“I think you do know, and after you admit it to yourself, call me. I want to know if I’m right or not.”
She hangs up before I can ask who she thinks the right one is. That’s probably a good thing. I would hate for her to sway my decision. It’s going to be hard enough to choose as it is. If I let her influence me at all, I’d probably be second-guessing my choice, especially if I went along with her.
“Ready?” Lennon asks as I open the door. His hands are tucked behind his back, and he has a devious grin on his face.
I turn and lock my door. “Yep. Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”
“Not a chance. I want to see the surprise on your face. In fact, I need you to put this on.”
When I turn back around, Lennon is holding my favorite tie, the one that matches the color of my eyes.
“You want to blindfold me? Remember how that turned out for me last time?” I raise my eyebrow at him in challenge.
“Don’t worry,” he starts, placing the tie over my eyes and making a knot just beneath my ponytail. “I’ve got you this time.”
And he did have me. Tucked next to him for the ride to wherever, I’m not bothered by my inability to see. He smells divine, wearing the cologne I could bathe in.
Lennon helps me out of the van, and as soon as I’m on solid ground, he slowly begins to remove his tie.
We’re somewhere crowded. I can hear the buzz of conversation around me. There’s a distinct smell floating on the soft breeze, but I can’t place it immediately.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” he encourages me as the tie falls away.
Blinking a few times so my eyes can adjust to the light, I look around in search of a clue as to where we might be. I don’t have to look far. A little boy in a baseball cap and jersey is standing only a few feet away, waving a foam bat around.
“Well?” Lennon asks as I watch the little boy hit his dad’s leg over and over again in excitement.
“You brought me to a baseball game.” I state in astonishment.
“I did. It’s not the big leagues, but I heard the team was pretty good.”
Returning my attention to Lennon, I can’t help but wrap my arms around his shoulders and kiss him square on the lips. When I pull back, his smile matches my own.
I’m smiling, but the butterflies in my stomach aren’t fluttering today.
My heart isn’t swelling in my chest.
I don’t feel weak in the knees.
And my vision becomes perfectly clear.
I choose Jace.
Lennon must notice the shift in my demeanor because he laces our fingers together and pulls us toward the VIP entrance to the stadium. He doesn’t let me go until we’re in our seats. Our chairs have signs on them with our names and the Love or Lust logo along with a baseball cap for each of us.
Adjusting mine, I pull my ponytail through the opening and then slide it low on my forehead to block my eyes from view. Not that Lennon didn’t already see what I think he saw.
“So why is baseball your favorite?” he asks, waving over a vendor carrying bottled water and snacks.
“There’s just something about the game that I’ve always loved. My dad used to take me to watch the Cardinals a few times a year. It was our thing, and he always made it a lot of fun.”
Lennon keeps the conversation going straight through the first inning. At first, I was annoyed that he was cutting into the game. I wanted to watch, to see what the team had to offer. When I realized he was making his play, I let the anger wash away.
He said he wouldn’t go down without a fight. And right now, he has me all to himself. He’s taking advantage.
We leave to get real food during the seventh-inning stretch. As we’re walking out of the stadium, we pass a vendor selling custom photographs from the game. Lennon pulls me close, hands the guys some money, and he snaps a few pictures. We each have to fill out a form of where we want the pictures sent, and then we’re on our way.
“You do realize we won’t get those until we’re back home, right?” I ask as we walk hand in hand down the sidewalk.