Perfect Catch(28)

Vacation. What a laugh. Alice hadn’t had a vacation since Liv was three and Alice’s mother, Misty, had taken the toddler for a weekend so Alice could go to a friend’s wedding in Orlando. Liv had ended up fretting herself into a fever, and Alice had left the reception before the first dance had begun, driving herself home the same day.

Since then, in spite of her mother occasionally offering to take weekend duty, Alice was hesitant to accept. Besides, what would she do with a weekend off?

Go visit Alex, the voice suggested.

She was divided on the subject of the catcher, torn between logic and desire, and neither side seemed willing to give an inch. Her body said yes, her heart said protect yourself and her brain wasn’t helping one bit, because it was thrown into such a tizzy it didn’t know who to listen to.

After shutting the door with a muffled click, she took a few steps towards him. “Thank you. This was incredible.”

“It wasn’t too much?”

“You might have spoiled her, with the equipment and stuff. Can I maybe pay you for some—?”

Alex held up a hand, cutting her off. “Don’t. Please. I wanted to do it, and let’s face it, it’s not like I’m hurting for money.”

She knew he didn’t mean anything by the comment, but it still stung, reminding her that while his bank account and hers both contained a lot of zeroes, his were in a beneficial place. It was also a harsh slap in the face knowing Alex—who owed Olivia nothing—had been willing to shower her in gifts, but Liv’s own father hadn’t bothered to call yet.

Spring training was almost half finished, so she knew Matt was somewhere in the state, but he hadn’t seen fit to make arrangements to see Liv. At this rate Alice wasn’t holding her breath, but she hadn’t figured out a way to break the hard truth to Liv. There was no easy way to tell a kid her dad wouldn’t be showing up.

How do you break someone’s heart?

Maybe she should call Matt and ask for tips—he was the real pro. And while she was at it she could remind him it had been his choice to participate in Liv’s life in the first place. He didn’t have the luxury of being a wishy-washy father.

In or out. Not both.

What scared her about issuing that kind of ultimatum was the fact he’d likely choose to be out, and Alice would be the one responsible for kicking Matt out of Liv’s life.

She wasn’t ready to do that yet, even if it was the right thing.

Thinking about Matt only served to make her angry, and she could feel her face pinching in an unattractive way, surely confusing the hell out of Alex.

“It was really sweet of you to include her, not treat her like a kid. I know she’s not good with expressing gratitude, but it meant a lot to her.”

“And what about you?”

“Me?”

“What did it mean to you?” He took a step in, so she could feel the heat of his body.

She hadn’t realized how chilly the night air had gotten until she was drawn into the warm aura of him. She wanted to close the gap and wrap herself up in his arms. It felt so good to be trapped in his orbit, she could get lost in that nearness. Falling like a comet, burned up in the atmosphere, she knew if she let herself, she could be consumed by him.

But she’d promised never to be that helplessly in love again, no matter how good she thought it might feel.

And this wasn’t love, this was lust plain and simple.

Alice braced her palm on his chest to halt his advance, only she balled her fingers in his shirt rather than push him away. “You’re going to be bad for me.”

“I could be so good for you if you give me half a chance, Darling.” His lips quirked, proud of himself for using her own name as a weapon against her will to resist him. Bastard.

Clever, sexy, evil, irresistible bastard.

She raised up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently. It wasn’t a ravenous, sex-starved kiss, just a sweet brush of the lips. Something appropriate for a first date. The kind of embrace that suggested nothing further, but held the promise of much more. Alex didn’t cross the invisible line she set. He held her face in his hands and let her pull away when she was done.

Alice rested her forehead against his and breathed in the crisp, invigorating Alex smell. She pressed soft kisses on each of his cheeks, then one last quick peck on the lips before lowering herself back to the ground.

Patting his chest, she smiled, more to herself than to him. “I should get the kid home. Thank you, again. For everything.”

Climbing into her car, she stared at him through the passenger window before starting the engine. What the hell was she doing with this guy?

And what was he doing to her?

Olivia slept the whole way home, meaning Alice had to carry her into the house, lugging the child’s weight up the front steps and wrestling with the locked front door using only one hand. In the hall she caught a glimpse into the living room, and her heart sank. She didn’t give herself time to absorb the mess, hoping she could ignore it into nonexistence.