The Perfect Game (The Perfect Game 1)

“Hey, Dean. How you do

ing?” Dean smiled at the men as they playfully boxed in the living room, almost dropping their things.

I resisted the urge to pull my brand new camera out of my bag and shoot the interaction. The taller man stopped as he noticed me and walked in my direction, his arm outstretched. “You must be Cassie,” he said before shaking my hand.

I smiled and nodded. “I’m Marc and this is my partner in crime, Ryan. ” He gestured toward the other gentleman.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I responded politely.

“It’s nice to meet you too. Jack, you held back on how good-looking your girl is. ” Ryan winked at Jack with a chuckle.

“Settle down. I haven’t signed any agreements with you two yet. ” Jack smirked before wrapping his arm around my waist and pressing me against him.

“This is fun!” I wiggled my shoulders with excitement, then leaned into Jack’s hard chest.

“Oh, you like this, do you?” He dropped his arm and started to tickle my side.

I screamed and ran away, pretending to hide behind Dean for protection. “Save me, Dean,” I shouted, grabbing his arms and cowering as he moved his body to block me from Jack’s playful attack.

“What’s going on?” Gran’s voice echoed into the living room before she popped her head in. “Oh dear, stop it! Come sit at the table…that esspen will be here any minute now!”

I laughed at Gran’s pronunciation of ESPN. She said it like it was a word, instead of separate letters. No matter how many times everyone told her it was E, S, P, N, she still insisted on pronouncing it ESS-pen.

“Are you okay, Gran?” Jack dropped a kiss on the top of her head before enveloping her frail frame in his strong arms.

“I’m just a little anxious is all,” she admitted, her voice cracking.

“It’s going to be great, isn’t it, fellas?” Jack narrowed his eyes toward his soon-to-be agents.

“Of course it is,” Ryan reassured.

“This whole thing is nerve-wracking,” Gran declared. “Why aren’t you nervous?” she asked her grandson, and I watched the smile take over his face.

“Because there’s nothing more I can do. I’ve worked my ass off and I’ve left it all out on that field every day for years. ” He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s out of my hands at this point. ”

Her cheeks scrunched as she beamed with pride. “How’d you get so smart?” She cupped his face with both hands and planted a kiss on each cheek.

“I learned it from you. Now come sit with us and relax. ” He led her by the hand toward the kitchen table when the chime of the doorbell stopped them. “You sit, Gran. I’ll let them in,” Jack told her sweetly.

The chatter of voices filtered from the open front door and into the kitchen where we all sat waiting. Jack walked in followed by two cameramen, a reporter, and a producer. They discussed how things would work—that we would basically be filmed waiting for the phone to ring and for Jack to get his offer. They would film the reaction when the call came, and then interview Jack and possibly us after. And they kept reminding us not to look at the cameras and to act natural.

I laughed and all eyes turned to me. “What? It’s not natural to have huge cameras following your every move and filming your private expressions. I’m a lot more comfortable behind the lens than I am in front of it. ”

“I know it’s a little weird. Just do your best to pretend that the cameras aren’t here,” the director told me.

We sat around the kitchen table making small talk while the cameras filmed mere feet from us. Waiting for a phone call to come was nerve-wracking enough, but being filmed while you were waiting was a completely different experience entirely.

I jumped when the phone clanged to life, the sound startling me and waking up my dormant emotions. Fear suddenly ripped through my body, followed quickly by nerves, and then elation. My stomach twisted as Jack walked toward the old yellow rotary phone.

“Hello?” His eyes scanned each of our faces, but never the camera. “Speaking. ” A huge grin spread across his face making the dimples I loved even deeper. “Thank you so much. Yes, sir. I’ll be in touch. Thank you. ”

He slammed down the phone before turning toward us. “Arizona!” he shouted and everyone cheered, including me. I wasn’t sure why we were cheering, but I screamed and clapped along. “I’m a Diamondback!”

“Bonus amount?” Marc asked, leaning his elbows against the table.

“Hold on,” Jack said before walking over to his Gran and kissing her cheek. Then he squeezed Gramps and Dean before leaning down to kiss my mouth and I instantly forgot we were surrounded by cameras and strangers.

“Congratulations, babe. I’m so happy for you. ” I looked into his soft brown eyes and noticed the peace there.