Blake (Season One: The Ninth Inning #2) by Lindsay Paige, Mary Smith Page B

tomorrow.
    “Hands of a God.” He stretches and hops off the table.
    I nod and almost push him out the door because I’m not in the mood to hear any praises from him or anyone really. I wash my hands again and there’s a knock on my side door. When I open it, Harmony is holding up a small pizza box.
    “I have a delivery for Miss Gardner,” she winks.
    “You’re weird. Come on in,” I laugh. Harmony walks in and takes a seat across my desk.
    Since there isn’t much room on my desk, the small pizza box sits easily in the middle. Harmony pulls out paper plates and a couple bottles of water from the plastic bag she carried in with her. I grab some paper towels and she hands me a plate.
    Harmony goes on to tell me about a new contract and development that Dad wants her to run with him. I’m proud of her and all she has accomplished working in the family business. She loves it as much as Dad does and I’m just glad it’s not me. I have no knack for business. Harmony asks if I’m going clubbing with her this weekend.
    “No, I’m staying home.”
    “Oh, so you can cry some more?” She closes the almost empty box of pizza.
    I open my mouth to say no when there’s a knock on the player’s side door. I look at my watch. I don’t have an appointment, but I yell for them to come in.
    Fuck. It’s the one person I don’t want to see.
    “How can I help you, Blake?” I ask.
    “Blake?” Harmony whips around, and I see Blake’s eyes widen. “You’re Blake Foster?”
    “Unfortunately,” he grumbles. “You’re her sister, I’m guessing?”
    “You can just call me Miss I’m-Going-To-Kick-Your-Ass, dickhead,” Harmony growls at him.
    “Harmony,” I seethe at her. “Shut up.”
    “No, I won’t.” She narrows her eyes at him and stands up to charge him. “He made you cry.”
    Oh good grief. I stand between her and him, facing my sister. “Thank you for lunch, but I’m sure you’re busy at the office.”
    “Not really.” She continues staring over my shoulder at Blake.
    “You know Dad doesn’t like it when you take long lunches,” I remind her, guiding her to the side door.
    “Just remember one thing, dickhead, if you make her cry again, I’ll make sure you never reproduce,” Harmony almost yells at him.
    “Harmony Rae, enough,” I hiss at her. “I’m at work and you’re acting as if this is part of Fight Club . I’ll see you at home.” I shove her out the door, quickly shutting it.
    I take a deep breath. I don’t want to face Blake, but this is my job. I turn and try to compose myself. “Sorry, she’s a little stressed,” I lie. “What do you need, Blake?”
    “You probably already know this, but I wanted to tell you that my mom really enjoyed herself at lunch with Judy and your mother.” He crosses his arms in a defensive pose.
    “Yes, Mom told me that Caroline is a wonderful person.” I smile at him. Mom raved about Blake’s mother. “I’m glad she had a good time. Mom said she might even help with the Children’s Hospital Benefit. That’ll be good for her because she’ll meet all kinds of people.” I realize that I’m rambling again and rub my palms in a nervous tension.
    Blake nods. “Yeah, she mentioned that. I did come for a reason though. It’s my shoulder this time.”
    “Are you hurt?” I hadn’t heard about him being hurt.
    “Nothing a massage can’t fix,” he says deadpan.
    “Of course. Sure. Right. Um, just...take off your shirt and sit on the table.” I walk over to the sink and quickly wash and dry my hands. When I turn around, I do everything in my power not to let my mouth drop open at the stunning man on my table. Holy shit, he’s so hot. It seems like each time I see him, he gets hotter. I should have told him to keep it on.
    “How did you hurt yourself?” I rub a small amount of oil on his shoulder and begin to work away the tightness.
    “Hector distracted me during practice, and I went to throw a ball at him.” He shrugs his other