Clutch Hit Faith O'Shea (red queen free ebook txt) 📖

“Allie, over here.”

She glanced up to see Jelani waving at her from a seat by the window. She’d completely zoned, hadn’t been watching the gate numbers as she walked along the concourse.

She gave the lawyer a false smile and a wave back. Jelani walked toward her, her stride brisk and confident.

“Are you ready for our adventure?”

“Not sure.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t you curious about where your husband’s from?”

She was, actually, although she’d never admit it.

“I’m not sure how much I’ll get to see if we’re busy with visas and exit interviews.”

“If it’s nothing else, it’ll be a reprieve from the grind.”

Jelani wouldn’t understand that this was work for her. The pretense, or rather the outright lie, was going to take a lot of energy. Her friend’s smile dipped.

“I forgot. You’ve just come from a funeral. No wonder you’re a bit somber. We’ll have a drink on the plane, and you can forget all your woes.”

She wasn’t sure about that. Her woes would be waiting to catch up with her at the other end of the trip.

When she glanced back up, Jelani was smiling, looking so upbeat that she decided she was not going to be Debbie Downer. She’d spent the last few hours mixing and mingling, measuring the mood, seeing who might need handholding, who was taking Farina’s death in stride. She’d have to get right back to it when she returned, make some calls to those hit the hardest, who might have trouble in the aftermath. There’d been shock that she was leaving them so soon after the tragedy. And she’d gotten the third degree. Where was she going? For how long? Her response had been in line with the truth. She was taking a couple of days’ personal time. Leatherman had joked about her coming back with another player. Seb had countered, “Let’s hope it’s not a left fielder.”

Letting her thoughts stray to the trip, not the mission, she was infused with a new energy and suddenly excitement flooded through her.

When she reached the check-in, she handed over her passport, got her boarding pass, and the tourist card she’d need for admission to Cuba. It was soon after that first class was called to board. She usually flew coach, didn’t have the kind of money to warrant this kind of luxury, and the front office didn’t splurge on her travel, she did it so often. It was Mateo who’d insisted on it.

As long as we are married, I will cover these kinds of costs. Besides, you are taking this trip for my benefit, not your own, and I will be responsible for whatever…consideration…you pay out.

She had argued with him, but to no affect. It was his call to Jelani’s assistant that took it out of her hands, and as she took her seat she had to admit it offered just what she needed right now.

A bit of pampering.

Their drinks arrived before take-off, and as she sipped the dark red wine, she let herself relax into the moment. She didn’t stay there for long, though. As soon as they were air borne, Jelani talked non-stop about her son, how she and her husband were already working on number two, and asked, “Are you going to wait to start a family?”

Her stomach clenched.

A family?

She’d given that very little thought, wasn’t sure she wanted to take time away from her career for children. She’d worked hard to get where she was. Her hours weren’t her own and she didn’t know how she’d balance it all. When she glanced at Jelani, she realized it could be done if you loved the man and you wanted to create new life with him. She closed her eyes to the vision of a seven-year-old, playing baseball, one with obsidian eyes and a shock of dark hair.

Sighing, she said, “We’re still getting to know each other, so I think it’s a good idea to put it off, at least for a while.”

“From my experience when love comes at you like a steam roller, you know all you need to.”

Allie licked her lips. “No fears about getting crushed?”

Jelani’s brow wrinkled. “I guess that could have happened if it hadn’t been two-sided. Are you unsure about Mateo’s feelings?”

No. She knew exactly where he stood. He wanted to make this marriage work which put him on the one-way street. She still couldn’t comprehend why. For all his ramblings about universal flow and synchronicity, she knew there had to be something more to it than that.

Jelani was waiting for her answer, but she was still stumbling around, trying to explain it to herself.

“Things have moved pretty fast for him. I could just be a part of the mad rush to get here. There’s a lot he hasn’t experienced yet.”

“If the way he looks at you is any indication, I wouldn’t worry too much.”

She stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t noticed? There’s a visceral pulse of longing there.”

Oh, God.

It hadn’t been her imagination. She’d glimpsed the heat but thought it had more to do with lust than love. They’d been close to falling into bed together but had stopped short of their goal when priorities shifted. It had to be a holdover from unfulfilled passion. She felt the same kind of stirrings, the same magnetic attraction. She wanted nothing more than to strip him down and fondle all that maleness.

She squirmed trying to ease the spasm that throbbed deep within her. She could feel an orgasm ready to explode just at the thought of him. If she’d been alone, she would have pressed her need home. It wouldn’t have taken much, just a bit of pressure against her seat. She might have to give in and bed him. Maybe then the longing would be erased. Maybe then she could revert back to a more rational version of herself.

Yeah, right. And maybe the moon is made out of green cheese.

Jelani patted her hand that had become part of the armrest, she was gripping it so hard.

“Love