Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances (40 page)

Toby spins around and hugs my knees. “Thanks Dad, this is the best room. I can’t wait to tell Kyle.”

I reach out to Mia and pull her close, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You know, Tobs, Mi—” I start to tell him she is the one responsible for all this awesomeness, but she cuts me off.

“Your dad did a pretty great job with it, didn’t he?” Toby looks up and nods as he makes his book selection. She squats down to his level and holds out her arms. “I’m going to let you two read and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Toby runs into her arms in such a carefree, yet completely normal behavior like he does this every day. He grabs her cheeks. “Can you read with us, too?”

Mia glances up at me, asking for permission. I nod and the three of us crawl into his full-size bed. He snuggles between the two of us, leaning more on Mia than me. I should probably be offended that my son would rather curl up with her than me, but I can’t blame the little guy.

Mia and I take turns reading pages and Toby is passed out before we’re even halfway through the book. We both sit in silence, watching him sleep, my fingertips dragging lazily up and down her arm. I bring her hand to my lips and give it a small kiss.

“I’d call today a success,” I say softly.

Mia nods. “Don’t you miss him?” She looks at me and I see tears in her eyes. “I mean, I can’t imagine having him so far away.”

I squeeze her hand. “Of course I do, but I have to do what’s best for him. I’m not going to bring him out here to stay with a nanny all the time.”

Mia doesn’t say anything for a long time. I look at her and can tell there’s something going on in that mind of hers. I start to ask when she looks at me and says, “I can help.”

It’s a sincere gesture on her part, but I can’t accept the offer. Kissing her hand again, I tell her, “I appreciate the offer, babe, but I can’t do that to you. You’ve got work and I’ll be on the road with games.” I shake my head. “It’s sweet, Mia, but I can’t say yes.”

She looks me in the eyes as she speaks. “I can take some time off work, travel with him to the away games. We might need to get a nanny for some times during the week, but we can make it work. Let’s just try it until the All Star break.”

I grin when she says that last part. We…she wants us to be a we which includes the three of us, not just her and me.

CHAPTER 22

Mia

It wasn’t easy, but I convinced Asher that I needed to take some time off work. And by off, that just means that I won’t be showing as many houses or spending as much time in the office. Asher would never let me take four straight weeks of vacation, which is how long Toby is staying with us.

Pouring milk over his Fruit Loops, the fruity smell reminds me of my childhood when my mother used to fix my brother and me the same breakfast. I was relieved that Tate didn’t think I was overstepping when I suggested that I could help him with Toby. After spending the day with his son, I couldn’t picture the two of them being separated again. Plus, for my own selfish reasons, I knew it would take me out of town and delay my “date” with Asher. I know I can’t run from it forever, but delaying will help me figure things out.

“Mia, are you going to marry my dad?” Toby asks, bringing me out of my memories.

The first time he asked that, I panicked, but now it’s been a week and the question has become part of our morning routine. I set the bowl of cereal in front of him and take a seat with my cup of coffee in hand.

“I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it,” I say, giving him my normal answer.

He takes a bite and with a mouthful of Fruit Loops, he comments, “I…really…think…you should.”

I smile and hand him a napkin. “Don’t talk with your mouthful.”

He gulps down his bite and apologizes. I kiss his forehead and take a sip of coffee. “It’s okay. Now, remember, Colie is going to watch you for a bit before we leave for New York this afternoon.”

The guys have already left with the team for their series against the Aces. Colie volunteered to take a later flight with us so that I could get some work done before leaving town for four days.

He nods. “I know and Dad told me not to bring her any jellyfish when we’re on the beach.”

I laugh. “Right.” Apparently Colie has a fear of jellyfish, which we discovered when Toby came carrying one to her beach towel the other day and she jumped up screaming like a little kid. It was kind of hilarious, but we’ve decided to just avoid the creatures whenever she’s around.

The doorbell rings and I go to answer it. Colie greets me with a hug. I’m slowly getting used to this female affection. Walking back to the kitchen, I give Colie an update on my wedding chore list that she’s assigned me.

“The flowers are ordered, cake tasting is next week, and you have a dress fitting as soon as we get back in town.”

Colie grins. “Thank you, Mia. There is no way I could pull this wedding off without you.”

Toby hops down from the table, carrying his bowl to where I stand at the sink. I give Colie a quick smile as I help Toby clean up his breakfast mess. “Thank you, Tob. Run upstairs and put on your suit. Colie said you guys can go swimming, just no—”

“Jellyfish, got it,” he says while rolling his eyes.

“Thaaaankk you,” Colie responds, letting out a sigh of relief.

I laugh at the two of them and bend my knees, turning sideways in my pencil skirt so I can get to his level. I open my arms for a hug. “Alright, I’ll see you in a couple hours and then we’ll head to the airport.”

Toby wraps his arms around me, squeezing me with all his might. “Okay, Mom….Oops!” He giggles and corrects himself. “I mean Mia, I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Laughing, the little boy runs out of the room as I stay squatted, balancing on my heels in shock at his slip of the tongue. I’m stunned and elated at what he said, unsure if I should tell Tate or not. I feel Colie’s hand on my shoulder. Glancing up at her, I blink quickly, not wanting the tears in my eyes to fall down my cheeks.

Colie holds her hand out and helps me up. Nudging me with her elbow, she comments, “Sounds like the little guy likes you.”

Still in shock, I just nod. I’ve handed Tate and Toby both my heart on a silver platter. I know I’m in too deep and I’m going to end up hurt.

Tate

“Shortstop, Tate James, is up to bat for the Los Angeles Stags,” the announcer’s voice booms over the stadium.

Walking up to the plate, I tap my shoes with my bat, trying to knock off the dirt stuck in my cleats. I glance into the stands and smile at the sight of Mia with my son. It’s the seventh inning and every time I’ve looked at them, neither are paying attention to the game. Well, they were when the Cap Dance Game was on the Jumbotron, but that doesn’t count. Most guys on the team would probably be offended, but I don’t mind. Normally, neither of them would even be here.

I hit a double off a two and two pitch, scoring our catcher. The next batter hits us into a double play and I jog back to the bench. Taking a drink of water, Colie picks up my glove and says, “I think that son of yours is falling for Mia just as hard as you are.”

I look at her with a raised eyebrow, questioning her comment.

“Toby called her mom this morning,” she says, her voice full of excitement.

My eyes get big and I stand there frozen until Colie shoves my glove into my chest. My boy called her mom. He’s never called anyone mom before, not even my own mother. I look at the stands again and see him sitting in her lap. Both of them are grinning from ear to ear and their laughter is infectious as the fans around them are laughing, too. Even from a few hundred feet away, I’m laughing along with them.

Colie slaps my backside and nods to the field. “Go! You’re holding up the game!”

I sprint to my position between second and third base as the umpire glares at me. I take one more look at the two of them. This time Mia is standing up while Toby hangs on her neck. Mia points to me, but my boy only has eyes for her. I grin as I kick the dirt and shake my head. I thought Asher was my competition for Mia; I never realized it would be my own son.

CHAPTER 23

Tate

“Happy birthday!!!” I hear Toby scream at the top of his voice. I roll over, trying to focus my eyes on the alarm clock that I think reads six. Rubbing the sleep away, I sit up as he jumps on the bed, behind him Mia carries a tray with breakfast.

I pull him to me and kiss his head. “Thanks, buddy.”

Toby excitedly bounces up and down in the bed, pointing to the food on the tray. “Mia and I made you breakfast. She let me crack the eggs!”

Mia sets the tray beside me on the bed. “You did a great job, Toby.” She looks at me and raises an eyebrow. “He thought you might want it crunchy.”

I laugh and pull her to me for a birthday kiss. My hand grasps her neck and slowly slides down her silk robe to her waist. Strawberry juice squirts me in the cheek, reminding me that my son is sitting beside me. He giggles and mutters his apologies as he continues to eat his strawberry.

Mia sits on the edge of the bed and I let my hand rest on her lap as I take a bite of the omelet. So far, so good… no shells in that bite. It’s not until the fourth forkful that I find an eggshell. Mia tries to hide her laughter as I politely spit into my napkin.

Her lips give me a gentle kiss on the nose as she stands. “You boys finish up breakfast while I get ready.”

Watching her hips sway, thinking about the sexy, yet modest nightgown she’s wearing underneath, my manhood wants nothing more than to follow her into that shower. Toby grabs my cheeks, forcing me to look at him and quickly making that thought vanish.

“Dad, you gonna marry her or what?” my four-year-old asks as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

I laugh and shake my head. Marriage is something we’ve never discussed, but then again, we never discussed her “moving in” either. When I got traded to L.A., this was not what I pictured happening. Toby’s been with us for the past month and he’s headed back to my parents today. Maybe after he leaves, I should ask Mia her thoughts on Toby’s idea.

Pushing my smile away, I look at Toby and in all seriousness ask, “Do you think I should?”

Toby nods excitedly. “Yes! Mia’s so awesome, Dad! She builds the best sandcastles, she taught me all the
right
words to
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
, and she puts fruit on a stick and lets me dip it in marshmallow cream.”

I laugh at his comment about the right words. When my dad can’t make it to my games in person, he enjoys a glass of rum and Coke while he listens to the game on the radio. Toby’s always said, “peanuts and Captain Jack” thinking the song was combining the bottle of Captain Morgan, which is my father’s favorite brand of rum, and his favorite pirate movie.

“Well, those are all good reasons. How about I think about it, okay?”

Toby nods and looks down quietly. I nudge him a little and move the tray to the ground. “What is it, bud?”

He looks at me and with honesty that only a four-year-old can possess, he admits, “If you marry Mia, then I can come live with you, right?”

I frown and pull him into a hug. “Aw, Tobs, it’s not that bad with Gram and Pop, is it?”

I can hear tears in his voice when he speaks. “I miss you, Dad.” He sniffles and wraps his arms around me.

Rubbing his back, I whisper, “Shh, Tob, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out, I promise.”

I didn’t realize us being separated was so tough on him. When I was back in Milwaukee, I was constantly on the road, but we did see each other at least two or three times a week. I sigh, my son wants a mom. He wants Mia and I do too.

Mia