Page 30 of Go Away, Darling

She shook her head, laughing. “Well I can’t let you in then. I only allow strangers with candy into my house.”

“Good thing I brought Dawkins Chocolates then.”

Her gaze softened. “Oh, well then you have to come in.” She snatched the bag from me and stepped to the side.

Linc stole the ice cream as fast as his mother grabbed the chocolates.

“No one shares in this house?” I laughed, loving it all.

“No.” Her mouth was already full. Which of course meant I was appreciating the look of pure ecstasy on her face as she sighed and slumped against the door. “Dawkins is my favorite.”

While she was busy closing her eyes and making sex noises over chocolates I took a moment to appreciate seeing her for the first time in three days. Her dark hair was looped into a messy bun. She wore a black tank top and blue leggings. Her feet were bare. Olivia was a natural beauty from her dark eyes to her full lips. Lips I was having the strong urge to kiss.

I cleared my throat. “So, how was your week?” I hated that I was gone so much. The end of the season was long and hectic and the playoffs were going to be even worse.

“Good. It was movie week.”

I followed her into the kitchen. Linc was halfway through the pint of moose tracks. “Which movies?”

“The Sandlot, The Last Starfighter, Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark, andA League of Their Own.”

I noted that two of those four movies were baseball movies. “So all the best ones? Which was your favorite, Linc?”

“The popcorn!” His whole face was covered in ice cream smudges.

“The popcorn, huh?”

“Yep.” He nodded vigorously. “When we do movie week we always have popcorn, pizza, soda, and cookies.”

Olivia shrugged. “We go a little wild.” Then she whispered, “It’s the food. I bribe him with it so I can watch what I want.”

“Ahhh . . . so that’s whereA League of Their Owncame from.”

She rolled her eyes. “How else is Linc supposed to learn ‘there’s no crying in baseball’?”

“I can teach him.” And it occurred to me I really wanted to. I could see us in the backyard throwing the ball around, me cheering way too loudly from the bleachers at his games, showing him my pitching tricks.

And I didn’t think it was just because I was attracted to Olivia, who was now staring at me wide eyed. I felt a genuine connection to this funny kid. “So what’s this I hear about video games?”

Linc bounced on the barstool. “I love Lego Batman! Do you play Lego Batman?”

“Not yet but I learn real fast. Want to play?”

“Can we, Mom?” He bounced faster and faster until she waved her hand.

“Sure. If Chris wants to, you can play for a little while.”

We plopped down in front of the living room television for what turned out to be an hour and a half of three different Lego games: Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Ninjago. All the games were essentially the same, but with different characters and missions. I had to admit it was pretty fun to play, but it was Linc’s jumping, hopping, and shouting that really made it a good time.

“And then you can make them roll all the way down the hill!” he howled as Captain Jack Sparrow destroyed a giant rolling ball. It was apparentlyhilarious.

As in, the kid was rolling on the floor laughing so hard he could barely breathe. “These video game designers are geniuses,” I laughed.

“They really are,” Olivia said from the doorway. “And we pay them handsomely for it.”

I was struck a little dumb by how beautiful she was standing there. I completely forgot I had the hopes and dreams of thousands of fans riding on my shoulders. “Hey kid, mind if I skip the next game?”

“No problem!” he yelled, hopping up and down as he played. He didn’t even notice that I walked away with his mom.

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