“I’m a quick learner.”

“And I’m an excellent teacher.”

He dropped the ball to the ground, giving it a quick kick. Theresa and Timothy ran after it.

“And being around you is not torture, Gavin,” Emily said, jogging away from him after the kids.

He caught up to her side. “Right, you made it clear that it’s only grief. But, no worries, I really do take that as a compliment.”

Emily simply shook her head and laughed.

Over the next fifteen minutes, although he did partake in the game a little, Gavin mostly hung back a bit and watched Emily play with the kids. Taking a seat on top of a picnic table, his senses reeled at everything about her. His eyes swept over her body, ultimately settling on her face as he admired her smile. His ears listened to the way she laughed while his mind tried to wrap itself around the way his niece and nephew clung to her. He knew children had a keen sense of the aura that surrounded people, so it only justified what his heart already knew—her presence was magnetic. It consumed others, swallowing them whole, and left no room for regret.

As she ran around with them, he watched Emily’s wavy hair bounce, the summer sun catching the locks and creating a fiery halo of rich auburn. His need for her snaked through his bones, cutting straight down to the marrow. From the moment he laid eyes on her, she made something strange happen in his chest when she looked at him. Something tightened in his stomach, and he realized he could find himself in deeper than he already was if she looked at him like that too often.

His mind hawked at the inward description of his feelings, knowing there was nothing more he could do to satisfy his hunger. The only thing he knew for sure was that his emotions were caught in a clusterfuck of epic proportions. Being around her was self-inflicted pain at its finest, but it was something he was willing to endure if for one reason only—just to be close to her. The sound of Colton calling his name dragged him from his thoughts.

Thank God for small miracles.

After he and Emily hugged the children and bid Colton and Melanie goodbye, Gavin walked with her to gather her belongings.

“Mr. Blake, it’s always a pleasure,” Emily said with a smile, extending out her hand.

Gavin didn’t oblige by shaking it because he knew if he touched her he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge of pulling her into his mouth. Running his hand through his hair, he backed away slightly.

Emily smiled awkwardly and slung the backpack over her shoulder.

Gavin found his words stuck in his throat like verbal gridlock. “Wait, that’s it? You’re going to just leave me here all by myself?”

“You’re a big boy. I think you can find something to occupy your afternoon.”

He laughed for a moment and then suddenly his face became serious. “I just thought this could be an opportunity to redeem myself.”

“Redeem yourself? What for?”

“For my behavior the last time I saw you. I’m sorry that I made you uncomfortable, but…” He lowered his voice and stared directly into her eyes. “I’m not sorry about the way I feel about you, Emily. They’re my feelings, and I can’t deny them. But I really just need to be friends with you.”

She swallowed nervously, her voice as low as his. “Gavin, we’ve talked about this before and—”

Cutting her off, he stepped closer. “I promise you this time. I swear to God I won’t say or do anything to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to get it out there—about the way I feel about you—but now I’m done.” He shifted on his feet and took a step back, not letting his eyes stray from her face. “Yes, you’ve got me twisted for some reason that I can’t understand, and I don’t know if I ever will. I find you to be the most remarkable…” He drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know. There’s something about you that just…sets you apart from any other woman I’ve ever met. And, because of all of it, I’m willing to put my feelings aside just to be your friend.” Just to be near you…

Not only did her heart pause with his words, but her stomach also curled in a disturbingly pleasant way as she gauged his face. True emotions swirled behind his eyes, and something deep down told her he was sincere. “Okay, we’ll try this again. So you want me to hang out with you here for a little while?”

Gavin took in a deep lungful of air, the knot in his chest releasing, as he realized he had been holding his breath awaiting her answer. “You like baseball, don’t you?”

“How did you know that?”

“The night that I found out you were really Emily and not Molly.” She nodded and laughed. He grinned. “Before you came into the club, Dillon told me that his girlfriend was a huge baseball fan. That’s how I know that little bit of information.”

“You want me to play baseball with you?” she asked, furrowing her brows.

“You can take in all of the spectacular sights New York has to offer. However, you haven’t experienced New York to its fullest until you’ve been to a Yankees game.” He smiled. “Trevor was supposed to come to the one o’clock game today, but he canceled on me at the last minute.” He pulled the tickets from his back pocket and held them up. “I have season tickets, but it would be a shame to let these go to waste.”

A confused smile touched her mouth as she contemplated him for a moment. “You want me to go to a Yankees game with you?”

“I do.”

“I don’t know,” she replied, looking down to the ground and then back to him. “That might be a little too much.”

His smile was slow, making his blue eyes sparkle mischievously. “Surely, in a stadium filled with 50,000 people, I should be able to hold myself at bay from attacking you.”

Emily screwed her mouth to one side. “True,” she admitted. “But I’m not even a Yankees fan. I’ll be rooting for the underdog. Is that something else you can handle?”

With widened eyes, he placed a hand over his chest, mocking a wounded heart. “Mmm, keep talking like that, and you may find a way to get me to not admire you as much as I do. I’m a die-hard Yankees fan, Miss Cooper,” he laughed. “But, yes, I’m sure I could handle sitting next to a non-Yankees fan that I’ve brought with me.”

She shook her head and laughed. “Okay, I’ll consider this friendly outing under one condition.”

“Anything. Let’s go,” he said, reaching for her backpack.

“Wait, you don’t even know what it is.”

He placed his hand on the small of her back and started leading her out of the park. “No problem. Whatever it is, I can most definitely handle it.”

She came to an abrupt halt and laughed. “You will listen to me, or I go nowhere with you, Gavin Blake. Do you understand?”

A delicious grin slid across his mouth. “I’m all ears.”

“Like that,” she motioned to his hand resting on her back. He smiled and pulled it away. “No touching me, no undressing me with your eyes, and no doing that…that damn stupid thing with your mouth when you pull it between your teeth.”

He smiled. “Does me sucking on my lip bother you that much?”

Only ‘cause it’s so insanely hot… “Yes. It’s annoying.”

He slowly dragged his bottom lip between his teeth, ending it with a luscious popping sound. “Well, the same goes for you then.”

She kinked her head to the side and let out a sigh. “Such a smart ass. You’ve already warned me about not bringing any attention to my lips.” She covered her mouth with her hand, the rest of her words coming out muffled from beneath. “Is this better?” He nodded and laughed. “But I don’t look at you like I want to rip your clothes off, and surely, I don’t touch you.”

He shrugged casually. “Since we’re being honest, you have no idea how I would love it if you touched me again.”

She dropped her hand from her mouth and let it hang open for a second. “See, this is exactly what I’m talking about,” she said, turning on her heel to walk away from him.