Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Holden shakes his head. “Nope, not a dad. I’m friends with Cole and Cat.”
All heads turn to me, and when I finally brave a look at Holden, he’s staring straight at me. I didn’t even realize he saw me here, but it’s clear he did. He found me immediately without even searching. The way he’s smiling has me melting in my seat. Why does he have to be so dang handsome?
He steps away from the two women and walks up to where I’m sitting. He sits right next to me, his leg against mine. “Hey, Cat.”
Goosebumps. I have freakin’ goosebumps on my arm, and it’s eighty-five degrees outside. “Hey, Holden.”
He nudges his shoulder against mine. “How you doing?”
I clear my throat and am about to answer him when he leans down to whisper into my ear, “You have goosebumps. You cold? Or is it something else?”
I hold my tongue because everyone around us is eager to find out what is going on. The way Holden's looking at me, he knows exactly why I have goosebumps. I whisper harshly at him, “What are you even doing here?”
He measures me with a look and then stares out at the field where the game is starting. “I came to watch Cole play. If you want me to sit somewhere else, I can.”
I put my hand on his leg and then jerk it back really quickly. I don’t need to add any fuel to the fire. “No, stay, I’m sorry. I’m sure Cole thinks it’s the coolest thing ever that you’re here.”
I wrap my arms around my knees and look at my son standing next to the dugout. He’s waving up at us, and I’m shocked, but I wave back. With a grimace, I mutter to Holden, “He usually ignores me. I guess the wave was thanks to your presence, but I’ll take it any way I can get it.”
His voice is low. “Trust me, if there’s a kid that loves his momma, it’s Cole. You two have a good relationship.”
I don’t know why it matters, but his opinion goes straight to my heart.
Holden looks around the field. “Where’s Jeremy?”
I don’t take my eyes off the field. “He’s not coming. He doesn't like baseball.” I inhale deeply. “Plus, I broke up with him.”
His head whips around so fast. “You did?”
I nod, and he’s smiling ear to ear. “So you’re a free woman?”
Oh God, I’m not even sure what to make of that comment or the way he’s looking at me. Does he think since I broke up with Jeremy that I’m going to fall into his bed now? I mean, of course I want to, what woman wouldn’t? But he’s a player… and I’m his physical therapist. “I’m still your therapist,” I remind him.
He grunts. “For another month.”
I look into his big brown eyes and repeat what he said. “For another month.” I already know that leaving his house and not seeing him every day is going to be hard, and I don’t want to think about leaving him or our time being over.
He opens his mouth, but something catches his eye. He smiles and then apologizes to me.
“What are you sorry for?”
I should be curious what he’s looking at, but I’ve found that when Holden is around I stayed glued to him. It’s not until I feel the bleachers shaking that I look, and I can’t contain my surprise. King, Haven, Chrissy, Gabe, and Dom are all coming up the steps, and they greet me and Holden before sitting down surrounding us.
“Where’s Cole?” King asks as he searches the field.
I’m about to answer in the dugout when Holden replies, “He’s pitching the first two innings.”
My mouth falls open. “How do you know that?” We’re up to bat right now, but the coach is notorious for not letting anyone know when they’re pitching.
Holden clears his throat and looks at me with a guilty expression. “Cole mentioned that the coach never told him when he was pitching and would usually throw him in without letting him warm up. I got here early today to work with Cole, and I talked with the coach about it.”
“What did you talk about, exactly?”
He scrunches up his nose. “Well, I explained to him the importance of stretching and warming up and the impact it has on keeping the arm healthy. I just asked him that when he has Cole pitch that he gives him a heads-up.”
I stutter and point to myself. “I had that exact conversation with him last season, and nothing changed.”
Holden nods his head. “That’s what Cole said. Look, I don’t want you to be mad. I wasn’t trying to overstep…”
I put my hand on his forearm. “Mad? I’m not mad. I appreciate what you did, Holden. I mean, yeah, it sucks that the coach blew me off, but what’s important is my son’s arm. So yeah, thank you. I really appreciate you doing that.”