Pitcher Perfect (Big Shots, #4)

by Tessa Bailey

“You warm yet, Skylar? You feeling better?” “Yes. I promise.” His eyes closed briefly and he let out a slow breath, relief softening his gaze when he looked at her again. “That bathing suit is so you.” “It’s scientifically proven to add speed,” she murmured into the shower spray. His lips jumped. “Thanks for making my point for me.” Skylar turned a little in a shameless attempt to draw his attention to her butt—and it worked, his eyes going smoky, a muscle leaping in his jaw. “I have a cuter one I wear when I’m not trying to crush my competition and accidentally drowning instead.” He winced, paled slightly. “Could you stop bringing that up?” “Sorry.” Robbie clenched his eyes closed and shook his head hard, as if trying to banish the last half hour from his mind. “What does this other bathing suit look like . . . and did you pack it?” “I did pack it, actually. It’s turquoise with white hibiscus flowers on it.” Robbie hummed in his throat. “I can’t picture it. Going to need to see it in person, I’m afraid.” His gravelly tone caused a tautness in Skylar’s lower body. A pull. “Maybe.”

“Tell me everything you want,” he demanded, dragging their mouths together roughly. Oh my. “Tell me every fucking thing you want and need.” “Well, it’s . . . Wednesday. It’s blow job day. I thought we could—” Robbie covered Skylar’s mouth with his hand. “I’m not talking about sex. And . . . wow. Wow. I can’t believe I just said that out loud. My hand on your mouth is actually preventing you from talking about sucking my dick. So yeah, I don’t know, Skylar, but I think I’m pretty messed up over you. I want to know what you want in life. I want to make sure you get it?” He rolled their foreheads together. “I don’t know. I don’t know. My chest hurts, baby. Help me out.”

“I want to get on my knees for you,” she gasped. “No.” “You . . . no? But . . .” “You were drowning less than an hour ago, Skylar.” “I didn’t, though.” She scrubbed a hand down between their bodies and massaged his erection through the soaked front of his trunks, forcing him to muffle a ragged noise in her neck. “You were there.” “I’ll be there every time if you let me,” he said, choppily. “The fact that I rescued you . . . is that why you want to kneel for me?” She tugged open the string of his shorts and slipped her hand inside, gripping. Jacking him once, twice, three times, savoring the way his shoulder muscles tightened, the veins growing more prominent in his neck. “Maybe the fact that I want to suck this was subconscious until now, but Robbie?” She sipped at his bottom lip. Nipped it. “If I didn’t want to get on my knees for you, I would never have put it on the schedule.” Relief, tenderness, and heat, combined with a heavy swallow, made him so endearing in that moment. Vulnerable. It was an admission that he’d needed to hear—that she’d been attracted to him all along. She kissed his cheek and lingered there, her grip staying busy on his erection until an uneven groan broke free from his mouth, his length stiffening further and further in her hold. The kiss Robbie gave her was wet, provocative, sexual. “Does that mean you’ve wanted to fuck me, too?” Yup. “Don’t push it,” Skylar teased on her way down, her mouth open as it skated down his bare torso, her knees findin...

“Teach me.” “Jesus Christ,” he hissed, bracing a hand on the wall, cupping her face with the other. “You really know how to turn a spank bank obsolete, don’t you? This is all I’m going to see from now on when I need to get off. Skylar on her knees with her nipples red from getting sucked, wanting me to show her how to fuck her mouth.” His fingers twisted in her hair and fisted, not enough to hurt, but enough to make her back straighten, her attention captured. “Just so we’re clear, I’m going to teach you how I like my cock sucked. Just mine. You don’t need to know what anyone else likes.” He guided his hard sex to her lips, rubbing the head along the seam of her mouth. “Nod or I’m not going to put it in.” It blew her mind that she liked being spoken to like this. In this moment, she wasn’t a daughter or a pitcher or a sister or a student. All the things in her life that gave her performance anxiety or invited stress. She was just a half-naked woman who’d driven a man to a heightened state of arousal and he was letting her know it. Maybe later or tomorrow or next week, things would be different, but right now, she belonged to him. They belonged to each other. So Skylar nodded, hot thrills running through her, overlapping, tripping over one another until she was a human beehive. Buzzing. “Teach me how you like it sucked.”

“What are you thinking about?” she murmured, snuggling into the blanket, admiring his body that was still covered in a mixture of shower steam and sweat. “A lot of things.” He sounded dazed. “All at the same time.” “Hmmm?” “Skylar, you’re . . .” He trailed off with a swallow, raking a hand through his hair. “I’ve never seen or touched or tasted anything better than you. I want to go back and erase everything but you. That’s mainly what I’m thinking.” He paused. “The other is I want to get in that bed with you and sleep, because somehow, I know I’ll sleep even better holding you than I would after a doubleheader. But I’m afraid you’re not going to let me do it forever. I’m afraid to get used to it.” He’s as defenseless as I am. “Get in here, Redbeard.” He laughed, pained. “Not this time. I’m feeling all vulnerable and shit.” It hurt not giving him the answer he wanted in that moment. To erase all doubt. But she wasn’t ready to take that leap yet and taking back any promises later would be worse than leaving him hanging now, wouldn’t it? “What are you going to do?” Robbie traced the outline of Skylar’s body with a conflicted gaze. “Jesus. I don’t know. You look so soft in there.” “I am.” “Baby.” He raked his hands down his face. “No. I’m playing the long game. So, yeah. Guess what? You rest. I’m going to work on making your family fall in love with me while you decide what you want. While you consider me.” “I will,” she said, her heart pumping even as her body continued to c...

“Do you have a game plan to make them fall in love with you?” she managed, heart lodged in her throat. “Not yet, but there will be alcohol involved.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Is your dad going to take one look at me and know I just blew his daughter’s mind?” Where was the lie? “You might want to put on a shirt, at least.” Her face heated. “There are handprints on your shoulders.” Robbie looked at the prints in question and waggled his eyebrows. “My goal is to have some identical ones on my ass by tomorrow.” “The schedule says maybe.” “Right,” he said dryly, pulling on a shirt and finger combing his hair. When he seemed prepared to leave the room, he just looked at her, his smile fading. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay after what happened at the lake?” “After you . . . did that to me on the bathroom floor?” Skylar buried her face in the blanket, a little giddy from the drop of adrenaline and the freedom to be so honest with him. “I don’t even remember what happened at the lake.” “That’s nice.” Robbie shivered as he backed toward the door. “Meanwhile, I’ll have nightmares about it for the next five decades.” Halfway out into the hallway, he stopped. Strode back to the bed and leaned down, drugging her with a kiss. A long, soul-searing kiss that closed her eyes involuntarily and squeezed the region south of her throat. Oh dear. “Consider me, Skylar.”

Robbie couldn’t help but give his romantic rival some credit. Even though it burned. “Being a pro was the one thing I had over him.” “Meaning what?” Elton said, raising an eyebrow. Robbie coughed. “Nothing.” Although, with both men opening up about their woes, he had the strange urge to share his own. This is what happened when three men drank on a porch. “Skylar isn’t totally sold on me yet,” he blurted. Doug turned, dumbstruck. “What?” Elton rolled his eyes. “Yes, she is.” “No. She’s not.” Robbie shook his head adamantly, but he stopped abruptly when Elton’s protest really sank in. “Wait. Why do you think she is? Did she say something to you?” “She let you carry her,” Elton said, shrugging. “That’s it. That’s how I know.” “Okay, but I’m feeling vulnerable, so could you elaborate?” “I’m feeling vulnerable, too!” Doug announced. “Me three,” Elton muttered. Doug slapped his knee. “I don’t like it.” “Can we go back to the significance of Skylar letting me carry her, please?” “Christ, needy pants. Fine.” Elton thought for a moment, then turned to lean back against the railing. “When she was twelve, we were all still getting used to our blended family. Dad and Vivica couldn’t make one of Sky’s games, so they made me take her. Cheer her on. And I went, but grudgingly. This was before she started with travel softball, so it was a baseball game.” His gaze softened. “That’s the day I claimed her as my sister. The guys were hard on her, but she kept her chin up. Kept pitching. But ...

After this week ended, they might be nothing more than friends. If that was the result, he wouldn’t be able to live a happy life knowing what it felt like to hold her while she slept. For now, they were still technically friends. Friends who went up in smoke when they kissed. Friends who’d gone down on each other. If she decided against them, he’d be in love with a woman who didn’t love him back.

He needed something here. From her. What, though? He’d only admitted his feelings and declared his intentions to her that morning. She’d had less than twenty-four hours to start considering him as a possible love interest. A real one. Not a fake boyfriend or a sex instructor or substitute teammate. Stop expecting so much so soon. That’s what logic told him. His heart was another story. It wanted answers. “Are you considering me, Skylar?” “Yes.”

“Did I mention I’ve had a few drinks?” he asked, finally getting himself unstuck. Lunging for her. Pressing down on top of her with a shuddering sigh from them both. “Should we wait until you’re sober?” Skylar murmured against his mouth. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.” He dove for her neck, razing his teeth in a circle below her ear, before kissing a path along the soft path to her collarbone, back up, gratified by the vibration that started to hum inside of her. Gratified that he was close enough to this wonder of a girl to feel her excitement grow. For him. “Drunk or sober, you have lifelong permission to take advantage of me, Rocket.” “Soon, Redbeard. Soon.” “Soon?” “We’ve followed the schedule to the letter up until now, haven’t we?” His mouth rode over hers, indulging his tongue with a sweep of her mouth, his hips shifting between her thighs. Humping her through their clothes, already obsessed with the firm heat of her pussy. That’s mine. I know it’s mine. “We should wait until midnight so it’s officially Thursday. You know, just to keep the schedule intact.” He stopped kissing her long enough to witness the mischief in her eye. “Are you teasing me, Page? I didn’t teach you that.” “Guess it just comes naturally.” “Yeah? I’d tell you to knock it off, but I love every fucking thing about you.”

“I remember what you told me on the car ride up here. How sex moves too fast for you. How you don’t have a chance to find your rhythm, then it’s over. I was planning on taking my time anyway.” They breathed hard against each other’s mouths. “I don’t want to be in the same category as every punk who blew his chance with you. I want my own category.” “I . . .” “What?” “I want my own category, too. With you.” She seemed a little surprised by her own admission. Like maybe it worried her that she wanted something that her brain told her was too far-fetched. It wasn’t. “You already have one, Skylar.” She chewed her lip. Okay.

“You have more than one category and they’re all pretty unique,” he managed, though his throat was tight. “The only girl to remind me who I grew up wanting to be. The only girl I’ve ever dreamed of introducing to my parents. The only girl who can put me in my place and inflate my confidence at the same time . . . you know, I finally told one of the veterans to fuck off at practice. You were right, it needed to be done.” “That’s why you have the black eye?” she asked into his throat, sounding breathless. “Yup. Technically it’s your fault.” “Hold on. I never condoned violence.” “We’re hockey players. That’s how we get our point across.” Robbie locked the juncture of Skylar’s thighs tighter to his arousal, moving her on it just a little to torture himself. “You’re the only girl I’d compete with in the wilds of Rhode Island the week before playoffs. Only girl who’d make it worth sleeping on the floor. Skylar . . . you’re the only girl. Period.” She was silent for so long, he leaned back to see her face. When he saw the beginnings of a shy smile flirting with the edges of her lips, he started to hope. Hope he could maybe, actually be his person’s person. Keep her. “Tell me I’m the only man—” On her nightstand, a ding went off on her phone. The kind that signaled a calendar reminder. Midnight. She’d set a timer for midnight. The schedule had just decreed it was time to fuck and, Jesus, that got him hot. She’d been wanting this as much as he had. “I’m the only man for tonight, at...

“Are we officially removing the ‘maybe’ in ‘maybe fucking’?” “I couldn’t even spell ‘maybe’ right now.” He huffed an uneven laugh against her chin. “Was it ever a maybe, Skylar?” “No,” she whispered, fingers in his hair. “You were never a maybe.”

“Fuck, you are so hot,” he growled between kisses, hard sucks of her neck. “Can’t wait to sit in the stands at your game. I’ll be the only one in the crowd who knows how wide you open your legs to get fingered.” She moaned into their next frenzied kiss, before breaking away. Looking him in the eyes with glassy brown ones, her lips plump from being mauled. “Wait until you see how wide I’ll open them when you fuck me.” Robbie couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d gasped. Like gasped out loud. But he did in that moment, because he almost busted. Had to slip his fingers out of her perfect heat and grab the headboard, bearing down on his lower body so he wouldn’t finish on her thigh. He was that turned on by her pouty challenge—and that was it for his control. No more waiting and no fucking finesse.

“You make me feel sexy,” she murmured. Robbie scoffed. “Because you are.” Heat bloomed on her cheeks, but she kept going anyway. “You make my body feel like it’s the most desirable body in the world.” “It is,” he growled into her neck. “I promised myself I wouldn’t give in to the male urge to say this, but I can usually go for hours. I’m lucky I lasted eight seconds with you.” He let the weight of his lower body press down on hers, hips pinning hips, his bulge wedged between the cheeks of her backside. Rocking. Rocking. “There’s no feeling like the one you give me. I don’t know how I’ve been living without it.” “Me either,” Skylar whispered, clutching at the bedding, wet warmth rushing to her center in a way she hoped/feared she would always associate with Robbie.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, winded, squinting up at her through one eye. “But we can’t do this for the talent show.” They finally succeeded in waking up the whole house. Thankfully, their laughter was the culprit.

Abruptly, he stopped walking, looking at her like he was seeing her all over again for the first time. “Hey, you. Skylar Page.” His fingers delved into her hair and tilted her face up. “Just where the hell have you been all my life?” A cool wind whipped through the trees, the clouds passing over the sun, leaving everything a shade darker momentarily. It was an odd event, almost like a rapid passing of time and she could see it, a glimpse of herself looking up into this man’s face for years to come, almost like she was watching it happen from a distance. And she had no idea how to respond. Couldn’t. Not with her heart in her mouth. The light returned, along with sound and the movement of the branches above, his fingers still warm and anchoring in her hair. In response to his question, she wanted to say I’ve been waiting for you. It would have been a lie, though, because she never could have known to wait for this specific man, the polar opposite of who she’d envisioned for herself.

“Admit you still listen to it.” “What? No, I don’t. I don’t.” “Liar. You lie so hard. Show me your list of most-listened-to songs.” “You will never see that. Ever—” He wrestled the phone out of her pocket and ran, his laugh booming through the park when she sprinted after him and jumped on his back. “No password, Rocket? I could have been snooping while you slept this whole time?” She gave up the useless task of trying to get the device away from him and deflated on his back, her chin coming to a hard rest on his shoulder, watching as he tapped his way into Spotify, blushing and hiding her face in his neck when he reached the list. “No. No way, Skylar. No.” “Afraid so.” “‘Get’cha Head in the Game’? You let me show you that video of me singing in the shower and wallow alone in my embarrassment when it’s . . .” He barked a laugh. “Number three on your most played?” “I was going to tell you when the time was right, when my Kit Harington diary entry wasn’t still stinging.” She jerked a shoulder. “It’s a good hype song.” “The best.” “Hmm. Maybe not the best—” “I’m talking about you. You are the best.” Robbie dropped to his knees with her still on his back, swinging her around at the same time, so he could catch her and set her down gently in the grass, even as his sides shook with mirth. “You’re going to kill me being so goddamn cute.” Skylar pushed at his shoulders. “I’m not cute. I’m intimidating. I can dribble and sing at the same time, as well as any Wildcat.” He lost it, f...

“You going to let me be your boyfriend, Skylar?” A smile flirted around the corners of her rain-slickened mouth, softening the fact that she didn’t say yes without hesitation. “I need more information. Can you tell me what that relationship will look like?” “I can tell you what I want it to look like.” She pursed her lips. “That’ll do.” “Okay.” Robbie crossed his wrists behind his back and circled in a slow pace around the girl of his dreams, trying not to get distracted by the delicate line of her neck, her wet shoulders. Or the fact that he could see her panties through the sodden material of her skirt. That tight curve of her ass. He ignored the long, hot tug between his legs and focused. “Once playoffs are over, I have some time off. I’d like to spend all of it with you.” She flicked him a wide-eyed look over her shoulder. “All of it?” “That’s what I said.” Too much? Oh well. He was in a magical forest with a girl who had doubts about him and honesty was the only way to fix that. “I want to go to your games and watch you pitch. I want to take you on millions of dates. I can’t believe I haven’t even been to your apartment yet. I want to see it. And I want my own side of the bed. Actually, fuck that. We’ll both sleep in the middle.” He took a fortifying breath. “I’m probably only going to make it a week before introducing you to my parents. Is it weird I want to show you where I grew up? I don’t know. I need you to know me. I’ve never wanted anyone to know me so fucking ...

“Could you two kindly stop Frenching in the driveway?” Elton complained on his way down the front steps, doing a double take when he saw their disheveled state. “How did you guys spend the day? Re-creating scenes from The Notebook?” “Shut up, Elton,” Robbie and Skylar said simultaneously. Her brother only laughed.

Skylar let out a breath she’d been holding since the night at the Gilded Garden.

WHAT

“Hey, Rocket.” “Hey, Redbeard.” “Walk me out?” “Sure.” She stood and he held up his left arm, wordlessly inviting her beneath it and she went, her shoulders settling into the warm nook of his body like she could never belong anywhere else. “But you should know, when you ask a pitcher to walk you, it has a totally different meaning.” His body shook with a quiet laugh. “I have an entirely new language to learn.” She kissed his shoulder, looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. “Maybe this time, I’ll tutor you in something. Do you think you’ll be as good a student as I was?” He made a sound that was part pain, part amusement. “See, this is why we’re going to cancel dates. You going around saying shit like that. Now I’m seeing you dressed like a librarian, drilling me on softball terminology.” He leaned down and caught her mouth in a kiss. “How am I supposed to drive?” “Sorry.” “No, you’re not.” “You’re right, I’m not.” They simultaneously hip-bumped each other.

“Madden, I think I have to go. Can you take me home?” His brow furrowed. “Is everything okay?” “I just . . . I don’t think I should be on a date with you when I’m supposed to be with Robbie.” Skylar squeezed her eyes shut. “No, not supposed to be. We are. I decided to trust him and I let my insecurities get the better of me at the first whiff of doubt and he deserves better than that. He really does.” Madden’s energy slowly shifted into what could only be described as rigid discomfort. “Skylar, I think maybe you got the wrong idea about this. It’s not a date.” He stared off down the row of cars, visibly searching for the correct words. “You’re a wonderful girl. The best. But I think of you as . . . family, I suppose.” He shifted right to left and crossed his arms over his middle. “This is about Eve.” His blue eyes lifted to meet hers. “To me, everything . . . is about Eve.” Clarity was a bitch.

“I’m sorry you saw that,” he rasped, in a tremendous understatement. “But I can’t change the things I did before I met you.” She took a step forward and stopped, her tone sincere when she said, “Of course not. And I wouldn’t want to change any part of what made you this Robbie. I fell for that Robbie.” He only half heard that statement, because the pieces that formed tonight were coming together. “And yet you saw this website and decided to go out with Madden, anyway. Was that to spite me, Skylar?” Her face was already in her hands. “Wow.” A huge part of him had expected her to say no. To give another explanation. There wasn’t one, though, and now a hook twisted inside of his chest cavity, making it very hard to breathe. Anger and resignation and regret caught him in the chin all at once. “Well,” he managed, staggering to his feet, getting his phone out of his back pocket and opening the Uber app, ordering a ride, so he wouldn’t have to borrow Skylar’s car. “Who’s the one who can’t be trusted now, huh?” She came closer, looking down at the screen of his phone and starting to breathe faster. “Please don’t go. I want you here.” “I want to be here, too, of course I do, because I love you. I love you, Skylar. But I’m fucking mad. And I feel empty and sick right now and you’re the one. You taught me to trust what I’m feeling and stop laughing everything off. So I can’t laugh at this. I can’t pretend I’m not feeling judged and punished when I just came here to love you.” “I’m so...

“She saw all this?” Chloe whispered. “I assume you’ve contacted a lawyer,” Tallulah said. “You’re not going to want to hear this, Robbie,” said Chloe, “but I would have gone on a date with an Irish guy, too. Ten of them. And I would have thrown in an Aussie.” Sig did a double take. “How about you don’t put that image in my head, Chlo?” “Only kidding!” She looked at Tallulah and mouthed, I’m not kidding. “Look . . . I haven’t done any of that shit since I met Skylar. I don’t want to. But I can’t be looking over my shoulder waiting for her to doubt me again. It’s going to be painful every time. It hurts to be doubted by someone I’m so goddamn in love with. I’m mad, all right? I’m fucking mad and . . . devastated.” Tallulah’s expression had gradually turned sympathetic. “Did you tell her all this?” “Yes.” “And?” “She said she was sorry.” His chest erupted with a fresh wave of pain. “She was crying when I left on Thursday night.” “Making your woman cry.” Burgess shivered. “It’s worse than two broken legs.”

“Hold on, though,” Tallulah broke in with a wave of her hand. “He can’t just get back together while he’s holding on to this feeling of betrayal and judgment. Although . . .” She held up the phone Mailer had given her. “If anything deserves a bit of side-eye . . .” Robbie threw up his hands. “We were all consenting adults.” “True.” Tallulah tossed the phone back to Mailer. “Rebuild the trust before you jump back into the relationship. Spend some time with her on your terms. Decide if your feelings are the same or if they’ve changed—” “My feelings for her are never going away,” Robbie rasped, visions of Skylar flipping through his mind like the pages of a glossy magazine. “Then work your way toward a better place. Take your time.”

“Hey,” she said, lamely, unable to meet his gaze. Staring at the slight cleft in his chin, instead. Or was that a dent from a puck? “Hey,” he said, pausing for a moment before taking off his hat, dropping it to his outer thigh. “You going to look at me?” “I can’t.” “It’s bad enough suffering through hour after hour without you, Skylar.” His voice turned gruffer as he spoke. “Knowing you’re in bad shape, too, might be the death blow, you know that? Look at me.” Suffering? Her eyes lifted of their own accord to search for signs of misery and . . . God, she found them. His eyes were bloodshot and sunken deep, creases on his forehead that hadn’t been there before, the corners of his mouth turned down. “Yeah,” he rasped. “You see what life without you does to me?” Her breath caught. “Did you come here to tell me you’re miserable?” “I didn’t know what I was going to do until I got here and saw you.” “And?” His Adam’s apple lifted. Stuck. “You have a ball and a couple of gloves in that bag?” “I always have a ball and a couple of gloves,” she whispered, aching with the barely controlled need to throw her arms around him and inhale his scent. “Why?” “You told me the first pitch is the hardest. That once you throw the first one, you settle into your game.” He toed her fallen bag with his boot. “Why don’t you throw it to me before you go in? Get the nerves out of your system.” I love you. I love you I love you.

“I might still be hurt and angry that you doubted me and went on a revenge mission after I went all in on us, Skylar,” he said, hoarsely, “but I’m painfully in love with you, too, and that’s not going to change.” Heart elevating, she made a choked sound into his neck. “I miss you so much.” “God, I miss you, too. Every fucking second.” Tell him you love him.

“There is no one in this world for me except you,” he said, looking her in the eye. “Go in there and pitch the lights out. I’ll be there. I’ve got your back.” Skylar’s heart rapped wildly in her chest. “I know.” He swallowed hard as he backed away. “Good.”

“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.

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 has never talked 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. You’re blowing it.

Hypothetically, however, if he was moving out of his party palace and into his own apartment to show he was serious about their relationship—and she’d still gone out with Madden for that drink—she was an even bigger asshole than she’d realized. Plus, she was falling even further behind on Big Gestures than she thought.

“Skylar.” Robbie’s voice stopped her progress, her heart taking over, seemingly going from dormant to hammering within seconds. “Robbie,” she called, but the rustling tree branches drowned her out, so she tried again. “Robbie.” “Skylar.” He came into view the way a warlord might charge over a hill into battle, his visible relief when he saw her causing him to stumble. “Don’t fucking move,” he wheezed. “Don’t.” “I’m not. I won’t.” “Don’t you dare try to get that kite. Back away from the tree.” Skylar put her hands up, feeling weary and overwhelmed and bolstered and elated by the sight of him, all at once. “Okay. I’m not going to do it. I can’t. It’s impossible.” “No kidding.” Robbie reached her then—and she wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t to be pulled into his embrace, his mouth stamping furious kisses all over her forehead and cheeks and hair. “What the hell am I going to do with you, Skylar?” “I was just hoping you’d keep me,” she whispered, accepting more kisses to her hairline, her neck and chin. “The kite is a lost cause, but we’re not. We’re not, right?” Robbie went from kissing her to shaking her. “No. No, we’re not a lost cause. How could you think that for a second? Do you think I could walk away when I love you so much?” Haunted eyes ran circles around her face, his thumbs fanning up and down her cheekbones. “I’m done being mad. I’m done being without you. I’m done.” A lump expanded in her throat. “Robbie.” “Yeah?” “I love you.” She sucked in ...

“I should have called you sooner. I just wanted to get this new apartment. Show you how serious I am. And then I saw you with my mother last night and I realized I’ve barely been breathing since the last time we were together.” Robbie rolled their foreheads together. “I don’t want to fight ever again, all right?” Skylar’s laugh was watery. “We’re definitely going to fight, Redbeard.” “No.” He slanted his mouth over hers, both of them moaning at the contact. “No. And I get to win this argument, because I just drove five hours thinking you’d be dangling over a cliff when I got here.” “I’m sorry for being dramatic. I’m dramatic over you.” “Fine. You win the argument.” He shook her a little. “God, I love you.” “Robbie, I love you so much.” He searched her eyes. “Enough to move in with me?” “Already? That’s . . . that’s crazy . . .” A low grunt of frustration. “How about your own set of keys and a giant-ass closet?” “Still crazy.” A blissful laugh burst out of her. “But I’ll make a pro-con list in my planner.” “Great. Let’s do it right now. We’ll start with the pro side. If you have clothes at my place, you’re more likely to sleep over. Which means I’ll get to hold you at night. God, I miss holding you. I thought I knew how much I would, but it’s worse. I can protect you, too. You know how seriously I’m going to take that job? I’ll walk you home, all the way to your door. I’ll kiss you when you’ve had a bad day. Make you laugh. And I know, I know you’re going to do all that for...

“Should we place a side bet for old times’ sake?” He pulled her back into his arms, making the universal sign for hurry up behind her back. “What are the terms?” “If the Bearcats win, I’ll go topless in the apartment for the whole night.” His tongue tied itself together. How had this woman ever come to him for advice on seducing a man? If she so much as batted her eyelashes, he rolled over and panted for belly rubs, just like one of their dogs. “You’d . . . do that? You’d please do that?” She laughed, the sound full and happy. “And if team baseball wins?” “I go without pants?” “You do that anyway.” Skylar tilted her head back, swaying side to side in his arms. “I was thinking more . . . I’ll let you eat lasagna on the couch.” Robbie blinked. “Wait, so I win, either way?” She gasped. “I must love you or something.” Before he could question his luck, Elton—one member of the crowd standing behind Skylar—signaled Robbie. Showtime. He turned his wife around in his arms, pulling her back against his chest so he could watch her profile while she reacted to over a dozen of their friends wearing eye black, holding softball mitts, and sporting brunette ponytail wigs, all of them doing their best impression of Skylar on the pitching mound. “Happy anniversary,” they yelled, loud enough to be heard on Long Island. Skylar looked up at him, stunned, tears of mirth forming in her eyes, but instead of asking him how long he’d been planning the anniversary surprise, she took Robbie by the e...