The Game Changer(52)

I remembered the photos I’d taken of the park and its surroundings when I first moved here. “Oh, right. Back when you were stalking me.”

Without any real effort, he pounced, twisting and turning my body at his whim. I was on my back before I could even think. “Yeah. When I was stalking you, Brat,” he said, sitting on me. “You took a picture of that fountain and that really pretty hotel. Or at least your pictures made it look pretty.”

I smiled, trying to push him off me, but my moves were useless against him. “That’s the Plaza Hotel. It doesn’t need me to make it look pretty. It’s amazing, and I’m quite sure I’m in love with it.”

“I still haven’t seen any of that stuff, you know?” He pinned my arms above my head before inching his face closer to mine. “You’re a bad host.” His lips brushed against my lips, softly at first before he deepened the kiss. Emotions and heat swirled inside me.

Thank God I was already lying down because my knees would have buckled completely the instant he started that kiss. I struggled to remember what we were talking about before he erased all my thoughts. “Host? I’m not a guy, and you’re not my visitor. You live here now.”

A gorgeous dimple flashed on each cheek. “True. But I still think you should show me around. I have Thursday off.”

“Well, I don’t. I have to work.”

“So call in sick,” he suggested, and my temper started simmering. “It’s my only day off this month.”

“I’m not calling in sick!” I shoved at him, and he relented. Sliding his body from mine, I pushed up from the bed into a sitting position. “Wait. Is Thursday really your only day off this whole month? Seriously?”

His head cocked to the side, sympathy glimmering in his eyes. “We only get two days off a month, Kitten. And they’re usually travel days.”

“That’s insane,” I said, my shock taking over. “I mean, I knew you were gone half the month for games, but I guess I never realized that you didn’t have any real days off.” Jack’s baseball schedule wasn’t his fault. It’s not like he controlled it. It was one more thing to adjust to in our new life together.

He shrugged. “I know it’s a lot. But listen.” He reached for my hands. “I have Thursday off. I would love to go look at new places if we have time, and I want you to show me some of your favorite spots in the city. OK? Maybe you can take a half day?” His thumb caressed my hand. As if sensing my hesitation, he added, “We’ll make this work.”

“I know. It’s fine.” I attempted to mask my concern.

“No, it’s not. What’s wrong? What are you worried about? Is it the other girls?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. At least, not right this second.” I faked a smile. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that we’ll barely see each other for the next few months?”

“You could always quit your job and come with me. Then we’d never be apart.” He smirked as my stomach dropped and my pulse quickened.

“Don’t say that. You know I hate when you say shit like that,” I warned as heat rushed to my cheeks.

“Ah, Kitten. I’m just messing around.”

“Well, don’t,” I snapped, my tone harsh and laced with bitterness. This wasn’t the first time Jack had mentioned me not working. I flashed back to meeting Gran and Gramps for the first time when he’d said the same thing. “Not with my job, OK? It’s important to me. I want to work. And if that means we don’t get to be together that often during your season, then,” I shrugged again, “I guess we won’t be together that often.”

“I just want you to be happy,” he admitted sweetly but it was too late. Jack picked the one topic that forced me to react in such a vicious way that I wanted to reach across the bed and rip his heart out. My defenses crawled into every crevice of my body, spreading its barbed wire protective coating all around.

“Then don’t ask me to quit again. Not even in a joking way. It tears me up inside.” My work was the one thing I had that was all for me. It wasn’t about Jack. It wasn’t about us. It wasn’t about anyone or anything else. “Photography is my passion, Jack. It owns pieces of my soul, my guts, everything inside of me. My entire being comes alive whenever I stand behind that lens shooting, and I worked really hard to get to this point.”

“I know you have. And I’m sorry,” he backpedaled. “I just meant that I’ll miss you. I want you with me all the time. I hate traveling, and I’ll just wish you were there. But we’ll never have that as long as you’re working.”