Chapter Seventeen

Addie felt like one of those cartoon characters with steam coming out of their ears. Part of her recognized that Sawyer had a hard time trusting and her heart—which he half owned already—ached for him. The other part of her, the piece that had been swooning over him since the first look and had her nearly doodling hearts and flowers around their initials instead of focusing on her job, wanted to smack him.

She felt him as well as heard him following behind her and knew her parents would have retreated to her office. She did not introduce her parents to boyfriends, and not just because she’d only had a couple. Mostly because she didn’t make time for them and also because her parents had a tendency to look a hundred steps into the future where Addie’s love life—or lack thereof—was concerned.

“Addison, what’s going on?”

She whirled on Sawyer, mad at him for not calling her Addie, as he’d taken to doing most of the time now. She was a successful, independent woman and had not let a man get in the way of anything she wanted. But what she wanted more than anything right now was for Sawyer to have trusted her; to have realized there was a reason she hadn’t introduced him as her boyfriend. And to have had a little faith in her.

“You’ll see in about thirty seconds. And once you do and you apologize, you’ll probably break up with me because what guy wants his wedding planned before his first real date? Not that hanging with your Grams and your agent didn’t count but—”

Sawyer gripped her shoulders in his strong hands and she had a flash of how good those hands felt moving over her body.

“Hey. Hey, breathe,” he said, bending his knees to look in her eyes. Her heart wanted to break out of her chest. “What are you talking about?”

Addison inhaled a shuddery gulp of air and stepped away from him, let her fingers link with his, and pulled him into her office where, as expected, her parents were poking around. Her dad was looking at the newspaper clippings of the Slammers on her huge bulletin board and her mom was tidying up her desk.

“Mom, Dad,” she said, hoping that even if Sawyer had trouble trusting, he wasn’t a runner.

They both looked up, then down at where she and Sawyer held hands, then back at Addison.

“I should have introduced you to Sawyer properly, but I guess between your surprise visit and his, I was a bit overwhelmed.”

“Wouldn’t have been a surprise if you’d checked your phone,” Sawyer muttered, his tone more lighthearted than earlier.

She squeezed his hand and refused to laugh. He wouldn’t find it so funny when her mom asked about his family, what his favorite color was, and what he wanted for dinner on his birthday.

“Oh, sweetie, we didn’t mean to overwhelm you. How should you have introduced Sawyer?” Her mom’s lips tipped up in a completely knowing smile.

“As my boyfriend,” she said, then muttered so only he could hear, “at least for the moment.”

To her surprise, Sawyer chuckled and released her hand, shaking both of her parents’ hands again. “Sorry about that. I was trying to follow Addie’s lead. I don’t think either of us was expecting to meet each other’s parents just yet.”

Her father leaned on her desk and crossed his arms. Oh goody. Here comes the good cop bad cop. “Has Addison met your parents? Addie, you didn’t mention you were even dating, never mind someone so high profile.”

“Oh, stop it, Kyle. We’re thrilled to know our little girl has found someone. That’s what every parent wants for their child. To see them find not only work that fulfills them but the person who makes their life complete.” Her mom reached out and hugged Sawyer, and Addie bit her lip to hide her grin. She’d tried to warn him. “Come sit, honey. Tell me about yourself. I know you’re a catcher but what else?”

She mothered Sawyer toward the couch, pulling him down beside her. “How long have you and Addie been together?”

Addison sighed. “Not long, Mom. Maybe we can forgo the inquisition. We just started dating and we’ve been friends for a little longer than that.”

Her dad wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. “Now pumpkin, we’re your parents. It’s hard to be away from you. Let your mother get to know your man.” My man? What the? Run, Sawyer, run. “Not that we don’t know quite a bit from the media. We follow all the Nashville news, what with Addie being here. You are a popular topic in the sports arena.”

Sawyer’s jaw flexed, but he maintained his smile. She tried to transmit sorry through a look while resisting the urge to hide her face. Sawyer caught her gaze, and her heart tumbled like a lone shirt in a dryer.

“It’s fine, Addie,” he said, his voice soft and sweet. His good-night-I’ll-miss-you-see-you-soon sexy voice. He turned back to Addison’s mom. “I’m thirty-four, live here in Nashville. I love baseball and nachos almost equally. I’m not overly close to my family other than my Grams, and while Addie and I have only known each other a short time, I think your daughter is a wonderful woman and she makes me very happy.”

He summed that up like he thought that would be enough. Addie almost wanted to grab some popcorn and curl up on the other couch. Nice try, McBain. Mom is just getting started.

“Oh, we know how great she is. We’ve just been waiting for her to find the right man to appreciate her. Did you go to college? You have a very…um…well publicized dating history. We keep up on all the Slammers news as a way to stay close to Addie. Isn’t your brother marrying your ex-wife?”

Addie nearly choked. Sawyer cleared his throat. “I’ve never been married, ma’am. Or engaged. A lot of what you read is fabricated.”

Her mother patted his knee. “That’s very good to know. Makes me feel better. Do you have a home here in Nashville? Where did you say your grandmother lived? You know what? This is silly, asking you all of this like an interview.” Her mom slapped both hands down on her lap.

Addison’s eyes widened. Had her mom suddenly realized how embarrassing it was when she did this to any person—male or female, but in particular boyfriends that she introduced?

“Let’s go for dinner. Then we can really get to know you. What are your plans for the holidays, Sawyer? I know you’re still in playoff mode, but of course that’ll all be wrapped up by Thanksgiving. If you’re not close to your family, it shouldn’t be a problem to spend it with us, right?” Her mom stood up, and Addie groaned. Her mother ignored her. “You must know all of the best places to eat. Shall we?”

Her dad chuckled. “Sorry, Sawyer. My wife comes on a little strong. We like to see our girl happy. You’ll understand one day when you and Addie have children.”

“Please save me from this utter humiliation,” Addie said, putting her hands together in the prayer pose and looking up at the ceiling. “Please?”

“Oh, you know we’re just joking, Addison. We simply want to get to know the man who cares for you and you care for,” her dad said.

Sawyer stood, his cheeks a new kind of flushed. Maybe now he was starting to understand what she’d tried to save him from.

“Uh, dinner would be good, but I have practice first,” he said. “Could we make it later this evening? I just need to talk to Addison in private for a second before I get down to the field.”

Her father, the slightly less let’s-marry-Addie-off crazy parent, laughed. “Of course, son. We’ll see you tonight.”

Her mom looked so pleased when she rubbed her hands together. “I’m so happy we surprised you.” She kissed Addie’s cheek before letting her father rush her out of the room.

Addie closed the door behind them and leaned against it, purposely not looking at Sawyer.

“You were raised by June and Ward Cleaver,” he said, coming over to stand right in front of her.

“Uh-huh. With a side of The Goldbergs. I’m just grateful she didn’t use any of my nicknames.” Making herself act like the adult she was, Addie lifted her chin and gazed up at Sawyer. “I’m sorry. I end up saying that to you a lot. But we’re new and I really like you and my parents come on strong. With everyone they think matters to me but more so with the couple of guys I’ve been crazy enough to let them meet in the past. About three weeks after I’d brought Isla home to meet them, after we’d started hanging out as friends, my mom bought us those best friends necklaces. Have you seen those? Teenagers wear them. Young teenagers. Yeah. So, there you have it. You do not embarrass me. I didn’t want my mom asking you if you knew my ring size.” Mortification swamped her again.

Sawyer laughed, low and soft, and leaned in to kiss her but stopped before their lips touched. He put both of his hands to her face, cradling her jaw in that way that melted her from the inside out and made her feel like he thought she was precious.

“Seems like I’m apologizing for being a jerk just as often.”

“You’re not a jerk. You have some trust issues and I wish you didn’t automatically assume the worst, but that wasn’t cool what I did. Again.”

His hips pressed closer, even though the rest of him remained still. “Actually, I think you’re the coolest woman I’ve met. And I really like you, too. Which is why I assumed the worst, I guess. You feel…too good to be true.”

Her breath came out as a choked laugh. “I’m not. Trust me.”

Sawyer’s forehead touched hers, and that connection made her pulse scramble. “I do. I need to show it better, but I do. And just in case the question comes up, what is your ring size?”

She laughed and wound her arms around his neck. “You can’t say things like that! My mom is like an optimist on happy pills. For real. She’ll latch onto anything you say and start knitting baby blankets.”

“I wouldn’t say we’re in that place, and I’m sure your parents understand the idea of a new relationship, babe. But they also love you and want to see you happy. That much is obvious. Hopefully, when I’m not being an idiot, I do make you happy and I don’t mind letting them know I plan to keep doing it.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She loved her parents so much, and she understood her mom’s crazy love-happy brain. That didn’t mean it hadn’t chased off men who were faint of heart in the past.

“She never knows which days are going to be good or bad. She’s obviously having some really good ones and has been for a while. Some days, you wouldn’t know she has anything trying to tear her down. It’s like she wants to make sure I’ve got my future all mapped out so she…” Addie’s voice cracked and she lowered her gaze.

Sawyer tipped up her chin. “So she what?”

Taking a deep breath, she said the words she hated to think. “So she doesn’t miss out on seeing it.”

Surprise snapped into Sawyer’s gaze before it was drowned out with a look of affection that nearly loosened a storm of Addie’s tears.

“Addie,” he whispered, his voice full of emotion. “Then let’s go to dinner tonight and show her that we make each other happy. Because you do. You make me think there’s a lot more good in this world than I’ve let myself believe. And your mom is adorable. I want to get to know the person—the people—who helped shape you into such an amazing woman.”

His lips finally captured hers, and the kiss he gave her held a sweetness they hadn’t shared yet. It made Addie think of what it would be like to have someone by her side when things were good and when they weren’t. It made her think there was a chance of a future with a man she didn’t mean to fall for. And it made her want it…bad.