His eyes opened wide. “These are my casual clothes.”
She sighed dramatically. “Jeans are casual clothes. Cargo shorts are casual clothes. Khakis are dress clothes.”
He shook his head. “Suits are dress clothes.”
She bit the inside of her cheek and did her best not to laugh even if she did think he was cute, something she doubted he’d find amusing.
“If you’re hanging around for a while, do you want to stand out? Or do you want to fit in?” she asked him.
He frowned. “Your tone tells me there’s only one right answer to that question.”
“Did you bring more casual clothes than those?” Assuming he owned the kind of wardrobe to which she’d referred, which she was beginning to doubt.
“I didn’t plan on more than a day trip. I can drive home later today to pack up some things.”
“More of these?” She gestured to his polo shirt, this one a pale green with a blue pony on his chest. “Never mind, don’t answer that. The mall’s just twenty minutes from here. We can get you a couple of pairs of shorts and jeans, maybe a T-shirt or two, and be back before the game.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sure I have a pair of jeans in my closet.”
She clasped her hands behind her back. “Are they pressed?”
He opened his mouth in outrage, then closed it again. “Probably.”
She burst out laughing, enjoying this man way more than she should. “Come on. Order dinner and then I’ll take you shopping and show you how the other half lives.”
Sam was pitching at tonight’s game, which meant he had less time to focus on what was going on outside the baseline. But he wasn’t blind, his peripheral vision was just fine, and he could see exactly what he shouldn’t let distract him.
Erin and the baby sat on a blanket, a safe distance away from the game and fly balls, with a good view of the field. Nicole had joined them, which provided enough of a diversion that Sam was off his game. But by the third inning, when his arm was warmed up and Nicole settled in to watch him, he’d begun pitching better. Until Macy arrived with Tyler Stanton—and they didn’t go to the bleachers. Instead, they pulled up folding chairs and joined Sam’s sister—and Nicole.
Instead of letting the other man get to him, Sam gritted his teeth and put his anger and frustration into the game.
Nicole had run into Erin at Cuppa Café, where they’d both had the same idea to bring large iced teas with them to Sam’s game. They talked while they waited, and soon they’d agreed to meet up again on the field and share a blanket. Erin, an old pro, knew exactly where to sit so the baby wasn’t in any danger of being hit by a foul ball, and Nicole was happy to have someone to be with and talk to. She liked Sam’s sister a lot, and her daughter was the sweetest-smelling, most adorable-looking baby Nicole had ever laid eyes on. Both helped take her mind off her troubles.
Those troubles revolved around Tyler. Thanks to a phone call from Macy, who had apparently appointed herself Tyler’s escort around town and Nicole’s go-between, Tyler had informed her he’d taken a room at the Serendipity Inn for an extended and undetermined period of time. And Nicole still had that awful feeling his presence here was tied to everything she’d left behind and still hadn’t decided how to handle.
She pushed the thought out of her head and focused on the reason she was here tonight. Sam. The man filled out his softball uniform, his thighs tight, his ass spectacular. Her sex clenched just watching him, a new and exciting reaction to just watching a man.
Three innings into the game, Erin realized she’d forgotten diapers in the car and took Angel with her to go get them. Nicole didn’t mind being left alone, as she was already invested in the game. The cops were up by two runs and she couldn’t take her eyes off Sam, his muscular arms flexing as he pitched, and the intense concentration on his face holding her transfixed.
“Do you mind company?” a familiar masculine voice asked.
Tyler. Nicole stiffened. “Umm—I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
She looked up and was grateful to find Macy standing beside him. Her presence took much of the pressure off Nicole. She didn’t feel bad turning him down.
“Come on. You’ve got the best seats in the house,” Tyler said, coming up beside her.
Resigning herself to the unavoidable, she waved her hand. “Have a seat,” she reluctantly said, but she refused to let their presence dampen her enthusiasm for the game.
She did her best to ignore Tyler and cheer Sam through an erratic pitching period, relaxing when he settled into a rhythm once more. Up at bat, he drove in two runs, and when he hit what looked to be a grand slam, Erin, Macy, and Nicole yelled their loudest as he rounded the bases for home plate.
Nicole was aware of Tyler sitting beside her, a scowl on his face.
“You don’t have to be here,” she reminded him, no longer keeping her tone gentle or worrying about hurting his feelings. She’d made herself clear. He was choosing to ignore her request for him to go home.
“Yes, I do. Until you come home with me, I’m staying.”
“I am home.” With each day that passed, she felt more and more sure of her decision to settle in Serendipity.