Page 2 of Hard Hitter

Raelyn laughed. "I'll see what I can do, though I doubt she needsmyhelp attracting attention."

Alexis grinned with confidence. "Thanks, Dr. DeRose." And with that, she left the office, closing the door behind her.

Raelyn was still sifting through the mail on her desk when the cover of her newestSports Illustratedmagazine caught her attention. She gasped, "Oh my God.” Flattening the magazine on top of the rest of the mail she said, "Amira, have you seen this?"

Sounding confused Amira replied, "Um, seen what?"

Raelyn read the headline in red over the close-up picture of the famous ball player, "'Hard Hitter Quinn Casey Exiting Early? What does this mean for the Kings of L.A?'"

"Wait, 'hard hitter' is referring to baseball, right? Not some weird sex euphemism?"

“Yes, it’s baseball," Raelyn laughed under her breath. "They've been in the past four World Series Championships and they've won three out of four of them, so they've been referring to them as the kings of Los Angeles.”

Raelyn studied the cover, looking at the handsome features of Quinn Casey's face in deep concentration. His sharp jawline and light brown eyes, almost golden, staring back into hers. There was more than a five o'clock shadow peppering his strong, square jaw, but it suited him, along with his dark brown hair just visible beneath a royal blue baseball cap. Raelyn felt a tug in her chest, and warmth spread through her, down between her legs as she studied his intense face.

A flash of memories played through Raelyn's mind: The first time she saw him throw a baseball, Quinn teaching her how to swing a bat, spending hours in the fort they'd built in the basement at her parents' house, watching the same movies over and over, the two of them jumping and coming together in an awkward pre-teen embrace after winning a neighborhood game at the park. They had been so young and could barely go a day without seeing each other- at least until the night of their high school graduation.

Staring back into his intense gaze, she wondered when he had gotten this hot. Sure, he’d always been attractive, butnow?He was practically a sex symbol waiting for a line of bad puns to be spewed about his bat and his ballpark.

Amira's voice snapped her back to her office, and Raelyn swallowed, telling herself the warmth she felt between her legs was simply because she was going through a bit of a dry spell where men were concerned.

"Quinn Casey? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Amira asked.

"Remember? Our local, hometown sports hero...We were friends when we were kids," Raelyn said, a furrow creasing her brow as she continued to study the magazine cover. "I wonder why he'd be leaving early. I mean, he's on a roll, and I can't see them selling someone who's such an asset to their team…I read something about him ditching his baseball career for a modeling gig." Raelyn laughed to herself at the thought of the Quinn Casey she knew leaving the sport he loved to pose half-naked for designer magazines. “I thought it was just a ridiculous rumor, but he’s certainly changed since we were friends.”

"Oh, that's right!" Amira said, recognition dawning, "He's that super hot one who's always inPeoplemagazine withVictoria's Secretmodels. I actually bought a copy ofMen's Healthbecause his picture was just...breathtaking. I couldn't pass it up."

"Yeah, that's the one," said Raelyn, feeling a little annoyed at the mention of all the different models he'd been seen with.

"Didn't he blow you off when you met up in college?" Amira asked, now in full-fledged gossip mode. "You guys were supposed to catch up but then he ended up having sex in the booth instead?"

"They did not have sex in the bar booth," Raelyn said flatly.

"Maybe not, but I guarantee they didn't go far before tearing each other's clothes off."

"Right," Raelyn sighed, trying to ignore the memories from that night and the new images forming in her head.

"I can't say I blame her, whoever she was," Amira said. "Now that I remember who you're talking about, theMen's Healthissue was phenomenal, but he was in theSports IllustratedBody Issuelast year, and I have to say I would definitely give his bat a swing."

"Amira!"

"I wouldn't mind taking him to third base," she continued.

"Oh sweet mother, please stop the puns!"

"I'd handle his foul balls."

"Ew!" Raelyn couldn't help laughing now.

"If he's the pitcher, I'll gladly be the catcher."

"First off, you're getting married," Raelyn interjected, "And second, you're a gynecologist. If you've seen all those magazine photos of him with countless women who have probably been with countless men, you might want to think again about that fantasy."

"Ah, well, a girl can dream," Amira sighed. "But I really do have to get going, I have a patient in the waiting room."

"I should get ready for my next patient, too," said Raelyn.

Just before she could hang up, Amira said, "You're really okay about Emerson being at the bonfire? I can totally kick him out- it is my party."

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