Page 30 of Pitcher Perfect (Big Shots #4)

His slow grin could have powered the entire state of Rhode Island. “You do?”

“Yeah.” She opened her mouth, closed it. “What reason do you have to lie?” Saying the next part felt... oddly like a lie,

but she couldn’t figure out why. “You don’t owe me an explanation. We’re not actually together. It’s... just for show.

Right?” One after another, strings pulled taut in her chest. “Which is why I’m wondering why you said all that when Madden

wasn’t even standing here.”

“Oh my God. Okay.” He dragged both hands down his face. “Here’s a lesson for you, Rocket. A guy doesn’t choose to spend a

week with a girl’s deranged family unless he’s into her. Like, really fucking into her. Maybe I lied to myself about doing this for noble reasons—and yeah, fine, that was part of it. I wanted

to show you and myself I’m not a tool.” He took a shuddering breath. “But at the heart of it, Skylar, I wanted so badly to

be with you. I was afraid of not seeing you again. And now?” He laughed without humor. “Now, I’m petrified of that. I couldn’t

actually do it.”

The superhighway of her mind had become a ten-car pileup. “I... what?”

Robbie grabbed her shoulders, leaned down until they were eye level. “I want to be your boyfriend. I don’t want to be the reason Madden pulls his head out of his ass and notices you. I want to be the reason I pull my head out of my ass.”

“So much butt talk this morning,” she said, dazed.

“Just a cheeky little coincidence. Did you hear anything I said?”

“Yes, I’m trying to decide if you need medical attention.” Gently, she took him by the elbows. “Exactly how hard did you get

punched in the face last night?”

He stared at her with incomprehension.

Even though her heart was heavy and racing from the effect of his words, she pasted on an incredulous smile, because no. No,

she couldn’t just accept them at face value. Even if he truly meant them right now, he would regret giving up his lifestyle.

He’d look back and claim he was in a fugue state. “You’re just going to give up clubs and women and whipped cream—”

“You heard that, did you?” he asked, weakly.

“You’re going to give that up for one girl. Who doesn’t even know how to give head.”

“Ready and willing to work on that, Sky. Right now, if possible.”

A light bulb went off. “Maybe that’s what this is about. You’re not used to delayed gratification and I’m the one putting

you through it.” She nodded sagely, positive she had the issue all worked out, although not so sure anymore she wanted a cut-and-dried

explanation. I got a speeding ticket on my way back to you. “I’m sure if we sleep together, you’ll get over this fleeting interest in being my boyfriend.”

“Well.” His jaw popped. “You’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?”

“I’m not...” She wet lips that were rapidly drying out.

“The last thing I want to do is hurt your feelings, especially after y-you showed up here in a Boston University T-shirt and you...” Her voice fell to a whisper out of necessity.

Talking was suddenly difficult. “I’ll never forget you did that.

I mean, ever. You’re actually my hero right now. ”

His eyelids slid closed. “Skylar.”

“The possibility I’m hurting you is giving me the worst stomachache. I guess I’m just worried you’ll change your mind after

some time passes.”

His nostrils flared. “I won’t.”

“I never wanted to change you.”

“ I’m changing me.”

“Robbie...”

“Okay.” Resigned, he nodded. Planted both hands on his hips and regrouped. “Okay, I hear what you’re saying. You need time

to believe I’m for real. That’s fair, even though I hate it.” He’d never looked this serious. Not since she’d met him. “Just

tell me you have feelings for me. Tell me I’m not crazy.”

Oh God. This was like leaping over a ravine full of crocodiles. Admitting she had feelings for him would only encourage him

to pursue this relationship—one that would absolutely lead to her getting hurt when he eventually decided to go back to his

wild bachelor ways. Hurt was putting it mildly, too. He’d cut her off at the knees, wouldn’t he? Yes. Because she had been developing feelings for him. Sneaky ones. They’d been nipping at her heels since day one. Now they were fully grown,

biting her everywhere. Stealing chunks of her preconceived notions about Robbie. Chunks of what might have been her resistance.

“I have feelings for you,” she whispered.

He remained still as a statue for long moments, before the breath came whooshing out of him, his big body falling forward, hands planting on his knees.

“Holy shit. I was only giving myself ten to one odds.” It took him some time to straighten and slow his breathing down and all Skylar could do was watch in fascination.

This reaction... it was all for her? “What about him?” Robbie’s voice had dropped way down in pitch, his eyelids hooded as he observed Skylar closely, seeming to hold his breath again. “You still got feelings for him?”

“I don’t know,” she said, truthfully. And hey, “I don’t know” was a huge downgrade from a couple of weeks ago when she would

have willingly thrown herself in front of a train for Madden. She’d just never expected the train to have unruly red hair

and an appetite that rivaled the passengers of a medium-sized cruise ship.

The fact that her feelings had been massively—and troublingly—downgraded didn’t seem to satisfy Robbie in the slightest, however.

In fact, his jealous expression as he backed her up against the kitchen counter made her shiver, her neck losing any semblance

of strength, head falling back when he spoke against her ear. “Give me ten minutes in the dark with your panties off and you’ll

know. I’ll get you over him underneath me.”

Several brain cells fried themselves like eggs on a skillet.

“It’s, um...” She twisted her hands in the sides of his shirt, struggling to form coherent thoughts when he was raking

his open mouth up and back in the slope of her neck. Feels so good. “It’s Wednesday. Main Event parenthesis Maybe isn’t until tomorrow.”

“Believe me, I know.”

“Today is BJ Workshop day.”

He hooked an arm under her knee and drew it up to his hip, higher, higher, only allowing her center to graze his erection,

light encounters until she gasped, trying to get closer. To rub on him. “Oh, believe me, I know that, too.” He made an almost

humorously desperate sound into her neck. “God in heaven, please just get me alone with this girl.”

The lines were quickly blurring here.

What had started off as lessons to help her be more confident with men was turning into... something else. A guideline

for giving pleasure to each other. But where would all this leave her when Robbie inevitably came to his senses?

“Can we just keep them... lessons for now? Can they stay what they always were?”

His mouth paused on her neck and this time, she visibly injured something inside of him, which was not her intention. She

simply didn’t know how else to protect herself. Keep this gorgeous sought-after hockey god interested indefinitely when she’d

never been able to retain interest from men in the past? In what world?

Protect yourself. That’s all you’re doing.

“Yeah. Lessons,” Robbie said, voice like gravel, reluctantly disengaging from her as the air horn went off outside. “Whatever

you need to tell yourself until you’re ready to think of me as more than a player.”

Skylar wanted badly to correct him. Tell him that’s not how she thought of him.

Truthfully, though... she did. She had for their entire acquaintance. It was something she’d just accepted, classifying

her jealousy as silly and useless.

Was it even possible to change her perception of him now?

But if he could make her heart race just by walking through the door, didn’t she owe it to herself to... try?