“Yeah.”
“For how long?” Toying with the corner of her comforter, she awaited his response with a held breath. There was no way it would be a permanent reassignment. That would be the kiss of death for a player in Alex’s position. And as much as guys would say they played for the love of the game, none of them wanted to be stranded in the minors for the rest of their careers.
Who would want the constant reminder of what they’d once had? It was just cruel.
“Sounds like two weeks. To start.”
“Two weeks,” she said back to him, wanting to hear how it sounded. It wasn’t a lot of time, not nearly what they’d been given during spring training, yet it was something. Two weeks more than what they’d had when the season started. A knot formed in Alice’s gut, and she debated whether she wanted to say anything else or let him finish what he had called to tell her.
“Guess I thought you might want to know I was coming back.”
“Thanks.”
Uneasy silence clouded the line between them, making the distance from Florida to California feel like they were in different worlds, not just different states.
“You staying at the hotel?” she asked, needing to fill the void with something. Anything.
“Yeah. I get in tomorrow morning… Today I guess. Heading to the airport in a couple of hours.”
Jesus, they hadn’t wasted any time, had they?
“Do you need a ride?”
Alex paused so long she wasn’t sure he’d heard her. Then he said, “No. I’m renting a car. But…”
“But?”
“Can we…? Can I…? I mean, maybe I could see you?”
“Tomorrow?”
“While I’m there.”
Her internal dialogue exploded. No, said the smart, logical part of her brain. Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes, cried the part of her that had missed him in an unapologetic fashion since he’d left.
Don’t fuck it up this time, they both said.
“Okay.”
“Good.” He still sounded tired, but now she could hear the faint smile in his voice. It made her feel good to know she’d had a hand in cheering him up.
Snuggling lower in her bed, she pulled the sheets up. It was already too warm for her to be using the comforter, but she liked having it around. With the absence of someone to hold her while she slept, she made do with a nest of pillows and a blanket to wrap around herself like a hug.
Tonight, with Alex’s voice in her ear and the bedding tucked around her, she could almost pretend he was there with her.
All that was missing was the smell of him, and the way his arms felt when they held her.
If she wasn’t careful, she might forget his stay was temporary.
She wanted to pretend she wasn’t in danger of falling in love with him, but as he whispered a raspy, “Good night, Alice,” into the receiver, her conviction faltered.
She could pretend all she wanted, but her logical brain told her everything she didn’t want to admit to. You stupid woman, you’re already done for.
Chapter Seventeen
The late-night phone call set Alice’s whole morning off in the wrong direction. She was late getting up and almost missed getting Olivia to school on time. As it was she made the run in her sweatpants with her hair in a mussed ponytail, not exactly her most elegant parental ensemble.
She returned home to change into jeans and a white shirt—something she could wear to the diner later—and grabbed her big duffel bag for the afternoon game. It would be a busy day, too busy to think too much about what Alex’s return might mean for her. For them.