With Me In Seattle: Bundle Two (117 page)

“I didn’t know you were so into baseball,” Stacy says to Nic with a grin.

“I like it more than football,” Nic admits, and then laughs. “And I can only say that because Will and Meg are still on their honeymoon.”

“I’m so telling,” Jules says.

“No, you’re not,” Nate says, and kisses his wife square on the lips.

These men seriously never stop touching their women. It’s awesome.

As if to prove my point, Dom wraps his arm around my shoulders and leans in to kiss my temple. They’re an affectionate lot, that’s for sure.

“How did we get these seats?” Meredith asks, looking out at the field from our front row seats. We’re right between first base and home plate, and we have a prime view. “I can practically smell the sweat.”

“Ew,” Sam says, wrinkling her nose. “No one said anything about sweat.”

“You’re married to a rock star, Sam.” Stacy shakes her head at Sam. “You should be used to sweat by now.”

“I’m married to a rock star,” Sam repeats proudly. “My husband is a rock star.”

“It’s still new,” Nat murmurs.

“I still get a kick out of calling you my wife,” Luke says to her. “And it’s not so new anymore.”

“It’s getting really girly around here,” Mark says with a scowl.

“We have connections,” Jules says to Meredith. “It doesn’t suck.”

“Not in the least,” Meredith agrees.

“It looks like the Sox are almost done with practice,” Matt says and pulls Nic to her feet. “Come on, we’ll go get a ball signed.”

“Rhys O’Shaughnessy is playing,” Nic says, and claps her hands excitedly. “He’s my favorite.”

Matt leads her away, and everyone springs into action, pulling out their phones to capture photos.

“I’m getting Will and Meg on FaceTime right now,” Jules says, and then grins when their faces appear on her screen. “Hi guys! He just took her down to the field.”

“Jules, turn the camera. I want to see my brother get engaged, not your face.”

Jules sticks her tongue out at her brother, then turns the camera around so Will and Meg can watch.

“He got her favorite player in on this?” I ask excitedly.

“He did,” Dom confirms, gripping onto my hand, as if he’s as nervous as his older brother.

“Rhys is running over with a ball!” Natalie says.

Nic is all smiles as the tall, handsome player hands her a ball, kisses her cheek, and shakes Matt’s hand.

“I wish we could hear what they’re saying,” Jules grumbles.

“He wanted it this way,” Caleb says softly.

Rhys points to the ball in Nic’s hand, and she looks down at it, then her jaw drops as Matt lowers himself to one knee and takes her hand in his.

“Is it just me, or is this cheesy as fuck?” Mark asks.

“Shut up, it’s not cheesy. It’s brilliant.” Brynna smacks Mark’s arm, shutting him up.

We can’t hear what’s happening, but suddenly, Nic is nodding furiously, and Matt puts a ring on her finger, then stands and lifts her off her feet, hugging her tight, whispering in her ear.

Rhys and his teammates applaud and begin to circle around them to congratulate the happy couple.

“Fuck that! I want to hug them now too!” Jules, careful not to lower her phone, jumps up and leads us all down onto the field. Stacy, Brynna and Meredith jump the wall, garnering the attention of security, but Dom holds up a hand.

“That’s their brother. They’re just anxious to congratulate him.”

“No more jumping down,” the tall security man says sternly, then his jaw drops when he sees Leo. “Is that Leo Nash?”

I immediately walk to the man and speak quickly, in my no-nonsense voice. “This is a family outing. Not a photo op. I hope you’ll remain discreet, please.”

“Of course.” He nods and walks away, minding his own business.

When I turn to rejoin the others, Nic and Matt are surrounded by family and players, but Dom is waiting for me with a sober face.

“What’s wrong?”

He shakes his head. “Not a damn thing.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the others.

“He wrote
Will You Marry Me
on a baseball!” Nic exclaims and shows everyone.

“Aww, and had your favorite player give it to you,” Stacy says dreamily.

“I’m your favorite player?” Rhys asks, as if he didn’t already know.

“Maybe,” Nic says, and then laughs. “Yeah, you definitely are.”

“Is it my undeniable good looks?” he asks.

“No, it’s your batting record. Seriously, you have the most hits this year in all of the MLB, and watching you hit is like watching a dance. You’re damn good.”

Rhys cocks his head to the side and watches Nic more seriously. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry to break this up, guys,” the security guard says, “but I need you to take your seats. We’ll be starting soon.”

“Okay, that was cool,” Mark concedes as we go to find our seats.

“I want nachos,” Brynna announces. “And a hot dog.”

“Pizza!” Stacy agrees.

“We’re going out for dinner after this,” Nate reminds the girls.

“We’re at a baseball game,” I say, as if it makes perfect sense.

Because it does.

“We need Cracker Jacks too,” Sam says. “And cotton candy.”

“And a dentist,” Luke says with a cringe.

“Beer.” I add.

“The beer here is warm,” Dominic says.

“I don’t care. I’m at a game. I need beer and peanuts.”

“Wait!” Meredith stands, looking about. “Where are Matt and Nic?”

We all turn and search the area, and suddenly Caleb points back down to the field. Matt and Nic are coming out of the White Sox dugout, headed for the field.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer begins. “Throwing out the first pitch today is a young woman who just got engaged on our field! Give a big Seattle welcome to Nic Dalton!”

“Oh, my God, I have to get Will back!” Jules is furiously tapping the screen of her phone as we all jump up, cheering loudly.

“Atta girl!” Brynna calls down to the field. Dom and his brothers are whistling loudly.

“This is so fun!” I clap my hands, jumping on the balls of my feet.

Nic walks out to the pitcher’s mound, ball in hand, but instead of standing in front of the mound, she stands on top of it and gives the catcher an arrogant look. Her lips twitch, but then she winds up and throws the ball perfectly, right into the catcher’s mitt, as if she’s a pro who’s been throwing baseballs for years.

“Holy shit, Will, you’re not the only one in the family with a hell of a right arm,” Isaac says excitedly.

“That’s so fucking awesome!” Will exclaims through the phone.

Matt and Nic wave at the crowd, then join us in the stands.

“You are so damn cool,” Luke says to Nic as he pulls her in for a hug.

“I know,” Nic replies, and laughs as she’s passed from brother to brother.

“Okay, you all have your own girls,” Matt says finally. “Hands off mine.”

“Now, back to food,” Brynna says, and flags down a guy carrying a box full of peanuts.

“It’s going to cost us a thousand dollars to eat all this junk,” Nate says.

“You can afford it, ace,” Jules replies happily, and cranes her neck looking for another vendor. “Where’s the pizza guy?”

“Were those rookies hitting on you when we were down hugging Nic and Matt?” Meredith asks Natalie.

“Yeah.” Nat shrugs and shakes her head. “They didn’t know any better.”

“They do now,” Luke replies mildly.

“What did you say?” Stacy asks.

“He didn’t say anything,” Nat replies and lays her head on her husband’s shoulder. “He glared at them like a caveman and the one guy recognized him and they shut up.”

“I’m a caveman?” Luke asks in surprise.

“You’re all a bunch of cavemen,” Meredith replies.

“Am I a caveman,
cara
?” Dom murmurs in my ear.

I snort and stare up at him, then lean in to talk into his ear. “I believe it was you who fucked me against the building on your property because I joked about fucking someone with an apa.”

I pull back and see his eyes narrow. “And just hearing you say that makes me want to do it again.”

“See? Caveman.”

***

“I’m so fucking full,” Brynna says as we walk down the sidewalk outside of the stadium toward a nearby pub.

“That’s because you ate everything except for the seat you were sitting in, legs,” Caleb says with a laugh and takes her hand in his.

“I didn’t eat any of Jules’ pizza,” she replies with a pout.

“I would have cut your hand off if you’d tried to steal my pizza,” Jules says.

It’s a beautiful summer night. Not quite dark out yet, warm with a light breeze. Perfect Seattle weather.

“I love nights like this,” I breathe, as the others joke and chat around us. Dominic is walking beside me, slowing his strides to match mine. He kisses my hand, then tucks it in the crook of his elbow, content to let me lean on him as we walk. “Seattle is beautiful in the summer.”

“Seattle is always beautiful,” he replies softly. “Even when it rains.”

“It’s certainly always green,” I reply with a nod. “Not so different from San Francisco.”

“Why didn’t I know that you’re from San Francisco?” he says with a frown.

“I don’t know.” I shrug and laugh when Sam jumps on Leo’s back, making him give her a ride. “It’s not a secret. I guess it never came up.”

“When did you move to Seattle?”

“Right after I left Jonathan.” I lean my head on Dom’s shoulder. “There was really nothing for me there anymore. And I’ve always enjoyed Seattle.”

“It’s lucky for me that you loved it here.”

“Back at you,” I reply sincerely. “What are the odds that we’d both be from opposite sides of the world and end up in the same city?”

“It’s not odds,
tesoro
, it’s fate.”

I snort and shake my head, but when I glance back up at him I see he’s completely serious.

“You don’t believe in fate?” he asks.

“Not really. I guess I’ve never really thought about it.”

He nods thoughtfully. “I would think that if ever there was a couple fated to be together, it would be you and me. Like you said, we’re from opposite sides of the globe, neither of us started here, and yet, here we are.”

“You two are slow pokes!” Sam calls back to us as Leo walks backwards. “If you trip and fall and drop me, rock star, we are going to have issues.”

“I’m not going to drop you, sunshine.”

“I want a ride too,” Stacy says demandingly to her husband.

“I’ll give you a ride, all right,” Isaac replies with a cocky grin.

“Stop it!” Jules cries, just as Luke stops dead in the center of the sidewalk, pulls his wife into his arms and drops a kiss on her that would make the gods weep. “For the love of Christmas, we’re in public!”

“I don’t give a fuck,” Luke replies calmly, still staring in Nat’s eyes.

“God, you’re gross,” Jules grumbles. “I need cheesecake.”

“We’ll get you some,” Nate replies with a laugh. “Just ignore the PDA. Or join it.” He buries his face in her neck and bites her flesh, making her moan.

“Oh, that doesn’t suck.”

“You’re all a very affectionate group of people,” I observe, as we walk into the pub and score a big table near the back.

“Does that bother you?” Meredith asks.

“No, it’s just unusual.”

We settle in, glance at menus, order drinks and just when I think my comment has been forgotten, Luke continues. “If it does bother you, Alecia, just say so.”

“Hey! I say so all the time and you do it anyway,” Jules complains.

“I’m fine,” I reply with a laugh. “It’s not that it bothers me. I’m just not used to it.”

“Were your parents affectionate?” Nic asks.

“They were with each other,” I say slowly.

“But not with you,” Nic replies.

I shrug and shake my head, as if it’s no big deal.

“My mother hasn’t touched me in six years,” Nic says as the waitress sets a glass of water before her.

“What?” I frown at the beautiful woman, surprised.

“We don’t get along well. Never have really. So all of this affection was new to me too.” Matt kisses her temple gently.

“You’ll get used to it,” Jules adds. “I drink a lot, to dull the grossness.”

Natalie laughs and throws a napkin at her best friend.

“I want hot wings,” Brynna announces.

“I thought you were full?” Caleb says.

“I’m in the mood to suck the fuck out of a bone,” she replies, and my eyebrows climb into my hairline.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“Oh, just wait,” Sam says with a grin. “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Brynna suck the fuck out of a bone.”

Chapter Sixteen

~Alecia~

“But I hate to run,” I whine, as I pull into my parking space and cut the engine.

“Don’t be a pussy,” Blake replies into my ear. “I need a run and I want to talk to you, so I’m picking you up.”

“You’re using me as an excuse because I have the best running trails in my neighborhood.”

“That hurts, Leash,” he says. “It’s true, but it hurts.”

“You’re a smart ass.” I giggle and walk to my building.

“I’m a smart ass who’s almost to your place.”

“What? I’m just getting home.”

“Well, hurry up and change. I just got off the freeway. See you in a few!”

“Damn it, Blake!”

But it’s no use. He’s already hung up. I hurry upstairs, let myself in, and immediately begin shedding clothes. My shoes come off first, tossed just inside the door, then I unzip and shed my skirt, leaving it in a wad by the kitchen.

My blouse and bra are flung next, one ending up on the couch, and I have no idea where the other went.

I’ll pick them up later.

I hurry into a sports bra, tank and yoga shorts, and Blake bursts through my front door, just as I’m lacing up my shoes.

“You’ve gotten messy, Leash.”

“Eff you. You didn’t give me any time.”

“Are you going to pick your clothes up?”

“I will later.” I sigh and wave him off. “I have to take them in to be dry cleaned anyway. Are you really going to make me run?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He winks at me and wraps his arm around my neck, kisses my head with a loud smack, and pushes me away.