Getting Wound Up: A Sapphire Falls/Love Between the Bases Novel-- PART TWO (4 page)

“I’ll be right back,” she whispered to her brother, then made her way down the aisle and along the railing to the bullpen.

Stewart greeted her kindly. “Your boy’s pitching great. Doing exactly what we wanted.”

Caitlyn decided to let the “your boy” part pass. Everyone seemed to be under some kind of misapprehension about her and Eli, but she couldn’t spend too much time setting the record straight. “I brought something from the candy shop. Do you think you would mind bringing it to the clubhouse? It’s sort of a…birthday thing. But it’s for everyone.”

A doubtful look crossed Stewart’s leathery face. “Sure thing, but you sure you want to do that? These boys will use any excuse to rib a guy. Especially a newbie.”

“You don’t have to say it’s from me. Or from any girl. It could just be an anonymous birthday gift. I have a little something for you too. I think your wife will love it.”

“In that case, bring it on. I’ll make sure he gets it.”

For the rest of the game, Caitlyn couldn’t stop thinking about how Eli would react to her special birthday present…well, the first of her special birthday presents.

The next one would definitely not be delivered by someone else. And it wouldn’t be in public in front of a bunch of wild and crazy ballplayers.

* * *

Eli pitched eight innings, gave up seven hits and only three runs, struck out four and came away with a 5-3 win. Not too shabby for a first start. He stayed in the dugout until the end of the game, his heart in his mouth as “Killer,” the reliever, closed out the game. At the last pitch, he let out a bellow of triumph as the other Catfish clapped him on the back and offered high-fives.

“First win is an event,” Dwight announced as the players began heading for the clubhouse. “Press is going to want to talk to you, so you better decide right now what you want to say. Thank your family? Grateful just to be here? Hoping you can help the team? Happy to be in Texas? Dream come true? Praise be to God?” He rattled off the possibilities.

“Um…all of the above?” Eli had never spoken to a reporter before.

“Sure. Why use one cliché when you can spill ’em all? You get in trouble, give me a wink and I’ll ride to your rescue with my famous Dwight Conner charisma.”

Trevor strode next to them. “In case you didn’t notice, Nebraska, that was an attempt to share your spotlight. Back off, DC. He earned it.”

Eli nearly flushed at those words from someone like Trevor Stark. Praise from a bona fide superstar like him really meant something.

Dwight pushed open the clubhouse door. “Whoa baby. What the hell is that?”

Trevor shouldered his way through the door and sniffed loudly. “Smells great in here. And that’s not what I usually say when I walk into the clubhouse.”

Eli stepped in next—and stopped dead at the sight of a giant bouquet on the bench next to his locker. A tall vase held about fifty long stems wrapped in silvery cellophane. A wide blue ribbon held the stems upright, and a balloon floated above the whole affair. In girly script it read, “Happy Birthday!”

Caitlyn. This had Caitlyn written all over it. She loved going all out for birthdays. But why…
why
did she have to embarrass him in front of the other players? Flowers? Who sent flowers to a ballplayer in a locker room? This wasn’t backstage at the opera, for Chrissake.

The sweaty players were gathering around, laughter punctuating the usual post-game chatter.

“If a girl sends you flowers, she expects a proposal,” said Bieberman wisely.

“You sure they aren’t from his mother?” Ramirez asked.

“Is there a card?”

“Yeah, it says, ‘signed, crazed stalker.’ Dwight strolled closer. “Hang on one ever-loving second. You guys sure those are flowers? They smell kind of funny.” Dwight leaned his face closer to take a sniff, then jumped back. “Hey, Nebraska! Do you know who sent you these?”

Eli mumbled, “Pretty sure I do. She’s a real sweetheart, but she doesn’t know about locker rooms and all that and—”

“Because if you don’t marry her, I will!”

“What?” Eli looked at Trevor, who took his turn peering at the bouquet.

“You’ll have to fight me for her,” Trevor told Dwight. “May the best man win.”

“It’s on.” Dwight plucked one of the stems from the vase and held it high. “Y’all know what this is?” He brought it reverently to his nose and breathed deep. “Bacon. She sent him a
bouquet of bacon
.”

The clubhouse erupted into applause. Eli shouldered through the crowd to study the bouquet. Each “rose” was actually a strip of bacon cleverly molded to look like a flower from a distance. Caitlyn had made this bouquet for him, who else could it be? He remembered the exact conversation in Kansas City when he’d jokingly suggested that more candy be made out of bacon.

Trevor jumped onto a bench, calling for quiet. “It’s official. Not only did Nebraska just get his first win, but his girlfriend is a genius. Has anyone else ever gotten a bacon bouquet?”

A chorus of “no’s” and laughter followed.

“And what’s this?” Dwight called over the din. “A special note that says ‘For Eli and the
rest of the Catfish
.’ Line up, playas. Everyone who wants bacon, step this way. Eli, happy birthday, dude.
Damn
happy to have you here.”

The rest of the Catfish seemed to agree, since they all clapped him on the back or shook his hand in between stuffing bacon into their mouths.

Caitlyn was…amazing.

In one stroke she’d made him laugh, touched his heart, and won over the entire Kilby Catfish crew.

And she was here in Kilby, and he was going to see her tonight.

He handed out bacon roses to all the players, while counting the minutes until he could hit the shower and get away from the guys. He might be the most popular person on the team at the moment, but all he wanted was to find his way to Caitlyn’s side.

Unfortunately, they all decided they wanted to meet the genius behind the bacon bouquet, so they trooped outside en masse. There, outside the players’ exit, waited Caitlyn, Ty, and Bryan in his wheelchair. It was a mark of what cool guys the Catfish were that no one looked at Bryan at all funny. They shook his hand, said nice things to Caitlyn, who turned pinker and pinker. A few recognized Ty from the Olympics. It was amazing how a simple thing like having friends show up at a game could bond him to his new team.

As a plan for the evening was being formed, Ty slung an arm around his shoulders and drew him aside. “Here,” he said, pressing a key card into his hand. “Top-floor suite at the best hotel in town. Happy birthday, my man.”

Eli stared at the card. “Is this your hotel room?”

“Hotel
suite
,” Ty corrected. “It even has a hot tub.”

“What about you guys?”

“For now, I’m hitting the town with Bryan. Dude needs a little fun in his life. I’ll give you a head’s up when we’re on our way back.”

Eli felt himself turn various shades of red. Was Bryan okay with this plan? He gave his friend an uneasy look. Bryan was grinning like a jack-o’-lantern. Which made Eli think.

Ty and Bryan had brought Caitlyn here. Not only that, they’d sent her on that kidnapping trip to the tryout. Maybe there was more going on here than he’d realized at first.

And damn, he really wanted to spend some time alone with his girl.

Which was what she was, no matter how “casual” she wanted to keep things.

He pocketed the card key without a single other objection. Then he noticed that half the Catfish were talking to her, because who wouldn’t instantly fall for a girl like her? And they were a good-looking bunch of guys, even he could see that. Trevor Stark was actually making a small mob of autograph-seekers wait while he raved about Cait’s bacon roses.

Time to make a statement.

He waded into the crowd. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him. He must look like some kind of pirate come to claim his prize.

Who cared what he looked like? He had a point to make. When he reached her side, he pulled her tight against him. Damn, she felt amazing, snugged up just right under his arm.

“Time’s up, guys. Move along. Caitlyn has somewhere she’s supposed to be.”

“I do?” She peered up at him, mischief in her bright eyes.

“Absolutely.”

“Where am I supposed to be?”

He hugged her closer. “This is a good start, right here.”

“Hmm, it’s kind of public,” she murmured.

His groin tightened at her implication.

“Eli, you coming to the Roadhouse?” Dwight Conner called as the throng of players began to disperse to their vehicles. “No one has to buy a drink on the night of their first win.”

“Nah, I’ll catch you next time.”

No one seemed too surprised by that.

“Treat my friends right,” he called after the Catfish.

“You know it,” Dwight answered.

Next to him, Ramirez walked backwards for a moment to mouth something to Eli.
Married look
.

“What did he say?” Caitlyn asked.

“Oh, some baseball shit. Nothing interesting.”

“Hm.”

Now that they were finally alone, he turned her to face him. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” She tilted her head back, and he saw the uncertainty in her eyes. “I hope it’s… I mean, the guys wanted to come and they insisted that I should too, probably because of my birthday expertise—”

“That’s not the reason,” he told her firmly.

She tugged her lower lip between her teeth. His mouth watered, since that’s exactly the spot he wanted his mouth to be. “It’s not?”

“The reason is that they knew seeing you would be the best birthday present they could think of. Well, one of the top three.”

“
Top three
?” She pulled back, indignation chasing away her earlier uncertainty. “Oh really. What are the other two?”

“Winning my first start.”

“Okay, that’s one. And?”

He ran a thumb across her cheek. “I’ll have to show you the third one somewhere more private.” He poured every ounce of his lust for her into a long, smoldering look. She went beet red.

“I…uh…”

“Come on.” He tugged her toward his vehicle, an old beater he’d picked up from a local car dealer who gave great deals to the Catfish. “Are you hungry? There’s something I’m craving right now.”

“What’s that?”

“Room service.”

Eli didn’t let go of her hand the entire drive. He kept one hand on the wheel, the other firmly clasped around hers, resting on her thigh. Its warmth sank into every part of her being, until she felt like singing from pure happiness. It had all been so crazy—years of being his friend, months of crushing on him, one hot night, then instant separation. Being with him again now was like…floating on a cloud of cotton candy.

Hey, she was a candy-maker, what could she say?

When they reached the luxury hotel where Ty had booked them a suite, it was almost embarrassing how fast Eli parked the car and rushed them into the building. Except that she didn’t care what anyone thought. She wanted him, now, for as long as they could get away with it, and she didn’t care who knew.

Including the nice lady they shared the elevator with, the one who kept her eyes firmly on the door while Eli and Caitlyn snuck kisses behind her back.

“You kids have fun,” she called when she finally reached her floor.

The doors closed again. “I plan to.” Eli’s voice deepened. “How about you?”

“Absolutely.” She plastered herself against him, unable to resist his touch one second longer. He hoisted her up and lifted her legs around his hips.
Closer, closer.
She couldn’t get close enough. Too many clothes. Too many layers. Their lips converged at the exact same moment, as if following some invisible signal, in a blazing, perfect kiss.

Shivers raced along her skin, the excitement building so quickly it made her dizzy. His erection bulged against his jeans, pressing between her legs. His big hands cradled her ass, half on her shorts, half on the bare skin of her upper thighs. She let out a moan, unable to keep her delight to herself. Even such a simple touch felt incredibly, unbelievably good.

“I missed you,” he told her, his lips moving softly against hers. “I wanted you here. I kept dreaming about it, and now here you are.”

She snuggled even closer against him, soaking in the vibrations of his heartbeat. Eli was so hard, so solid, so hot, so muscular.

“I’ve been dreaming about this too. I guess it’s like
Field of Dreams
. If you build it, they will come.”
Field of Dreams
was her all-time favorite baseball movie; she’d seen it half a dozen times.

“Oh yeah? I could come right here and now,” he growled.

“That is not what it means!” Her indignant words had to make their way between his kisses.

“I know what it means. I just want you. I can’t think about anything else. Everything is going to sound dirty until I get you naked. Is this the longest freaking elevator ride in history?”

“You know how Ty rolls. Penthouse suite.”

He groaned. “You had to say ‘penthouse.’ You just had to.”