Lara sat between Kelsey and Noel in a rock-hard folding seat in the brand-new Idaho Outlaws Stadium, and pretended she was enjoying herself instead of wanting to be anywhere than at a baseball game. Inwardly she was jumping for joy at sitting so close to the field, and in her direct line of vision, if she angled her body slightly left, was Luke.
She had to admit, it was a pretty spectacular stadium. In North Idaho all you had to do was wait twenty minutes and the weather would change, so to accommodate the wet springs, team owner Thomas Scott had opted for a stadium with a retractable roof. Today it was open and offered a sweeping view of the surrounding ponderosa pine–filled hills and the shimmering surface of nearby Lake Coeur d’Alene.
If she wasn’t here, she’d be home feeling sorry for herself, eating a half gallon of caramel-swirl Moose Tracks ice cream. The ice cream almost won out. But when Kelsey asked you to do something, you did it. Now that she was all happy and sexually satisfied by the Outlaws’ star pitcher, Kelsey had made it her mission to hook up her girlfriends with some players too.
As a physical therapist, Lara had had her fill of arrogant jocks. No matter how hot and bothered Luke made her feel when they were within twenty feet of each other, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t fall for his good looks, wide shoulders, and fine ass.
What she needed in her life was someone more intellectual and down to earth. A steady guy who wanted one woman, not a stable full. Yup, someone boring sounded perfect to Lara. She just needed to convince Kelsey that’s what she wanted so she’d stop her constant campaigning of Luke’s virtues. As fine as they were, he was not long-term potential.
She thought she’d done a good job of pretending she was having fun, but her always-up-for-a-good-time image was currently on mute, and Kelsey knew something was up. But thankfully she stopped giving her the mother hen routine and bought them all a round of cold beers and nachos before the game got started.
Lord, she hated baseball. Okay, maybe hated was too strong a word. More like she was indifferent. It just seemed like a hurry-up-and-wait kinda game where patience often ruled. And patience was not something she had a lot of. Plus, she wasn’t a big fan of athletes with overinflated egos and bank accounts. And so far, all of the players she had met had both. Even the one she couldn’t stop thinking about.
“Lara, stand up. C’mon, show some team spirit.” Kelsey tugged on her arm.
Both Kelsey and Noel had stood up to cheer in the middle of her daydream and forced her attention onto the infield where Lara noticed a few of the players jogging past the foul line to their positions. Oh yes, most of this team was blessed with killer bods, and those form-fitting baseball pants definitely made her smile. She did her best to not look toward home plate.
But try as she might, her gaze wandered over to the real reason she didn’t want to be here today, and he was staring right back at her. Number thirty-four. Dressed in modern-day gladiator attire, Luke’s equipment didn’t hide but accentuated his hard muscles. Thick, sculpted thighs from hours spent in the gym and squatting behind home plate made her mouth water.
Where other players’ uniforms were loose through the shoulders and arms, his were tight, appearing painted on. Dammit, she couldn’t look away. Luke knew she was looking and flashed her a smile and a wink before he pulled down his mask. She didn’t consider herself superficial when it came to a man’s physique, because she always went for the brainy type. But his shoulders and biceps did something to her . . . something best kept to herself. She promised herself that would be the last time she looked toward home plate the entire game. Really, Lara? Don’t let him win.
She took another quick peek his way. He was now in position as the pitcher warmed up. Every time Luke caught the ball, he bounced up to throw it back and she watched, mesmerized, as his muscles bunched and flexed. Hmm . . . Looking wasn’t off-limits, right?
She happened to glance toward home plate when Luke was standing in the batter’s circle waiting his turn at bat. Yes, this view was indeed worth the sore butt she was sure to have tomorrow. By the time she tore her gaze from his backside, she found herself staring into a set of gray laughing eyes. He sent her a wink and dropped his extra bat and turned to strut toward the batter’s box.
There was no other term. The man strutted. And damn, he did it well.
Kelsey broke the spell. “Hey, Lara. I meant to give you the name and number of that realtor I mentioned. If you’re serious about putting your house on the market, that is.”
Lara kept her eyes on Luke and sighed. Yeah. She was serious. The home needed a remodel badly, but she knew the location would bring a good price. Hopefully enough to pad her savings account and maybe pay off the medical bills she still carried from her grandparents’ back-to-back illnesses before they passed.
“I am. I’ll call her tomorrow. Who knows, maybe putting the house up for sale now will be good karma.”
Noel nudged her and gave her a squeeze. “I don’t want you to leave, but I understand wanting to go after your dreams. It’s why I struck out on my own and look at me now. My design business is growing and I’m thinking of hiring another employee to help out with the larger accounts. It’ll happen for you, Lara. I can feel it.”
Lara wiped away a lone tear. Noel’s words were sorely needed, but also reminded her of what she would be leaving behind should her dream job materialize. Friends you considered your family were rare and she was sitting between two women that would do anything for her, and she for them.
Change was coming. She could feel it. Question was, would she be up for the challenge?
Luke’s bat had been on fire the last ten games. He was sitting at .423 for the season so far, but he’d yet to hit a homer in Outlaws Stadium. One of his goals for their inaugural season was to have at least one walk-off home run. Today he was going to amend that goal. He wanted to make sure he did it while Lara was watching him from the stands.
Damn, she looked like she wanted to eat him up. And it made it difficult to concentrate. But he would. Years of Little League, high school, and college ball had prepared him to keep his hormones in check when he knew a girl he wanted was watching him play.
He’d also mastered the ability to shut out the noise of the fans and the haters, but with Lara it was different. She was different. And he had this odd feeling creep up his spine and settle into his lower neck and park there that he wanted her to be proud of him. Crazy.
It shook him for a second but as he took his stance and waited for the first pitch, he recovered his lost concentration and focused on the Gators’ relief pitcher, Andrew Russell, sent in to shut down Luke’s hitting streak. The pitcher had racked up twenty saves so far, but Luke had two RBIs off him during their road trip to Tallahassee last month. This would be a cakewalk.
He raised his bat, relaxed his shoulders, and took the first pitch. Ball. Low and inside. The crowd cheered and Russell spit on the mound. Luke waited for the next pitch, fighting the urge to look away from the pitcher and over to Lara. Goose bumps erupted and he fantasized about what she might be thinking. Damn. The umpire called strike.
Luke cringed on the inside, but sent the pitcher a Cheshire grin. All part of the game. He took the pitch in stride and knew it would make Russell put the next one in Luke’s sweet spot.
“Whoosh.”
Swing. And a miss. What the fuck? He was off by inches. He swore he felt the wind of the ball. He stepped out of the box, held up his hand, and the ump called time. He stared at the dirt, his cleats, the outline of the plate. Anywhere but toward the dugout or the stands. Or her. Shit.
No way he was going to fall apart because he had a hard-on for a woman. Not just any woman, but judas priest, that stung. He was stronger, smarter than that. Had to be. Needed to be. And he would be.
Blocking out everything, he dug back into his spot and nodded at the cocky-assed pitcher. The only one he had to impress now was himself. Prove that he was in control of the moment.
The ball released from Russell’s fingers in slow motion. He had time for one deep breath before he crushed it. The crack of the bat signaled “home run” to the crowd as they rose to their feet in unison and cheered.
Luke flipped his bat behind him, the home dugout emptied, and he ran the bases with an eye toward Lara as he rounded third. She and her friends were also on their feet. Seconds before he crossed home plate, gray eyes met green. Luke was swallowed by his teammates and half carried back to the dugout. Freezing sports drink was dumped over his head, and once back in the locker room he was shoved into the showers—uniform and all. He loved this game, loved the brotherhood.
He could cross “walk-off home run” from his list and move the sexy, green-eyed physical therapist up to the top of his goals. He’d give just about anything to know what was going through her head right about now. He planned on finding out tomorrow night at Mav and Kelsey’s engagement party.