heading to Atlanta that day, my guess is her schedule is wide open.”
“Excellent.”
Ryan walked in, keys in hand. “Oh, good, you’re already here. Are you ready to go?”
“I am.” Kari stood and spoke to Susan. “See you later.”
“Have fun tonight.”
“We will. Thanks.” Kari followed Ryan into the garage. He had barely closed the door before she felt his hand settle on her shoulder to keep her from continuing forward. An instant later, she was facing him, and his lips were on hers.
His fingers tangled in her hair, and the ball cap she had been holding fell to the ground. Her heartbeat picked up speed, and goose bumps of pleasure danced along her skin. She let herself get lost in the kiss, her world spinning in that moment until everything settled and clicked into place.
“Sorry, but it’s been too long since I’ve done that,” he said when he pulled back.
Fighting a grin, Kari leaned down to pick up her hat and glanced at her watch. “Ten hours was too long, huh?”
“Much too long.” He kissed her again. “I really do love you.”
The warm sweetness of the words washed over her, along with the undeniable truth. “I love you too.”
His eyes widened briefly, and his hand squeezed hers. “You aren’t just saying that, are you?”
“No.” Sincerity filled her voice. “I said it because it’s true.”
* * *
Ryan sat across the sleek mahogany desk from Trent Farley, the head of the Nationals’ public relations department. “Trent, I don’t know what to do. I thought the friends’ box was restricted to people who had tickets to that section, but yesterday Brandi was in the seat that was supposed to be Kari’s. How do I keep her from making a scene if she shows up again?”
“What makes you think she’ll be back today?” Trent asked.
Ryan pulled out his phone and pulled up Twitter. “Because this is her post from twenty minutes ago. And I quote, ‘Had a blast with Ryan Strobel last night. Heading to the ballpark to see what my boyfriend has in store for tonight.’”
“You said you made it clear that you don’t want to see her anymore?” Trent asked.
“Several times.” Ryan held his hands out in a helpless gesture. “I think she’s using her friendship with some of the other guys’ wives to get tickets and to access the restricted areas.”
“I can put a stop to that.”
A sliver of hope surfaced. “How?”
“I’ll put her name on the security list so she can’t get through.”
“Even if she can’t get into the clubhouse, there’s no way to keep her from her seat if one of the other guys is giving her a ticket.”
“Ryan, whether you want to admit it or not, she’s wavering on that thin line between trying to make things work with you and stalking. Since the first is not possible, she’s crossed over into the second.”
“Brandi’s not a stalker.”
“If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t be sitting here right now.” Trent motioned to his phone. “Let me ask you this—how often does she try to call or text you?”
“I don’t know. We got back together for a couple weeks last December. When I broke things off again, she wouldn’t leave me alone, so I blocked her number.”
“Has she shown up at your apartment uninvited?”
“A couple times, but the doorman knows not to let her in,” Ryan said, starting to see the pattern. “She doesn’t know where my new house is.”
Trent leaned back in his seat. “What about road trips? Have you seen her at games or at the hotels?”
“Every time we’re in Boston. That’s not too far from where she’s from.”
“The team controls the tickets for the friends’ box.” Trent waved in the general direction of the door. “I’ll make sure we have alternative seating for Brandi and a friend in another section. If she shows up in the friends’ box, she’ll be given replacement tickets.”
“You realize that’s pretty much guaranteeing she’ll make a scene.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure security is discreet. My plan is to invite her to sit in the owner’s box.”
“The owner’s box. Why?”
“She’ll feel like she’s receiving special treatment,” Trent told him. “We’ll let her watch the game from there, and then we’ll make it clear she isn’t welcome in the restricted areas in the future. Our bigger issue will come after these security measures are in place.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s obviously very active on social media. You have to assume she’s going to lash out online before the night is over.”
“What do you suggest I do?”
“I suggest you give me the tools to steal her ammunition before she gets a chance to use it.”
“And exactly what kind of tools are we talking about?”
“I know you and Ben are good friends. How much do you know about his engagement?”
“I know the real story,” he said, not comfortable sharing his friend’s private information.
“Good.” He picked up a pen and jotted something down on a notepad. “Ben got married to protect his reputation. I think you should consider a similar play.”
“You want me to marry Kari to get rid of Brandi? Isn’t that kind of extreme?” Ryan asked. It was one thing to ponder putting a ring on her finger but quite another to have his plans dictated by someone else.
“I was thinking more of making your relationship with Kari public. It doesn’t have to include a ring on her finger,” Trent said. “You said she’s already here at the park. We can take a few pictures of you together, and I have some from yesterday when she was escorting Jaden Sampson around.”
“I’ll have to talk to Kari about this,” Ryan said, not completely comfortable with Trent’s plan. “I have to say, I’m not thrilled with turning what I have with her into a media circus.”
“I can do subtle,” Trent promised. “Trust me.”
“Okay, but before you do anything, let’s make sure Kari’s willing to trust you too.”
“Before you talk to her, I have to ask, what is the status of your relationship with her?” When Ryan hesitated, Trent added, “I only ask because I’ll use a different approach if she’s just a summer romance rather than if she’s someone you expect to have around long term.”
“I already have the ring,” Ryan said. “But it’s not on her finger yet.”
“Congratulations on finding the right girl,” Trent said with satisfaction. “This will make my job much easier.”
“You do realize this is classified information, right?”
“My lips are sealed.”