The Sweetest Game (The Perfect Game 3)

“It’s either love or all the wives are crazy. Probably the latter. ”

“Probably. ” She yawned, which forced me to yawn in response. “Sorry. I’m exhausted. This last trimester is kicking my ass. I’m tired all the time. ”

“You go. Thank you for the advice. I’ll figure out what I need to do tomorrow. I’m really tired too. I’ll blame you. ”

“Sympathy tiredness?”

“Yeah! I’m tired for you and your baby through the phone,” I teased.

“Love you,” she said, then yawned again.

“You too. Night. ”

Once you’re no longer a part of an organization, you cease being their responsibility, or their problem. The Mets offered me nothing in the form of help or suggestions, and when I finally got off the phone with my contact there, I wanted to cry. The fact that I’d left a message for her that morning, then sat around all day waiting for a response and she didn’t return my call until late that evening, probably had a lot to do with it.

I was so emotional lately, everything had me on edge. Of course, I blamed my overly delicate nature on Jack being gone all the time. But when a freaking tissue commercial caused me to burst into tears, I was convinced I’d gone crazy.

My cell phone rang and Jack’s dimpled grin flashed across my screen. “Hello,” I whined, wiping my nose with the back of my hand.

“Cassie? Are you crying? Why are you crying?” Jack’s warm tone instantly turned protective.

“Nothing, babe. It’s just this stupid commercial where this guy comes home from the war and sees his family and they don’t know he’s coming and he surprises them—” I cut off, tears falling in full force again.

“You’re crying because of a commercial? Did I hear you right?”

I sniffed. “Shut up, Jack. I’m crying because I’m emotional. You’re not here and I miss you so much. Our apartment is huge and we have a lot of shit and no one is helping me and all I want to do is be with you. But at this rate, I’ll be here until next season. ”

“Ahhhh, Kitten. ” He started to laugh and I swore I’d kill him if he didn’t stop. “Do you want me to send someone there to pack our shit? I’ll fly you out to Seattle right now and I’ll get someone to handle all that. You just say the word and it’s done. You don’t need to be doing that all alone. I told you that. ”

“That’s so hot,” I mumbled through my whimpering.

“What is?”

“The way you protect me and want to take care of me. I love youuuu,” I told him, my declaration dragged out with my sobs. I couldn’t stop.

“I love you too,” he said. “Stop packing or not packing. Whatever you’re doing, just stop. We’ll figure it out later. But right now, we need to book my kitten a flight to come see me. ”

I sucked in a shaky breath. “Okay. That sounds good. ”

“We really don’t have to move out right now, you know. Hell, we can keep the apartment in New York for all I care. We’ll just never use it as often as we’ll want to. But if you want to keep it, we should. ”

“I do want to,” I said. “But then again I don’t. It’s not realistic and it’s a waste of money. ”

“Your decision. I’ll support whatever you want, okay? I just want you to be happy. ”

“I am happy,” I cried out.

“I can tell,” he said, his voice all funny like it was when he tried not to laugh. “Okay, babe, I have a ticket for you to fly out to Seattle first thing tomorrow morning. It’s real early, so you need to go to bed. I’m e-mailing you and Matteo the itinerary now. ”

“How did you do that already? We’re still on the phone. ”

“I’m Harry Potter, remember? I’m fucking magic!”

I laughed and he chuckled into my ear. “There’s my girl. I’ll see you tomorrow. Now, go get some sleep. ”

“Thank you. I miss you,” I confessed with my whole heart, wishing he could feel just how deeply I meant the words. My love for Jack felt like it filled my body to bursting at every seam that held me together. I was overcome with emotion on every level.

“I miss you too. I hate being away from you. I’ve always hated it, but this is different. You’re not home when I get there and it makes me crazy. ”