Page 107 of Pitcher Perfect
“Sure does, buddy,” Mailer said, patting him on the back as he skated by. “What do you think they’re talking about?”
“Me, obviously.”
Sir Savage grunted. “All good stuff, I’m sure.”
“Yeah.” Robbie picked up his stick and stood, suddenly determined to have the best game of his life. “Would it be crazy if I ask her to move in with me?”
“Yes,” they all said at once.
“I don’t care. I’m doing it. I’m going to marry her, too.”
“Why the rush?” Mailer wanted to know.
Sig and Burgess both opened their mouths, seemingly to second Mailer’s concerns, but they snapped them shut just as fast,their attention drawn to the family section where Tallulah and Chloe sat side by side, waving at their boyfriends.
“I get the rush,” Sig said gruffly.
“Same.” Burgess sighed. “Ask her. Tonight. Don’t waste a second.”
But Robbie wouldn’t get the chance to ask. Not until much later.
Sensory overload.
Until tonight, Skylar hadn’t known about hockey stretches. But oh, she knew now. Try talking to the mother of your sort-of boyfriend while he humps the ice one hundred yards away. It isn’t easy to concentrate. She’d been so startled when Angela introduced herself, she’d gone in for the hug, which, frankly, had felt like the right thing to do. Her first impulse. And Angela hadn’t seemed to mind.
The reality was, Skylar wasn’t Robbie’s girlfriend, though. Not really. She’d shown up at Boston Garden tonight unsure if he’d even left a ticket at the box office. There had been no communication between them since their kiss in the parking lot, a kiss that she could still feel wash over her body every time she closed her eyes. Maybe waiting for Robbie to stop being mad was hopeless. Maybe love wasn’t enough when two people had doubted each other the way they had.
Or maybe she needed to make a gesture. Something more than showing up at a game and sitting in a seat. She’d spent the last three days trying to come up with an act of love to show she’d been paying attention, that every moment they’d spent together had been important, the way Robbie had done when he’d offered to catch her first pitch in the parking lot. As of now, she was still drawing a blank.
“I hear you’re a big-time pitcher,” Angela said, smiling, herLong Island accent offering the pronunciationpitcha. “Robbie says you’re a phenom.”
An embarrassing level of heat pressed behind Skylar’s eyes.He talked to his mother about me.Maybe this wasn’t so hopeless after all. “Yeah, I am pretty good,” Skylar murmured without thinking.
Robbie’s mother cracked a laugh. “I love that confidence!”
Skylar smiled through her flush. “That’s how I met Robbie, actually. Did you know the Bearcats have a rivalry with some local baseball players? One of them is my brother. Imagine my surprise when I was dragged out of bed on a Saturday morning to pitch against a professional hockey team.”
Angela shook her head, only mildly astonished. “I’m sure my son was the ringleader. He’s a good boy, but wherever he goes, trouble follows.” Quickly, she reached over and squeezed Skylar’s hand. “Not that you have any reason to worry.”
“I’m not worried,” Skylar reassured her, meaning it. One hundred percent meaning it. She trusted that man down on the ice with her life. Her heart. “He’d probably say he’s the fun kind of trouble.”
“You’re right, he would say that.” Angela gave her a once-over. “Why aren’t you wearing his jersey?”
“Oh, I...” Skylar trailed off, not knowing what to say. She ended with a jerky shrug, giving Angela an apologetic look for not having an answer.
Robbie’s mother scrutinized Skylar’s expression and made a sound of understanding. “You’re unsure about where you two stand after your little tiff, is that it?”
God, this woman got to the point fast. “It wasn’t so little.”
“Well, it couldn’t have been that big, either. He talked our ears off about you all damn night.” She elbowed her husband in the ribs, sloshing his beer. “Didn’t he, Clark?”
A long-suffering sigh. “Yup.”
“Robbie hasnevertalked to us about a girl before. Suddenly, there he is getting choked up talking about the little gold flecks in your eyes. Fight be damned, all right?”
“All right,” Skylar responded, grateful for the insight even though it made her heart all the heavier. If he was so enamored of her, why hadn’t he called? Texted?
He needs that gesture.
