Henry had been in the middle of guzzling a Dr Pepper, but when his gaze ran down her body, he choked.

Wade simultaneously slapped him on the back and covered his eyes.

Holly tugged self-consciously at the hem of the sweatshirt. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to feed the poor, beleaguered, whiny patient,” Wade said. “But it turns out he’s not so beleaguered.”

Footsteps came down the hall and then Pace appeared in the doorway. He took in the situation, which was the guys looking at Holly standing there in nothing but his sweatshirt, and with a low oath pulled Holly to him, protecting her from view of the others with his body as he turned the two of them to the door. “Wait here,” he directed the guys over his shoulder as he led her out of the kitchen and into the hallway. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault. But I feel very naked.”

“My favorite state.”

“Yeah, but not mine.” She headed back to the gym. He followed her, still wearing only those basketball shorts and his sling, extremely comfortable in his own skin. As he should be. If she had a body that fine, she’d be comfortable naked, too. At least some of his color was back, and she smiled as he put a big, warm hand on her hip.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

“Let me get rid of the guys.”

“No, don’t. I have to go work anyway.”

At that, she expected him to rush her along, but he stayed still, dropping his forehead to hers. She just closed her eyes, breathing him in, lifting her arms to wrap around his neck. They stayed like that for a moment before she pulled free to slip into her sweatpants. When she started to unzip his sweatshirt to replace it with her own clothes, he shook his head. “Keep it.”

So she left it on and slipped into her shoes. “I should go.”

He came close, playing with the hood ties on the sweatshirt, the one that smelled like him. “I owe you.”

Her knees knocked together. “Yeah. You do.”

His mouth curved and his eyes were hot as he leaned in and kissed her good-bye, a kiss that made her wish things weren’t so complicated, that they were just a man and a woman with a simple attraction for each other. An attraction without any messy emotions, attachments, or obligations to stories that needed to be told. But she’d never been that lucky, and she didn’t see that luck changing any time soon.

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

It’s hard to win a pennant, but it’s harder losing one.

—Chuck Tanner

Holly had left Tucker multiple phone messages, trying to arrange an interview, but he’d proven hard to get ahold of. She knew Pace had asked her to let him handle it, but he hadn’t done so, at least not to her knowledge.