Almost Like Love(34)

It took them only twenty minutes to get to the stadium. On their way to their seats Jacob stopped to use the bathroom, and as soon as the door closed behind him Kate poked Ian in the ribs.

“So, are you going to tell me why Spike made an appearance at my dress fitting?”

Was she grateful that he’d been there? Annoyed? He couldn’t tell from her expression.

He shrugged. “Jacob answered your phone when I called. He said the bride was acting like one of the mean girls in his class.”

That made her laugh. “That’s funny . . . and true.”

“He was afraid she’d hurt your feelings.”

Her expression softened. “Jacob’s a sweet kid.”

He raised a brow. “I’m the one who went in there, you know.”

“And?”

“Doesn’t that make me sweet, too?”

It was blatant fishing, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. A part of him wanted to hear her say “my hero” or something equally ridiculous.

She grinned at him. “I guess it was pretty sweet . . . even though I can hold my own with the mean girls of the world. I’ve been this height since I was twelve years old, so I’ve had a lot of practice. It’s not easy being the tallest girl in class.”

“I think you’re the perfect height.”

Once again, he couldn’t help himself. She looked so damn cute in that baseball cap . . . and so damn sexy in that jersey. It was a struggle not to let his eyes drop to where her curves stretched the faded lettering across her chest.

It was her turn to raise a brow. “The perfect height for what?”

Was she flirting with him? Considering that it had been less than a week since she’d “formally established” that they wouldn’t be crossing any lines, he considered this a minor triumph.

But he didn’t show it. If he really wanted to get Kate into his bed, he couldn’t move too fast. He had to—

Wait a second. He’d decided last week that seducing Kate Meredith would be more trouble than it was worth. When had he changed his mind about that?

Looking into her blue eyes, he decided it didn’t matter. The fact was, he did want her in his bed. And if that would require more finesse than he usually needed with a woman, well, then, so be it.

So he just said, “The perfect height in general.” Then he changed the subject. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why in the world are you friends with that woman?”

Kate laughed. “Everyone who meets Jessica asks that question.”

“So what’s the answer?”

“Well . . . I’ve known her since college. I know she seems bitchy—and sometimes she really is. But a lot of that is a defense mechanism. When she was younger, she . . .” Kate paused. “You don’t need to hear about that,” she went on after a moment. “But I’ll tell you something she did once. The summer after our junior year, my grandmother passed away. Jessica was in Monte Carlo with her family, but when she found out, she flew back and spent three weeks with me. She didn’t say anything about it—she just moved in and took care of everything. My grandmother and I were really close, and Jessica knew how hard it was for me to lose her. So even though she can be hard to take sometimes, underneath it all she has a good heart.”

“Hmm. I guess you can’t always tell about people, can you?”

A moment later, Jacob came out of the restroom and it was time to focus on baseball.

It was a gorgeous night. Ian couldn’t remember ever having enjoyed a game so much—especially since the Yankees pulled out a win in the bottom of the ninth with a squeeze play at home plate.

He had to admit that Kate was the main reason they had so much fun. She drew Jacob into the action by making everything into a drama—the way the pitcher and batter stared each other down, the way a pinch runner took a lead off first and threw the pitcher off his game, the magic of an inning-ending double play in the fourth, and an inside-the-park home run in the seventh.

He’d started off by suggesting that Jacob score the game with him—something he’d tried before with no success—but Kate waved him off. He gave in readily enough, enjoying her play-by-play patter so much he forgot to mark up his own scorecard.

It wasn’t until the eighth inning that he realized how much knowledge of the game she’d managed to impart along the way.

“Did you see the infield shift?” Jacob said excitedly. “They’re going to try to get Hernandez to hit into a double play.”

He’d never seen Jacob so enthusiastic. He was actually bouncing in his seat.