Page 62 of My Fiancé's Brother 2

With relief, I turned and walked back to my lawn chair.

I didn’t knowanything about baseball, but I was enthralled watching Jackson. He played the game with intensity and concentration. He was the pitcher. His arm was strong, and his pitch was fast and accurate. But my favorite moments were when he was at bat. He would step up to plate, shuffle his feet into the dirt and do one or two practice swings. With a sharp hollow crack of the bat, he sent the ball flying far into the sky that left the outfielders scrambling. Every time he went to bat, he cleared the bases. I might be biased, but I thought he was the best player out there.

When the Sluggers were up 8-2 against the Army Armadillos, another pitcher was subbed in. Jackson came around the fence and squatted in front of me, a big hand on my knee, while he drank a bottle of water.

“Having fun?”

“You’re really good at baseball.” I leaned forward and whispered to him. “I think you’re the best player.”

“It’s a fun game.”

“Why did they take you out?”

He looked over his shoulder at the substitute pitcher who was warming up. “We want everyone to have a chance to play.”

“After you make sure you are up 6 points.”

“Oh,” he grinned. “You’re a baseball guru now.”

I leaned forward so I could whisper in his ear, loving the clean scent of his sweat. “I hope Alien gets your athletic ability.”

He pulled back his head, his eyes wide. “Well, I hope Alien gets your eyes.”

“I hope Alien gets your courage.”

Another huge smile. “And I hope Alien gets your heart.”

“MacDog are you going to sit there and flirt or are you going to play ball?” someone yelled from the bench.

He openly laughed, and he gave me a fast hard kiss before he walked back to the bench. I could feel the idiotic grin on my face. I glanced to the right, and all the women in the lawn chairs were watching with expressions that ranged from shock to incredulous.

The Sluggers won 8-6.The team stood around drinking a few beers while everyone packed up. As fun as the afternoon was, I couldn't wait to get home and just breathe. My social anxiety was reaching an all-time high.

Jackson walked over to me. “There's an impromptu BBQ in an hour for a few families on our team.”

My eyes went wide.

“Hey Emily,” a voice called from the side. I glanced over to see Guinness and Forbes walk by. I gave them a smile and a wave. I looked back up at Jackson who watched me carefully.

I gave him my widest smile. “That sounds fun.”

“You’re such a little liar,” he grinned. “We don’t have to do this. Let’s go home.”

I shook my head. I wanted nothing more than to be an excellent partner to Jackson. I knew that he was a lot more social than me. “I think it’ll be good.”

“Yeah?” he assessed me. “You say the word, we leave.”

“What should we bring?”

He picked up the cooler and grabbed my hand. “Let’s ask Lauren.”

Lauren was a short blonde with a pixie cut who looked harassed as she herded three kids.

Jackson and I approached her.

“I hear you got suckered into hosting another BBQ.”

“I figured it might happen. This time I’m prepared.”

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