Page 107 of Hard Hitter

“Hmm...maybe there was a reporter at the wedding. I mean, there were hundreds of guests. It’s not unlikely that out of that many people, one of them was a journalist. Did you tell anyone you didn’t recognize about us?” Thinking back, he realized he had mentioned it to a few people. “Maybe that was me, actually. I told that Regina chick that I was with you and that we’d been friends since we were kids.”

“And she wasstillputting her hands all over you?” Rae snapped her head up to him.

“Now that I think of it...she was askinga lotof questions.” Quinn recalled how chatty the woman was, and how curious she seemed about what he’d been up to since his surgery. She’d asked how he knew the bride and groom, and once he’d pointed out Rae as his date, she had bombarded him with questions about how they had met, if their relationship was serious, and other details. At the time, Quinn had thought she was just sizing up her opponent. Guys do that sort of thing when they find out a girl they’re interested in is taken. Ask questions about him to figure out what kind of competition they’re up against.

“Oh my God,Quinn!”Rae put her hands over her face, dropping the iPad into her lap, “That bitch was a reporter and I delivered her myex-fiancé!”

Oh. Shit.

Well, at least they knew where any bad press she’d receive would come from.

“How likely do you think he is to really talk shit about you though?” Quinn tried imagining what kinds of things Emerson would say about her. Would he talk about what kind of sex life they’d had? Would he tell her about their big fight at the bachelorette party? What kinds of things would he say that even Quinn didn’t know yet? And maybe didn’twantto know? “I mean, you were together once. He obviously had some kind of feelings for you. He wanted to marry you, right?”

He didn’t blame her for the exasperated look she gave him. How much could he have wanted to marry her if he snuck around so soon after popping the question?

“These are just assumptions,” Quinn said, trying to sound calm and soothing. He hoped he could make her feel the way she always made him. “We don’t really know that she was a reporter. And we don’t know that Emerson actually spent the night with her. Itdoesexplain why she was so quick to turn her focus from me to him, though.”

A burst of laughter bubbled out of her lips before she clamped her mouth shut.

“What? Why is that funny?” Quinn narrowed his eyes. “Do you think he’s more attractive than me? A better smooth-talker? More seductive? Come on, Rae, what is it?”

“No, I just think it’s funny how competitive you both are over women you don’t even want,” Rae said, grinning. “He doesn’t want me any more than you wanted that Regina chick, and yet you guys would get in a fight just to try to prove who’s better.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “It’s not even a question. It’s me. I’m better.”

Rae leaned toward him and gave him a peck on the lips. “Yeah, I agree.”

About an hour later, the concierge arrived with a selection of leggings for Rae. After slipping on a pair of black leggings, Rae grabbed one of Quinn’s t-shirts and pulled it on, and finished off the look with one of his baseball caps. Quinn threw on a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt, and his Chuck Taylors. His hair was especially messy since he hadn’t taken the time to shower yet, but Rae assured him it looked sexy.

Rae had called her dad and had him send one of their drivers to the hotel to pick them up since both of their vehicles were elsewhere. As they waited for the call that their driver had arrived, Quinn and Rae worked on responding to some of their text messages, reading some of their friends’ reactions to the news.

Quinn’s teammates were more than a little surprised that he was now a one-woman man; most of them offered their congratulations, and others expressed their disbelief that it was for real. Some were convinced it was being hyped up by the media. He assured them that it was very real, but they said they’d believe it when they saw it.

He couldn’t exactly blame them for being so reluctant to believe it. All they’d known of him was the version that lived and breathed baseball and had women all over him when they went out, and a new one in his bed nearly every night during the off season. He cringed at the thought that he’d been sleeping with different women only days before coming back to Michigan. It seemed like a lifetime ago. When he thought of that version of himself, it felt like a completely different life. A different person. The person he was when he was with Rae?Thatwas the real him. This was the guy he wanted to be.

Finally, the call came that their ride had arrived.

Quinn took Rae’s hands in his and studied her. “Are you ready? These people can be crazy, but I’ll get you through them.”

She bit her lip nervously and looked down at her feet. “I wish I had shoes that went a little better with my outfit.” Her gold sandals from the previous night did seem a bit out of place with the casual leggings and oversized t-shirt she had on. She quickly tied a knot in the front of the shirt, making it more fitted to her. “There, now it looks a little less like I just had to throw on clothes to avoid the walk of shame. I could have planned this.”

“I think you look great,” Quinn assured her, handing her a pair of sunglasses.

“No,youlook great,” said Rae. “I look like a sorority girl who partied too hard and is on her way to get a Frappuccino from Starbucks so she doesn’t fall asleep in her nine o’clock class.”

Quinn laughed. “That’s oddly specific.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. “Come on, baby doll, let’s get this over with.”

He kept his arm around her the whole way down the hall and held her close in the elevator. It wouldn’t surprise him if she were nervous, but she didn’t seem to be showing any signs of anxiety until they got to the lobby and looked outside at the crowd that had likely grown in the past hour and a half. Rae stopped walking at the sight of everyone waiting for them. Quinn spotted the all-black Mercedes Benz waiting for them just beyond the crowd and put his arm around her shoulders again. He wished he could wrap himself all the way around her andprotect her from the crowd, but he held her as close as he could and forged ahead.

Through the glass doors, they were submerged into the crowd of cameras and flashes, getting bombarded with questions, reporters and photographers shouting their names to get their attention. Quinn told Rae to keep walking and not to answer questions. If anyone grabbed her, he would be sure to take care of it.

Having successfully made it to the car where the driver was holding the door open for them, Quinn dropped his arm from her shoulders to wrap it around her waist. His voice was low so that only Rae could hear, “Up to you if we give them a little something.”

She looked from the crowd and back to him, giving a shy, lip-bitten smile and a nod. Relieved, he drew her in close with one arm, and cupped the side of her face with one hand and his smile brightened right before pressing his lips to hers. His heart raced. He was letting everyone know that he was hers now. And more importantly, that she was his. Any other guys who thought they were interested would have to go through him. He felt himself give further into the kiss.

Keep it tasteful, man. PG. We can drive each other crazy in the back seat.

Their lips parted and Quinn let out a shuddering breath.Every time. She did this to him every time.

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