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“Okay, Ma. You can let go of her now,” Ryan teased.

Serafina pulled a face but let me go and turned around to face her son with her hands on her hips. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Ryan was on the ground beside Gabriella and Annabelle, playing with Duke. “I want her back here again soon, okay, son?”

Ryan stood up and locked eyes with me. The tall, fierce, rock-solid male I knew well was still standing there, but Serafina was right; there
was
something different about him. It was as if finally revealing his dark past to somebody had freed something inside of him. Whatever it was, it made him more attractive… more irresistible.
God help me, it’s just what I need.

Ryan winked, snapping me out of my little daydream, before responding to his mom. “Anything for you, Mamma. But we really have to hit the road, so stop fussing over my girlfriend, will you?”

I felt my jaw drop to the ground.
Did he just say that?

“I knew it! I knew it!” Annabelle squealed while the other sisters laughed.

Serafina clapped her hands excitedly and raced towards her son, grabbing both his cheeks and planting kisses on them. “Ma! Jeez, you’re embarrassing!” He chuckled, trying to pull away from her.

“I love you so much,
figlio
. You make me so proud,” she replied grinning.

Eventually, we were able to get away. We drove most of the way in a comfortable silence with my hand resting on the center console entwined with Ryan’s. Not once did he let go, using one hand on the steering wheel to make turns. Even though I had so much to say to him, so many questions to ask, I was willing to wait. I didn’t want anything to ruin the moment. So instead, we spoke a little about the upcoming game against the Red Sox and how he’d already reserved tickets before asking me to go because he wanted me there and wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Surprise, surprise.
All I had to do was collect the tickets from the box office at the stadium.

I decided on going. After all, if we were going to make it work, I had to be supportive.

We arrived back at my apartment a little after lunch. Ryan was rushing for time, so I asked him to drop me off out the front of my apartment building.

With a quick kiss and a warning that I better be at the game, I watched Ryan drive off into the New York traffic.

****

It was great to finally be alone. Even though I found that I was oddly missing Ryan’s company already, last night’s events were a lot to process. I had my own issues to try and get through, was it safe to pile Ryan’s on top of that? Could we really be able to help each other? Why was I suddenly second-guessing myself? And why was I so damn hungry? Granted it was past lunchtime and I hadn’t eaten since the morning, but after Serafina cooked up a huge breakfast, I didn’t think I’d need to eat until late afternoon.

I made my way towards the kitchen and stopped in front of the pantry. Having a quick look inside, I decided it was going to have to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was too hungry to be bothered to cook up anything special.

To make sure I was completely satisfied, I decided on making myself three sandwiches and had just made my way into the living room when I heard my cell chime.

Taking the top sandwich with me and placing the dish carrying the rest on the coffee table, I raced towards my handbag where my phone was inside.

The text was from Con.
Are you alive sister? I need to talk to you. Call me when you get this.

I took a quick bite and dialed his number. He answered on the first ring.

“
Finally
,” he muttered dryly.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m sorry, Con! Last night was sort of… crazy.”

“Err…
crazy
? Is everything okay? Did he do something?”

I rolled my eyes and ripped another bite from my sandwich. Trust Connor to immediately turn into ‘protective brother’ mode. Although I loved my brother and I shared almost everything with him, I couldn’t tell him about what happened. He’d completely flip out and go on about how I shouldn’t be with someone like that. Not only that, but it was Ryan’s secret to share and I couldn’t betray him like that. “He hasn’t done anything, calm down. His family was just very entertaining and I wasn’t left with much time alone.” I decided to leave out the part where one of his sisters hated my guts for most of my stay.

“Alright, well tell me all about it on Monday.”

“What’s Monday?”

“The reading of the will is Monday morning at the office. Think you can
separate
yourself from lover-boy for just a couple of hours and squeeze this in? It’s rather important.”

“Oh. Ha. Ha,” I replied wryly. “In fact, my
boyfriend
will be busy training, so I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

“
Evie
…” he started in a warning tone, “Are you sure that’s the kind of guy you want to give your heart to? You know about his reputation, what makes you think he’s going to be faithful to you? And the cameras are going to follow―”

“The cameras are going to follow me no matter what, but I love him, Connor. I’m not going to be stupid to think that he won’t ever hurt me but I’m willing to take that risk. There’s more to him than what everyone sees…”

Connor was silent for a moment then let out a defeated sigh. “I’m just worried about you.”

“I know but I’m an adult, I can make my own decisions.”

“There are plenty of men out there but you choose to fall in love with New York’s most notorious womanizer,” he muttered.

“Just give him a chance, that’s all I’m asking.”

He didn’t say anything but I knew deep down my brother would at least try. So God help Ryan if he screwed up; behind the designer suits and professional exterior, my brother knew how to throw a punch.

I looked down and noticed my sandwich was gone. Walking back into the living room, I picked up another sandwich and sat myself down on the sofa. Connor and I continued talking for a few more minutes before he said he had to go and finish up some paperwork. Jeez, that guy never stopped.

I ate the rest of the sandwiches then typed a quick text to Derek to ask if he was free to hang out for the afternoon. While I waited for a reply, I put the phone on the table, stretched out on the sofa and closed my eyes.

The next thing I knew I was waking up to a darkened room, feeling groggy and with a stiff neck.
Shoot!
I gasped realizing I’d fallen asleep and snatched up my phone. I had five text messages and a missed call.

The missed call and three of the messages were from Derek.

The first one reading:
Hey, sexy features! Yes!! I’m free. Just finishing up at the nail salon, I’ll be there in twenty.

Then:
Do you want to get your door or not?

Followed by:
What the hell? So you aren’t answering your door OR your cell. Is everything alright? PLEASE call me!

The last two messages were both from Ryan:
Can’t wait to see you watch a real man’s sport, babe. Look for the delicious piece of meat standing on the pitcher’s mound. I love you. Xx

P.S It feels great writing that. I love you. I love you. I love you. I fucking love you!!!

His second message made me laugh but my laugh was cut short once I noticed the time. It read: 7.15PM.
Shit!
That meant I had less than ten minutes to get ready if I wanted to try and make it to Yankee Stadium before the game started.

I rushed into my room and threw on some jeans and the first navy blue and white top I could find. Grabbing a matching tailored, three-quarter jacket, ballet flats, and throwing some make-up essentials into my bag, I left my apartment in record time.

I hailed the first cab I spotted and quickly began applying some make-up to my face and tied my hair into a messy ponytail while humorously wondering what my fashion followers were going to say about the rushed look.

I arrived at Yankee Stadium fifteen minutes late. That was one thing I despised about New York: the traffic. I collected my ticket and went in search of my seat.

An uneasy feeling formed in the pit of my stomach and spread throughout my body as I took in my surroundings. The stadium was
huge
, filled with a sea of people dressed in Yankees colors with a few scattered red dots among them. The crowd cheered and chanted whiles some people walked around and others stood impatiently in the food and beverage queues.

I was grateful when a security guard came up and asked if I was lost. I showed him my ticket and he kindly escorted me over to the right area and then eventually to my seat. I was thankful when I spotted Ryan’s three sisters before I had the chance to answer the guards questions about whether I was a wife or a girlfriend of one of the players and which one. I wasn’t ashamed to be with Ryan, I was just wary of giving out that kind of information to
anyone
I didn’t know.

“Yay, you made it!” Annabelle squealed when I sat down at the empty seat beside her.

The other two sisters turned and smiles lit up their faces as they recognized me.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I fell asleep,” I said apologetically to them. “I think I might be coming down with something.”

“You look exhausted. Perhaps you are?” Gabriella noted.

“Gabby! Really?” Chiara scowled, nudging her with her elbow.

“
What?
” Gabriella said to her older sister with a smirk on her face. “She still looks great. Just run down, that’s all.” She gave a shrug then looked out towards the field.

I watched at her for a moment. The new,
nice
Gabriella was such a shock to see. It was hard to think that she was the same girl that hated my guts only twenty-four hours ago.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Annabelle said gleefully, staring at me with a grin from ear to ear.

“Hey! We’re all glad she could make it!” Gabriella retorted, throwing Annabelle a faux glare.

I laughed just as the crowd went wild and erupted into a loud cheer.

“Oh. Oh! What just happened?” Annabelle’s attention quickly went back to the game.

“
Strikeout
,” Chiara leaned over and said, clapping along with the rest of the crowd.

I turned to the field in front of me. We had pretty good seats. I noticed Ryan immediately. Not because he was the standing on the pitcher’s mound but because I could pick his tall, broad figure from a crowd immediately by the way my body tingled at the very sight of him. He was dressed in his full Yankees uniform, with a glove on his left hand, a ball in the other and his baseball cap sitting down low.

I watched as he raked his foot across the dirt, leaned forward, then adjusted his cap and shook his head at whatever the catcher had said. I didn’t know that much about baseball but I knew the catcher and the pitcher worked together to coordinate a play. Which was what they seemed to be doing.

Ryan shook his head once more before finally giving the go ahead.
Play ball.

He straightened up and took a large stride backward. Although I couldn’t see his face from under his cap, I knew the look he had was serious and was full of concentration.

This was a side of him I’d never seen before. It was interesting to observe, yet, deep down I was itching for something exciting to happen. As New York’s number one baseball star, Ryan was bound to have a few tricks up his sleeve to provide the crowd with entertainment. And after a few short minutes the entertainment began.

Instead of throwing the ball, Ryan’s posture relaxed and he slightly lifted his cap, revealing a mischievous grin. He was looking right at me.
Ohmygod.