Page 105 of Caught Looking

“No I fucking don’t,” he grumbled. “But you’ve been nothing but good to her, you asshole. I keep trying to find a reason to hate you but I can’t. Fucking hell.”

I worked hard to be the man Annalise needed—and Rhett Ryan tolerated. I burst with pride. But that paled to the pride I felt a second later when Annalise came out of nowhere to score an electric goal.

The entire stadium exploded. The guys slapped my shoulders and shook me around. Rhett and I high-fived. I knew there were cameras on us and in a few minutes my reactions would be splashed around social media.

I didn’t care. Not anymore. I was happy that our love story made people happy. They could have all of these moments and interpret them however they needed to, because the only story that mattered was ours. And no one would ever truly know it but us.

Fifteen minutes later she scored their second goal. There was a buzz in the crowd after that. Not just hope for a win because they were winning, but with so much game time left, the belief that something truly special would happen tonight.

Annalise had a hat trick before the half.

After the third goal her teammates lost their minds. The celebration was enormous. Capped off by her searching for me. The guys lifted me up on their shoulders while the crowd pointed up at us.

Her face lit up when she saw me. I fist-pumped the air. “That’s my woman!”

During halftime we devoured all the food in the suite. All of it. “Maybe next time we should preorder more food.” Wes rubbed his belly. “I mean, we just played a game of our own. We’re hungry boys.”

Everett rolled his eyes. “We can order more food. Do you want chicken nuggets off the kiddie menu?”

Wes made big eyes. “With ketchup.”

Rhett growled some more. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.”

Erik just shook his head. “There’s a cheesesteak stand. Want me to order your favorite?”

I realized he was looking at me. They all were. Sure they were here to have fun, but it finally sank in. They were here…for me. Me and Rhett. But also…me.

Years ago, Erik and Wes would just as soon shoved me in a taxi and waved goodbye to get me out of their hair. Now they were hanging out with me, ready to order my favorite food.

“Uh, yeah. That’d be great. Thanks.” I had to clear my throat because for some reason it was all clogged up.

After they left I stood there staring at the table. Getting my act together was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I got my career back, fell in love, and for the first time since college, found new friends.

“You okay?” Everett asked. He slid a new bottle of water my way.

“Did I waste the last eight years?” If I’d dealt with my anger, with the betrayal, would all of this have happened sooner?

Everett sighed, running a hand through his long beard. “If you wasted them then so did I, and I really can’t think of it that way or I’ll lose my shit.”

I thought of Everett spending all those years back home, of the time he got with his family and his brother. They would have been prime years for his health, but were those years wasted by not playing baseball? “You’re closer to Isaac than ever, right?”

He dipped his head. “Yeah, and I’d never trade being the best uncle in the world to Rosie.”

I shrugged. “Then it wasn’t a waste. We just took unexpected paths to get here.”

“Where is here?”

Did he really not see what he had right in front of him? Had I been this blind only a few months ago when Isaac urged me to find a new purpose? “Here is where it all comes together, my friend. Here is where we decide who we want to be. I wish I hadn’t been so angry or such an asshole, but it drove me to play harder, to be better, than I ever would have. So I’m going to stop regretting what I did and accept that it made me who I am. Maybe you should do the same.”

Everett frowned at his orange sports drink. “And who am I?”

“The best damn closer in baseball. Grown men shit their pants when they see you emerge from the bullpen, Ev. They know they’re fucked.”

The corner of his lip twitched up. “That is fun to see. I guess I’m just not sure who I am off the mound. Not anymore.”

I snagged a pair of binoculars from the center of the table. “With Willa hanging around again, it’s time to reunite the three amigos. Sometimes going back to who you were reminds you of who you want to be.” Or, in his case, who he was madly in love with.

All they needed was some time together. They’d been so close to realizing it all those years ago. Now, older and wiser, maybe they wouldn’t be able to ignore the signs.

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