Just One Night(48)

knee. “You know, the plan.”

Right. That.

She slumped onto the bench next to Julie. “I don’t think it’s working.”

“Are you kidding?” Emma said. “The man’s been burning you up with his eyes

since the second he arrived on the field.”

“Only because he wants to strangle me for being a brat.”

“Oh come on,” Julie said. “That’s crazy.”

Riley pivoted her head to give her friend a long look. “He told me that.”

“Of course he did,” Emma said calmly. “He has to say something to keep himself

from dragging you under the bleachers to make out.”

Grace stepped out of the dugout but remained close to the fence as she gave a

“practice swing” that resembled something between a golf swing and a yoga

stretch.

“Looking good, sweetheart!” Jake called.

They all ignored him.

“Look, I say just keep doing what you’re doing,” Grace said.

Riley started to glance toward third, where Sam had been stranded as Jake

pitched his way toward the third out.

“Don’t!” all three of her friends commanded at the same time.

“What?”

“You have hump eyes when you look at him.”

“Hump eyes? That is not a thing,” Riley said.

Julie pointedly pivoted toward the spot where Mitchell stood talking with some of

the Oxford guys and stared at her fiancé. It took Riley only four seconds to get it.

Everything about Julie changed when she looked at Mitchell. Her body language,

her mouth, and yup … those were definitely hump eyes.

“I look like that?” she asked, incredulous, pointing at Julie. “She looks ridiculous.”

Emma patted her knee. “Don’t feel bad. It’s the same affliction Grace has when

she looks at Jake. You’re in good company.”

“Hey, I think Alex is trying to get our attention,” Julie said, jerking her chin toward

the opposite dugout where Oxford’s editor in chief was giving his team a pep talk.

Emma turned to look at Cassidy, but Riley, Julie, and Grace all watched Emma.

“You see?” Grace said smugly, holding up a hand toward Emma. “Hump eyes

case study number four.”

Emma’s head whipped around. “What just happened?”

“You tell us,” Julie said, studying her nails.

Emma was saved by loud cheering coming from the Oxford dugout as Jake struck

Oliver out in a horrifically short at bat.

“It’s not my fault your guy looks so good in jeans,” Oliver muttered at Grace as he

carefully removed his helmet so as not to muss his hair.

Riley sighed as Emma snapped a glove across her chest. It was their team’s turn

in the field. “I hate this part.”

“Maybe if you spent more time watching the batter and less time flirting with the

center field guy, you’d be more into the fielding part of the game.”

Fat chance.

Riley told herself to get going, but she lingered as Sam ran in from third.

Sam hung up his helmet, and unlike the prissier Oliver, he merely ran a hand

through his unruly hair. He nodded in thanks as she handed him his glove.

They walked shoulder to shoulder onto the field, he to shortstop and she to left

field. “Try and actually get the ball in the glove this time, hmm, Ri?” he said as he

settled between second and third base.

“Maybe if you were a little more adept at grounders, I wouldn’t have to do all the

work. Besides, I’m carrying my weight.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “How do you figure?”

“Well, let’s see.” She tapped a fingernail against pursed lips. “One of us scored,

and the other—”

“The other got on base because he actually made contact with the ball, not

because the pitcher was distracted with ni**les,” he snapped.

So he’d noticed.

Riley did her best impression of embarrassed, although admittedly it wasn’t her

best role. “Wrong bra choice, I guess.”

Sam’s eyes darkened, exactly as she’d hoped they would. “Another of those

scrappy lacy numbers?”

Riley made an oh gross face as she walked backward. “I thought we were going

to pretend that never happened.”

His gaze flicked briefly to her chest before he pulled down the bill of his hat and

turned his back to her. She thought she heard him mutter something, but it was

hard to know for sure when she was so distracted by the way his butt looked in

those jeans.

Sam had shown up wearing a navy hoodie over a couple of layered T-shirts. The

look was good on him.

She felt a glare, and glanced over to where Julie was giving her a look from right