Page 54 of More Than Pen Pals

“You, too! How long has it been? Ten years?” She walks up and slips her arms around me for a hug, which is disconcerting.

“Something like that,” I say with my arms awkwardly folded around her.

I try to step back, but she moves with me. I look down and notice her necklace has looped around one of my shirt buttons, and we’re stuck together. After a good fifteen seconds and some laughing, we get her disentangled, and she steps away.

“I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow night,” she says as she straightens the necklace.

A strangled sound catches my ear from behind me. I turn in time to see Leslie rushing out the suite door. My heart drops. I don’t know how much she saw, but I know what she heard. I briefly close my eyes and then turn back to Melissa, who wears an expectant look.

“It’ll be nice to catch up with you and your parents,” I say politely while hoping Leslie’s okay and is heading to the restroom instead of leaving entirely. I wonder if I should go after her.

“Earth to Ash!” Melissa waves her hand in front of my face.

“Hmm?”

“You left me there for a minute.” She grins at me.

“Sorry. What were you saying?”

“It’s so great to be back here.”

“Whyareyou here?” I ask.

Her forehead wrinkles. “What do you mean? I moved back from New York.”

“No, sorry, I meant why are you here in this suite?”

“Oh!” She laughs. “I work here at the stadium in Customer Relations. I visit a few of the suites during each game to make sure everything is up to standard. I check that all is running smoothly, the guests are enjoying themselves, that sort of thing.”

And she happened to walk into the one I’m in? That seems like a big coincidence, though it almost certainly is, since even I didn’t know I would be in this suite until I arrived.

“Well, this customer is having a good experience so far,” I say.

“Who have we here?” Bobby asks from beside me. The man is stealthy. This is the second time he snuck up on me. And the tone of his voice alerts me that Melissa is as beautiful as thirteen-year-old Ash would’ve imagined her to become. I hadn’t noticed until now, which is odd.

I expect Melissa to introduce herself to him, but she’s focused on me. Since she appears to want me to do the honors, I say, “Melissa, this is Bobby Jacobs, Diego Sanchez’s agent. Bobby, this is Melissa Teague. She works here at the stadium.”

“And Ash and I gowayback,” she adds with a smile.

“Oh, do you?” Bobby raises an eyebrow at me. I know he’s thinking I’m a total player, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“We went to school together a long time ago,” I explain.

“Ash, we’re not that old!” Melissa bats me on the arm.

I know I’m being rude, but I need to find Leslie, so I excuse myself. I step out the door, intending to head straight toward the nearest restrooms, but I stop when I realize Leslie is leaning against the wall right outside the suite’s door.

twenty-seven

Ican’t breathe. I don’t know if it’s worse that Ash already broke his promise to wait for me or that he might have been lying to me all along.

Staying at the game feels impossible, but I can’t leave, because I’m here for workandbecause my purse is still in the suite. I finally manage to take a deep breath and prop myself against the wall. I need to march back in there, ignore Ash and that woman he can’t keep his hands off of, drink another beer or five, and chat with Diego’s cousins. But I can’t make myself do it.

I’m regretting not calling Glenn back last night. The longer I put it off, the more my chest aches. I don’t think I’m going to get back together with Glenn, but I won’t know for sure until we talk. And I was foolish to think Ash would wait for me, especially since Glenn is back on the scene.

The suite door swings open, and I pray it’s not Ash. Apparently, my prayers aren’t being answered today, because there he is. I try to disappear into the wall, but it only takes him a second to spot me. I give him a quick glance before crossing my arms and staring in the opposite direction. I know I’m acting like a bratty teenager, but Ash Hamilton has some explaining to do.

He moves next to me and leans his shoulder against the wall so he’s facing my side. “Leslie.”

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