Page 9

Jamil

Tommy had called for an emergency meeting between the three of us before showing up at my house after the game with arms full of snacks, ignoring my instant protests that I was fine.

“Please tell me you have beer,” Derek said as he followed behind.

“Guys, I’m fine. It’s late. I just want to go to bed.” And forget the cold glint in Harper’s eyes as she looked at me tonight, stomping on my heart in the process.

Neither of them listened to me as Tommy vaulted over the back of my couch and emptied the contents of his arms on my coffee table, while Derek searched my refrigerator for a beer.

“I’m busy tonight. Nico has me doing something for a new brand deal.” The lie rolled easily off my tongue. It was one I used often when the noise got too loud, and I didn’t want to be around anyone. But they weren’t buying it.

“You’re just going to let her go?” Derek asked me. “Just like that?”

“What if seeing her again is a sign?” Tommy added.

“You told him?” I stared Tommy down as he ripped open a bag of Skittles and emptied a third of its contents into his mouth.

“What else was I going to do?” he asked me around a mouthful of candy.

“I’m so pissed I missed out on seeing her. I knew I should have gone to one of the home openers. I remember doing an interview with her once last season.” Derek sank into one of my armchairs and cracked open his beer. “Did you like her?” he asked Tommy.

“She would totally give this asshole a run for his money.”

Tommy and Derek high-fived.

“Can we not talk about Harper?” I asked because the only person running was her away from me apparently.

“I’ve never seen you happier than during those days after you met her,” Tommy told me. “I would be a shit friend if I let you wallow in pity just because she clammed up at the sight of you.”

Tommy was right. Harper had silenced the noise in my head for longer than the night we spent together. I played looser, the worries about my brother and the media slipping to the back of my mind.

“She could be regretting it.” My heart might crack in half if that were the truth of the matter. “I’m not going to corner her and force her to talk to me if she doesn’t want to.”

“For the record,” Derek told me, “I think the biggest mistake of your life will be letting that woman slip away from you again. And if you let it happen, I’m reserving the right to call you an idiot until we die.”

The idea of Derek having something to hold over me for the rest of our lives had me reaching for the Twizzlers Tommy was now snacking on.

“Harper seems really nice, J. Especially if she knew who you were and never once mentioned a thing to you that night,” Tommy added, handing me another Twizzler.

“She was really nice— is really nice,” I told them. “But that means nothing if she didn’t want that night to trickle into the next day. She left before I even woke up. That’s telling enough.”

“The Jamil I know doesn’t quit.” Derek’s words echoed in my brain later that night as I stared up at my bedroom ceiling.

“The Jamil I know doesn’t quit.”

*

The second Tommy made the last out of the final game of the series, I finally let myself focus on Harper in the stands.

She was scribbling furiously in her notebook as her crew began to prep the camera for the postgame interviews.

Was she serious about interviewing me after the game?

Or would she try to avoid me again? Just like she had at yesterday’s game when she barely spared a glance in my direction.

My stomach twisted in on itself as I drew near the dugout where she was making her way out onto the field.

She looked beautiful in a teal suit jacket, black pants that hugged her curves, and a pair of Jordans.

My mouth watered just at the sight of her.

Tommy and Derek were right. I wasn’t going to leave this stadium until I had the one thing I’d wanted since I woke up alone—another chance to spend time with her.

As Harper got into position in front of her camera crew, I moved before my brain could catch up and warn me not to. The first thing I noticed once I was close enough to her was that she still smelled like cinnamon.

She was just about to step in front of the camera and go live when she noticed me standing close enough to her that I could reach out and touch her. “Can I help you?”

The look she gave me made me want to wither away on the spot, but I summoned up an ounce of my normal flirtatious personality. “I’m here for the interview you wanted from me. I couldn’t find you though after the last two games. Maybe you forgot?”

I swore I saw Harper’s eye twitch.

“Right.”

For the first time since I saw her again, a thought occurred to me.

Did she regret our night together? Was I making this worse by reminding her of that night?

Before I could come up with an excuse to bail from this awkward situation, I noticed Tommy giving me two thumbs up. Olivia and Maggie were perched on the roof of the dugout, sharing a bag of popcorn.

I narrowed my eyes at Tommy. He must have told them about Harper. He grimaced and gave me one of his signature “what will you do” shrugs before dipping into the locker room.

Traitor.

“Are you ready then, Jamil Edman?” Harper asked me. Gone was the easy smile that she gave me as we laughed over our margaritas. Only professionalism and a firm wall she had shuttering her feelings were left.

I flinched. “Ouch, not the whole name.”

Harper looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “That’s your name.”

“My friends call me J.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “And we are friends?”

It felt like a standoff was beginning to form between us and the last thing I wanted was to push her further away. “Actually”—I signaled for her crew to give us a moment—“can we talk?”

The cameraman removed his equipment from his shoulder and lifted a questioning eyebrow in Harper’s direction.

She waved a dismissive hand, letting him know he was fine to step away, and a few moments later it was just the two of us.

It was the first time I could take every piece of her in.

She looked different than when I saw her in Florida, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

It wasn’t the makeup or the styled hair or even the professional clothing.

It was in the stiffness of her shoulders and the tight smile she was giving everyone.

There was no trace of the free spirit I met that first night.

I rubbed my hand down the back of my neck nervously. “I’m not sure where to really begin.”

I was afraid I was making a fool of myself standing here in front of her when she thought our connection was only cut out for that one night.

Harper regarded me for a few moments before catching me off guard.

“I’m Harper Nelson, the new field reporter for the Chicago Cougars.

” The smile she offered was small and cautious.

She also realized the tightrope we were walking on.

We were stepping out of the snow globe we’d created in Florida and back into reality.

“Jamil Edman, starting centerfielder for the Chicago Cougars.”

“It’s nice to officially meet you.” Her voice was still small, but that girl from the bar was starting to make an appearance.

“I guess I know why you were in Florida now.”

A deep flush bloomed on her neck and crept up to her cheeks. “It appeared that you wanted a break from baseball that night and, honestly, so did I.”

“Thank you for that.”

Harper’s eyes shot up to mine when she realized I wasn’t upset that she hid who she was. How could I be when I was doing the same thing?

But I no longer wanted either of us to hide ourselves away. I wanted to learn everything about her. Not just the pieces that I had already. The moment I’d traced those tattoos, now hidden under her top and blazer, I knew there was more than met the eye. More importantly, I wanted her to know me.

“Would you want to get a drink so we can maybe introduce ourselves properly?”

Harper glanced down at her shoes as her finger fiddled with the switch on her microphone. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea, seeing as we will be working with each other this season. It may be better to keep things professional. I feel like that’s breaking some journalism code of conduct.”

“It’s not a date, Harper.” I flashed her a small smile with the hope of reassuring her. “It’s just a drink.”

I noticed the way she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she weighed her options. Not long ago I had those very same lips between my teeth.

“Just a drink?”

I nodded, hoping she could see the sincerity in my eyes. “Just a drink.”

“I have to finish packing up,” she trailed off and hiked a thumb over her shoulder toward her things.

“I’ve got to get changed anyways. I’ll meet you by the player locker room. Do you know where that’s at?”

She nodded. “Great game, by the way. That was a phenomenal performance.”

“Was that a compliment?” I asked her, faking disbelief.

Harper rolled her eyes and laughed. “It was.”

“What are you doing?” she asked me as I placed a hand to my chest and closed my eyes.

“Savoring the moment. Who knows when I’ll get another Harper Nelson compliment again.”

Her mouth formed a perfect circle. “You’re a real piece of work.”

I winked before I turned to head back to the dugout, only stopping when I heard her call after me.

“I’m happy I ran into you again, Jamil. Truly.”

Truth was, I wasn’t sure why we had crossed paths again.

Maybe the universe was giving me a gift after everything it had put me through.

There was no denying there was some sort of chemistry between us back in Florida.

Tommy and Derek were convinced that she could be the one.

But that wasn’t what made me want to ask her out for a drink.

I craved another night of sitting with someone who didn’t care about the stats or the fame and only cared about me .

“Me, too, Moon,” I told her with the barest hint of a smile. “Me, too.”