Page 30 of Sweet Spot

They beamed back at me.

As I moved between chairs making my way back to the tunnel my phone vibrated with a news alert:

Mantas sign Rhett Ryan and Erik Cassidy. Will report to spring training immediately.

I pumped my fist. That meant the deal was done. Rhett and Erik had agreed to the contracts and would report to camp tomorrow. That gave them two solid weeks to work with the team before the season started. Not ideal, but better than signing with other teams.

“Hey Doc.” A soft, familiar voice drew my attention to the tunnel doors.

Isaac leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes glinting, and an enormous grin on his face. He wore a Mantas t-shirt, dark jeans, and blue sneakers.

And on him, the casual baseball attire looked sexy as hell.

“What are you doing here?” They had an evening game today.

He pushed away from the wall. “I let Gordo run morning practice so I could come thank you personally.” He clasped his hands and bent slightly forward. “Thank you for getting through to Stirling. You’re amazing.”

“You drove all the way up here for a two-minute conversation?” That made no sense. It was a waste of nearly four hours to sit in a car when he could be working with the team. Or talking to Rosie. Or…something. Probably.

He took a step closer. All the cells in my body seemed to realign themselves all at once and they now faced Isaac, wanting a look, wanting me to step closer. “Well, there’s another reason. Our nightly talks are nice and all, but they don’t compare to the real thing. I might have been a little selfish when I jumped in the car.”

I swallowed hard as my heart started beating faster and faster, felt my chest flush and my cheeks warm. “Isaac…”

“Don’t try to make it make sense, Kate. I appreciate the work you’ve done and I missed seeing you. A few hours in the car is more than worth it to say thank you in person.”

I liked the way his eyes softened every time he spoke to me, liked the way he lowered his voice to make our conversation private and intimate, even though we mostly talked about work. “I just feel embarrassed. I didn’t really do anything to change Eli’s mind. I don’t deserve the credit.”

His grin came back and it sent a thrill through me. “See, that’s why I like you so much, Doc. You’re completely unaware of the effect you have on people. I don’t know exactly what changed Stirling’s mind, but I know for a fact he wouldn’t have trusted the path he needed to take if you hadn’t laid it all out for him. If he didn’t trust you. So whether it was your words that made him see the light or not, it was you who laid the groundwork and you who set the wheel in motion when Stirling was finally ready.”

I swear he got closer and closer with every word. I could feel his heat. His magnetism. Everything about Isaac Anson drew me to him like a moth to a flame.

Just don’t get burned by the charismatic fire!

It would be so easy to throw my arms around him and kiss him. To drown in Isaac and never look back. I had never lost my head over a man before but now I understood. I was ashamed of how I judged other women for it in the past. Now that I knew, I understood how quickly you could get swept up in another person, how willingly you could let yourself burn.

“I—Um, what I mean to say is—thank you, Isaac.”

“Are you coming down to spring training any time soon?” His eyes wandered over my face.

“I don’t think so, unfortunately. The front office is a mess and now that you have your players back, the team doesn’t need me as much as the staff here does.”

His gaze dimmed just a little. “That’s probably true. It’s a shame though. You brighten up the place. We still on for Loretta’s?”

I was so caught up in Isaac’s gaze that it took me a moment to process the words, find the meaning, and realize what he asked. “I thought we agreed.”

He nodded several times. “We did. But you also agreed to meet me at Loretta’s.”

“That was before—” For some reason my heart began beating even faster.

“I propose we leave the Doc and the manager here at the stadium. The two people who walk into Loretta’s for the world’s best pasta are going to be the bum you met at Reds and the overdressed beautiful woman at the birthday party. We’re going to laugh and talk and flirt just like we did that night.”

I held my breath. Was this a good idea or a terrible one? Keeping boundaries professionally was important. Mixing emotions and feelings might change things. But then again, Isaac and I hadn’t done anything to cross that line.

Yet.

Meeting him for dinner couldn’t hurt. We just had to keep from crossing that invisible boundary before my work was done.

“If I promise to be a perfect gentleman, would that help? I won’t even kiss your cheek.” His eyebrows rose in question.

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