It was a perfect day, forecast in the eighties. Awesome weather for a ball game. There were a lot of animals in attendance, some of them freaked out by the other dogs. Boomer and Daisy did great, though, just like he suspected. They found their seats above the first-base line and settled in.
“Would you like a beer or a hot dog?” he asked.
Emma shook her head. “Not yet. I’m just excited to be here.”
“Have you ever been to a major league game?’
“No. You?”
“Yeah. I traveled to Dallas and caught some of their games, and to St. Louis, too.”
“How exciting. I can only imagine the difference in the stadiums.”
“It’s a huge difference. Bigger stadium and just a different feel. Kind of epic.”
“I’ll have to make it a point to get out to the ‘big city’ sometime and catch a game.”
“Yeah. You should.”
He was about to suggest they take a road trip and catch one of the games this summer, then caught himself.
What was he thinking? He wasn’t going to continue this relationship with Emma beyond today. He was taking her out to show her a good time. One-time thing, and then he was done. Where women were concerned, there were no repeat performances. Because when there were repeat performances, one thing led to another, and before you knew it, you were in a relationship.
And after a relationship came marriage, and he knew what happened then.
Kiss of death to anything fun.
They settled in to watch the game while the dogs barked and wriggled and kept their eyes on the other dogs nearby. Lots of people had brought dogs, so it was fun to see them in the stands.
“I love this,” Emma said, her sunglasses shading her eyes as she surveyed the stands. “I should have brought my business cards with me. I could walk row by row and hand them out.”
He arched a brow. “Really?”
She laughed. “No. I’m exhausted. It’s been a killer week, and all I want to do is sit back and watch the game. But it’s something my mother would think I should do to drum up business for the clinic.”
“She wants you to do more advertising?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Do you need more business?”
“I can always use more, especially since I’m just starting out. But I’m not as aggressive as she’d like me to be. I think word of mouth spreads, and if you’re good at your job, the business will come your way.”
“I can see that, especially in your line of work.”
“She did have a good suggestion, though. She wants me to sponsor an adoption day at the clinic. I’d work with the local shelter and offer discount services to anyone who adopts an animal.”
He shifted to face her. “That’s a brilliant idea. Are you gonna do it?”
“Yes, I think I am. I’ve already been in contact with the shelter, and they’re interested.”
“I could come by and bring Boomer. He’s always a hit with the kids.”
“You’d do that?”
“Sure. I assume you’ll do it on a Saturday?”
“Yes. Jane Kline said she and Will—your friend Will? They’re thinking about adopting a dog. That might be a good time for them to look at some animals.”
He leaned back. “Yeah, Will loves dogs. And I know Jane’s kids, Ryan and Tabitha, have wanted a dog for a while now.”
“I guess I’ll make it happen.”
“You should, Emma. I think it would be great for your business. Your mom’s pretty smart.”
“She is. But if you ever meet her, don’t tell her I said that or she’ll come up with a hundred different marketing and advertising plans for the clinic.”
He laughed. “Duly noted.”
They settled in once the game started. Surprisingly, Emma knew her baseball, and she wasn’t afraid to show her pleasure—or her displeasure—as the game progressed.
“Masters has a rocket arm at third base,” she said, hunkered down in her seat, her feet propped up on the back of the empty seat in front of her. “He’s fired off some killers to first. But they need a new second baseman. Twice now, their shortstop Alioto has scrambled for the balls that hit second, and you don’t need your shortstop trying to cover both his position and second base. It’s clear that he’s trying to cover for how slow Trainor is.”
He looked over at her, studying her as she grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in her mouth, then followed it up with two very large swallows of beer.
“Is that right?”
She pulled her gaze away from the game and looked at him. “Well, yeah. Can’t you tell? Trainor’s either hiding an injury or needs to lose some weight. And judging from the paunch in his belly, I’d say he needs to lay off the cheese-burgers.”
Luke snorted. “Maybe you should have a talk with his conditioning coach.”
“Somebody needs to, or he’s going to find himself booted down to Single-A ball.”
“I had no idea you knew so much about baseball.”
She shot him a grin. “I love sports. I played softball all through school. I’d have played it in college if I’d had the time. I was good enough to get a sports scholarship.”
“But that’s not what you wanted to do.”
“No. I had big plans to become a vet.” She stared out over the field.
“And now you’ve got your own practice.”
“Yes. Finally.” She shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth. He wished he could see her eyes behind her sunglasses, because he could tell her thoughts had drifted.
“So you ended up changing colleges? You went to school in South Carolina?”
She focused on the game for a few minutes before she answered. “I had a hiccup in my school-and-career plan for a while. Kind of derailed me for a few years, so when I decided to apply to vet schools I couldn’t get back into school here in Oklahoma. That’s how I ended up in South Carolina.”
She turned her head to look at him. “How did you know about South Carolina?”
“It’s on your ‘About Dr. Emma’ page on the clinic’s website.”
“Oh.” Her lips quirked. “You’ve been to the clinic’s website?”
“Yeah. Have to know who’s treating my dog, you know.”
She laughed. “Of course. How very thorough of you. Did you run a background check on me, too?”
“Nah.” He grabbed a handful of popcorn and resumed watching the game. “Not yet, anyway.”
She looked at him, and he again wished she wasn’t wearing her sunglasses, because there was definitely something going on. She wasn’t smiling.
“I’m kidding, Emma.”
She laughed, but it was a nervous laugh. “I knew that.”
Okay, so the idea of a background check freaked her out. What did she have to hide?
Not that he did background checks on women he dated. He never investigated girlfriends—which Emma wasn’t, and would never be, despite her sun-kissed cheeks and the way she yelled at the players and how much Boomer looked up at her with adoration.
Or how much he wanted to kiss her again.
As she watched the game, she absently petted Boomer’s head. It was an unconscious act, but Boomer ate it up and leaned into her hand.
“He likes you,” Luke said.
Her gaze drifted to his and she smiled, the kind of smile that punched a guy in the gut. She grabbed a handful of Boomer’s fur and ruffled it. “I like him, too.”
“You’re so natural with animals.”
She shifted. “You seem surprised by that.”
“No. Well, yeah. My ex hated animals, and especially Boomer.”
“Your ex-girlfriend?”
“Ex-wife.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“For me or for Boomer?”
She laughed. “Both of you. Who wouldn’t love this dog? He’s perfect.” She leaned down and pressed her forehead against Boomer’s. Her affection was so natural, and when Daisy came over and the dogs started to play, she stood.