He glanced over at Clair, who was showing her mom her notebook. Stats of the opposing teams players, no doubt. Curiously, Addison wasn’t instantly surrounded by other players. AJ smiled at the camera, his disposition a little more genuine than when he’d had to smile for his coach earlier.

The irony was palpable. AJ was certain there’d been plenty of hearsay amongst the team about what he might be feeling for Addison, ever since the near eruption he’d had with Biggs. AJ hadn’t given a shit about that either. Let them talk. He actually hoped when Travis walked away from him and Addison today that he’d gone straight to the peanut gallery to let them in on AJ’s silent threat. If that’s what was keeping them all away from her now, then, for once, Travis’s big mouth may’ve come in handy.

Chapter 4

Addison

The weather this time of year in Southern California was beautiful. Addison was glad now she’d called her parents before she packed to ask about the weather in Toronto. It was freezing. Well, in comparison anyway. Low twenties in the day and low teens in the evening. She was back to the weather she’d been so glad she’d left in Chicago.

This wouldn’t be her first trip to the falls, but she hadn’t been there in years—long before Clair was born. She’d been anticipating it before she knew AJ would be coming with them. Not that being around him was a bad thing. Having had him at her daughter’s party participating in the games and even buying Clair such sweet and thoughtful gifts had already exceeded any kind of interaction she’d imagined ever having with the awe-inspiring superstar.

How could she be so weak? All those years she’d prepared because she knew inevitably she’d be back in her father’s world of baseball and all it took was one day? Well, one day and a few confusing exchanges, both verbal and non-verbal with AJ, had her so confused she’d been dying to see him again. Those exchanges should’ve left her never wanting to see the guy again, at least hesitant to. Instead, she’d hung on Clair’s every word that had to do with him, and she’d been counting the days until she’d see him again.

Last night she’d been almost in a daze. A daze! She wasn’t that star-struck teenager anymore. She was a grown-ass career woman and mother who’d made some mistakes but learned from them and was better and stronger because of it all. No man should have the power to make any woman feel nearly faint. Least of all one who considered herself so reinvented and empowered now.

Yet last night she’d barely been able to breathe when he’d complimented her and his eyes had bored into her the way they had, like he’d been trying to tell her something without saying it. It was stupefying. Addison had never felt stupefied in her life! So knowing he’d be spending the entire day with her and her family today nearly had her hyperventilating. But the man was as hot and cold as he was dreamy. Despite his demeanor last night and the spoken and unspoken compliments he’d given her just by gazing at her the way he had, the issue of the subtle jabs she was pretty sure he’d taken at her hadn’t been resolved.

Addison lifted her chin as she stared at herself in the mirror. Just because he was AJ Romero, the triple threat superstar catcher with a gaze that could turn her into a puddle, didn’t mean he was better than Addison as a person. Her mother had taught her that way back when she first started admiring players in a much different way than she knew Clair admired them now. She’d felt incredibly intimidated and beneath them.

There’d been plenty of proof in Addison’s life that no matter how skilled and famous you were it did not mask your faults forever. No one was perfect, not even big beautiful Andrés Josiah. But did he have to make her so damn nervous?

Their conversation yesterday hadn’t even been that long, yet she’d been a ball of nerves from the moment she and Clair spotted him and Clair took off running toward him.

“AJ’s taking the shuttle with us to Niagara Falls,” Clair announced from the other room.

“Wh-What?” Addison asked as her heart rate spiked pathetically. “I thought he was meeting us there.”

They had adjoining suites with her parents, and Clair had just been over in their room. Clair explained that instead of charting a private flight there since he’d be flying out of Buffalo tomorrow with the rest of the team her papa had insisted he take the hour-and-a-half drive with them instead.

“Oh, for the love of God,” Addison whispered as she rushed to redo her ponytail, making it neater this time.

Not only did she have to look forward to an entire day of trying to be cool and not let this man continue to intimidate her the way he’d so easily done so far, she’d now be in a confined space with him for an hour and a half. Luckily, she knew Clair and her father would be doing most of the talking. Those two could go on forever talking baseball stats, strategy, and even discussing classic games. It was her only hope. Addison could already imagine all the squirming she’d be doing.

The luxury shuttle taking them to the falls was similar to the luxury buses that shuttled the players to and from their hotels to the airport and stadiums, only scaled down to accommodate their much smaller party. Her dad tended to spare no expense, so this one wasn’t all that much smaller. Addison had traveled in the fancy shuttles on many occasions. It was basically a much roomier limousine with televisions, bucket seats, and even chairs that transformed into beds.

This particular one had a sitting area with a table surrounded by bucket seats, the kind her father often used as a makeshift conference table to discuss strategy whenever they traveled with other coaches and such.

Addison’s mom went straight to the back to one of the chairs that transformed into a bed. Her leg was acting up again, and she said she was going to lie back and read. Clair and Addison each took one of the chairs surrounding the table as Clair placed her satchel on the table, pulling out her notebook, pens, and tablet. Addison’s father went to check on her mom but said he’d be back. They were still waiting on AJ, who was on his way down.

It was a relief to Addison that she got in the shuttle first. She would’ve hated having to decide where to sit if he were already there before her. Her father stopped at the small refrigerator on his way back from the back of the shuttle and asked if anyone wanted water or something else to drink.

“I’ll have water.”

AJ’s deep voice startled Addison, who’d been searching through her phone. Glancing up, she smiled nervously as he took the bucket chair across from her, looking as amazing as always. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she said, annoyed with her already wildly beating heart. “I’ll take a water too, Daddy.”

This was going to be more of a challenge than she imagined. AJ’s piercing eyes were almost too much to take.

“Morning, AJ,” Clair said, barely looking up from her tablet. “You’re just in time. I was looking for a video I wanted you to see.”

Thanks to Clair, AJ glanced away from Addison for a moment.

“Here you go, big guy,” Addison’s dad said, tossing him a water bottle and then tossing Addison one.

Her dad took the seat off to the side that faced the television and flipped through the channels. Clair showed AJ the video she was talking about. It was baseball-related, of course. AJ and the coach made small talk about the game the night before and then Niagara Falls. Her father mentioned he’d been as surprised as Addison had been to hear AJ say this was the first time he’d been there.

When her mother asked her father to bring her a water bottle too, AJ turned to Addison. “I guess because I travel so much all year long, when the season’s finally over, I prefer to stay put than do too much traveling. As much as I can anyway,” he said, reaching out for the tablet Clair was handing him again. “Even during the off season, I stay pretty busy though. But aside from my busy schedule, you’d be surprised what a normal guy I am.”