Two hours later she’d gotten a great start. She drove to the stadium where she paid for a general admission seat. At the sight of Pace in the dugout, her heart seemed to swell in her chest. He wore warm-up sweats, not his uniform. He didn’t have on a sling, but from beneath his T-shirt she could see an elastic bandage around his bicep and shoulder, a horrible, gut-wrenching reminder of what he’d been through. Using his right hand—it was working!—he shook someone’s hand and then turned to look in the stands as if he felt her eyes on him. He looked a little leaner than when she’d seen him last, and he had at least a day’s worth of stubble on that strong jaw. He looked so good her heart kicked hard. She waved, but the sun was in his eyes. He couldn’t possibly see her.

Or so she told herself when he didn’t wave back.

The game was a rough one. Henry took a fly ball to the chest and got the air knocked out of him. Wade got kicked in the face when a player slid home, causing a tussle that the ump had to break up. The game ended at a painful fifteen zip, the worst in Heat history.

Holly went home, grabbed a change of clothing for the poker night fund-raiser and headed to the hotel where it was being held, knowing Sam would need help setting up. Indeed she found the publicist looking a little harassed and most definitely overworked.

“Hey.” Holly’s heart pinched at the way her friend looked at her, as if Holly had run over Sam’s dog. Twice. And then backed over it.

“Holly. You didn’t need to—”

“I thought you could use help.”

“That’s . . . generous of you,” Sam said softly.

“Not generous. Greedy. I wanted to see you and the others.” Holly stepped close and reached for her hand. “How are you?”

“As you’d expect after a horrific nine-game losing streak and a wave of bad press that always seems one step ahead of me.”

“I’m sorry about the losses, more than you know.” It’d been devastating to watch from afar; she could only imagine how it felt from the inside. “I looked for you at the game today. I’d hoped we could talk.”

“Yeah. I was with Jeremy, actually. He’s in town for this thing tonight.” Sam’s face twisted in indecision. “Holly—”

“No. Listen,” Holly said quickly. “I get that you’re hurt and furious, and I understand how bad the press has been, how ruthless. I know, and I’m sorry. But I miss you, Sam.”

“I miss you, too,” Sam whispered, squeezing her hand. “So damn much.”