“I didn’t hear that.”

“He will probably tell you later. I’ll put something together for you so that you can keep up with your workout. Stan Feldman travels with the team. He will go with you. He’s a good guy and will take care of you. I’ll have something ready for you by the end of the day.”

“Appreciate it.”

“But I do have one suggestion.”

He arched his brow and waited, aware that her eyes twinkled, and her lips twitched with suppressed merriment.

“Don’t go trying to kiss him. I hear you have a thing for physical therapists.”

He shot her a look, then shared in her laughter. Things were back to normal. Thank God.

—

He returned to the bench afterward to watch the game. They were playing the Rangers, and Gavin could see Pete’s frustration as Cody came to the plate with the bases loaded.

The catcher was batting cleanup. Gavin watched in interest, realizing that Pete was changing the lineup every couple of days. The problem was, he didn’t have a heavy hitter to put in that spot. Jake led off, singled, and got on base. Brian came up next, smacked a breaking ball that didn’t break into the hole, got to first, and Jake advanced. Pat Murphy, who was playing right field, got lucky and nailed a fastball. Heavier than the other players, he lumbered to first base. The pitcher made a mistake and tried to get Jake instead, but the shortstop was incredibly fast and got to third standing.

Now it was Cody’s job to bring them home. But he struck out, and then Shaun popped up for the second out. Then it was up to Derek, who had recovered from his injury but was hung over from the previous night. He looped a curveball right at the shortstop, and the inning was over.

“We can’t keep playing like that and expect anything to happen.” Pete swore, and chomped his gum furiously. “I’m going to have to get Nikki to start her program again. These boys were out drinking all night, and then this is what you get.”

“It’s not just that.” Dick Dubell, the pitching coach, spat a wad of tobacco. “We need a cleanup hitter. We left three men on base and have nothing to show for it. The sooner we get a heavy bat in that spot, the better our chances.”

They both looked at Gavin at exactly the same moment. Roger, who was sitting beside him and still on the DL, broke into guffaws. “They’re not looking at me, buddy. Let’s hope you heal up real quick for all our sakes.”

Gavin ignored him, but was aware he was right. They were counting on him. The Sonics were like an orchestra missing a key instrument. Jake and Brian and the rest of the team could do the best they could, but without that one guy they could count on to knock it out of the ballpark when they had men on base, they would always struggle.

“Nothing like a little pressure,” Roger added, continuing to egg him on.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Gavin said flatly, refusing to rise to the bait. Instead he got up and went to the water cooler, relieved to see there were no live creatures looking back at him from inside.

Yet Roger’s words burned. While his injury was healing, Gavin still had a long way to go. They needed him; he knew it, he felt it. The Sonics had taken a gamble on him that the Dodgers were not willing to risk. And he wanted desperately to repay that faith, to show his former teammates that he was still capable, and to contribute to a team that had become his own.

Some of his agitation faded as he recalled hitting some balls with Jake earlier in the day. Although he was still doing that on the sly, he was encouraged to see that his form was coming back. Even though he still couldn’t put a lot of pressure on his knee, Jake was right; the compact swing he’d developed allowed him to make contact and get the ball into contention. He was now working on accuracy, making every bat count, and driving each pitch into exact placement.

And Jake was impressed. The shortstop didn’t say much, just spotted for him, reminding him when he was off-balance or leaning too much on the bad leg. But his grin at the end of the session said more than praise, and Jake had flung his arm around him, confessing that he had wagered five hundred bucks that Gavin would be hitting over .300 by August.

Instead of getting anxious, for some reason that made him laugh. Jake believed in him. So did Jessica. So did Pete, for that matter.

When he lifted the cup to his mouth, Cody shook his head in the negative.

“What?” Gavin glanced at the water cooler. “I didn’t see a fish.”

“I don’t think anyone has changed it since Chase took Kate out of there,” he admitted.

It took Gavin a moment to process that. Apparently, they had named the goldfish after Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn’s daughter. And Chase, an animal lover, had rescued the poor creature. Kate now lived in the locker room in a proper fishbowl, and even Pete stopped by occasionally to say hello.

But apparently, no one had taken the initiative to replace the water. Gavin tossed the cup into the trash, hefted the bottle out of the cooler, and replaced it with a new one. It gurgled and bubbled, but this time when he put his cup underneath of it, he was certain it was fresh and clean.

Unbelievable.

—

She came in while he was still in the pool.

Gavin saw her when he was underwater and even though her image was a little blurry, he knew it was Jess. Diving deep into the pool, he used his arms as well as gentle kicks to plow through the water. He had gotten stronger, and it was gratifying to see progress. Swimming in particular had helped his upper body strength, making it easier to hit the ball, to drive it those few extra feet that made all the difference.

So her program was working. The therapy he was doing with her during the day was strengthening his knee, while the additional activity was getting him back to his peak form.

When he reached the ladder and climbed out, she immediately turned her back to him and busied herself at her desk. He noticed that they were alone, and that she was as nervous as a teenage girl on her first date. Because of him? An interesting thought. Grabbing a couple of towels, he wrapped one around his waist and tossed another over his bare shoulders.

“So here are the exercises I put together for you.” She handed him a file, focusing on the papers inside. “Do them three times a day, two sets of ten reps…”

Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. “Jess—”

“I’ve got to go. Good luck tomorrow in Boston. Say hello to my big brother.” She grabbed her jacket and reached for the keys. Before he could say anything else, she tossed them his way, and he snatched the key ring out of the air.

She tried to brush past him, but he grabbed her by the elbow, effectively stopping her. He was fully aware he was wearing nothing more than his swim trunks and a towel. Water trickled down his naked chest, puddling on the floor, but he didn’t care. It killed him to leave like this, with her treating him as if he were any other client.

Or any other man.

“You weren’t even going to say goodbye?” He tipped her head up, forcing her to look at him.

“Gavin, I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a good idea…” Her eyes reluctantly met his, traveled down his face, and then lower to linger on his mouth…

“Shit.” She planted a quick kiss on his lips and then tried to pull away, but he yanked her up against him, uncaring that he would get her wet. In fact, if he had to think about it, that was the general plan.

“What are you doing?” she gasped, her eyes wide with surprise.

“You can’t pretend you don’t feel anything for me,” he said, gratified to see her tremble. “I’m not buying it. I’m also not buying that little speech about this being nothing but a physical attraction. And if you keep looking at me like that, I’ll prove it.”

She couldn’t argue with his logic, especially with her body pressed right up against his. The moisture from the pool grew steamy between them, and by the way she squirmed, he could tell she was affected by his nearness.