“No, it’s not. But that is life, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. I am still struggling to figure out where I’m going to fit in without competition.”
“How long has it been since you competed?” he asked. He thought she’d been working at Luna Azul for at least a year.
“Three years. I filed a protest as soon as it happened. And I don’t want to sound like I’m full of myself but things usually work out for me. I just expected this to do the same.”
“My dad used to say that everything happens for a reason,” Nate said, hearing his father’s voice in his head. “We might not understand the reason but it’s there.”
She tipped her head to the side and studied him. “Do you believe that?”
“Yes, I do. I’m going to tell you something I don’t let most people know,” he said, leaning across the counter so that their faces were close.
“What is that?”
“I couldn’t have been as content playing baseball as I am with the life I’m living now.”
“Really?” she asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
“Truly. I get to see my brothers every day. I’m paid to entertain my friends and make sure that people have a good time. Is there a better job in the world?”
She nodded. “I see what you mean. I do love dancing and I’m able to do that every night.”
She got a far-off look in her eyes and he knew there was more to the story than she was letting on. “I guess I had gone as far as I could in that career. It was time for something new.”
“And you get to spend the morning with me,” he said.
“Wow, Nate, don’t sell yourself short,” she said with a laugh.
“I never do,” he said, kissing her.
Nate’s advice made sense and she liked the way he gave it out effortlessly and didn’t try to pretend that he had all the answers. He was more than she’d expected him to be, but then he’d been surprising her all night. She should be used to it.
“I’m not really hungry,” she said at last. She hadn’t come back to his place to eat and they both knew it.
“I’m not, either.”
He came around the counter and drew her to her feet. “Want to see the rest of this place?”
“Yes, I do.”
He led the way down the hall to his bedroom. On the walls were exquisite pictures in bright colors that reminded her of Mexico City. His home was very modern and now. But it wasn’t a cold, modern decor, it was very warm and inviting and Jen was amazed that she felt so at home here.
She drew him to a stop under a portrait of him wearing a Yankees cap. “When did you take this?”
“Season opener. My dad wanted it…he was so proud of me for going pro. He came to every game if it didn’t interfere with his playing schedule. This hung in his bedroom at our home on Fisher Island.”
“When did he die?” she asked.
“Two weeks after I got injured. He didn’t know I’d never play again,” Nate said. “I’m glad.”
“I think he’d still be proud of you,” she said. She knew that her parents would have been proud of her no matter what she did. Marcia always said that parents just wanted their kids to be happy. Usually she was referring to her own seven-year-old son Riley.
“I’m not sure. Why am I telling you all this stuff?” he asked.
“People tell me things,” she said. “I think I look like the girl next door and people just feel comfortable with me. You probably do, too.”
“Girl next door? What do you mean by that?”
“Just someone comfortable. You know, the kind of girl you can tell your secrets to.”
“You called yourself a girl.”
She mock-punched his shoulder. “I do it all the time, but that doesn’t mean I like hearing a man call me a girl.”
He smiled. “Just when I think I have you figured out you do something else to surprise me.”
“I hope I’m not so easy to figure out,” she said. No matter that she told him about her dancing suspension. She usually played her cards closer to her chest. But to be honest, she had no idea how to deal with this life now that she had no direction. And opening up to Nate felt right somehow.
“You’re not. You are very complex,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “And very beautiful.”
He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, telling her how sexy he found her body and how much he wanted to touch her all night. His breath was warm and she liked hearing what he said.
He made her feel like she wasn’t incomplete. And that was it, she thought. Since she’d had her appeal denied, she realized that she’d felt broken, but here in Nate’s arms none of that mattered.