“He doesn’t,” she said, even as her heart rate picked up.
“Are you sure?” That menacing brow rose, and that unmistakable flicker blazed in his dark eyes.
As nervous as it made her whenever he got this way, she knew she’d never feel threatened by him in any way, but she had to set the precedent while their relationship was still relatively new. There was no doubt about it now. She’d had a feeling even before she met him, but he’d confirmed it almost the moment she first laid eyes in him in person. AJ was hands down the most intense man she’d ever met. She wanted to love that about him, not dread it. So she had to stand her ground. AJ wouldn’t have to change for her; he just had to understand she would never allow him to intimidate her. It wasn’t the example she wanted to set for Clair, who made note of even the fine details about everything. Even if at the moment Addison felt a little weak at the knees.
“I told you I was sorry and that I wouldn’t be lying to you ever again.” She gave him a taste of her own raised and annoyed eyebrow. “Even if there’s anything I prefer to keep to myself, you’ll know about it because I’ll be honest about it. I’ll never blatantly lie again, so, yes, AJ, I’m sure he doesn’t play for the Cubs.”
Just like with everything about AJ, the instant relief in his countenance was as transparent as the suspicion he’d worn just moments ago. It was quickly replaced with remorse and a smile.
He reached out to hug her, even as she playfully or maybe not so playfully tried to push him away. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry,” he said with a crushing hug she finally gave into. “I don’t read the stupid tabloids, but my brother and sister mentioned something way back. They read somewhere that it was possible Clair’s dad was a married guy who played for the Cubs, so when you told me married Fred lived in the Chicago area, it got me thinking.” He shrugged with a dejected frown, even as her heart pounded, staring at him now as the anxiety began to strangle her. “The closer this series got and the more I thought about it, the crazier it was making me.”
“There was actually an article that said that?”
He nodded. “But even Em said the same site she read it on was one of those ridiculously stupid gossip sites that reports alien encounters and shit.”
That made Addison feel a little better, but very little. She’d have to look it up now because the story was a little too close to home, and she’d always worried that somehow the truth would be leaked. Back when it was first reported that Coach Lara’s teen daughter was pregnant and the name of baby’s father would not be disclosed, the media had been on a witch hunt, naming many of the possible culprits—all baseball players. Luckily for Addison, she’d kept her relationship with Fred a secret the whole time, so no one on her side knew about it. One thing was for sure; she’d been tight-lipped enough, but Fred was another story. Not only could he be spiteful, he was reckless. The possibility of reading or hearing the truth one day in the tabloids or on television had always been one that niggled at her. They’d actually discussed it when she met with him, especially since he was separated now. She made him promise he wouldn’t be revealing anything. He promised he wouldn’t, and so far, she hadn’t heard anything.
“It is baseless, right?” His brow was up again, but he smirked when he saw her frown then hugged her again. “Alright, alright, you were just looking at me kind of weird. I thought maybe I’d hit a nerve.” He pulled back to look at her again. “You’re pretty obvious yourself, you know? I’m getting damn good at reading you too.”
Addison did her best to make light of it, and the subject was dropped. Aside from AJ now being openly affectionate with her in public, around the team and even Clair and her father, something else had changed in their relationship. AJ could now join them for their dinners after the games. They could do other things that previously Addison had been hesitant to do because she knew for sure it would raise Clair’s suspicions, such as go to the show just the three of them, which they did that first evening in Chicago after the game.
As usual, AJ was quite the spectacle in the lobby while Addison spoke with the manager about the ingredients in the popcorn and the soda, the only thing she’d be ordering from the concession stands.
AJ mentioned he felt like ice cream, so he got in a different line. There he was first approached and he soon had a crowd around him. Addison watched, amused, from where she and Clair stood, separating the popcorn into boxes and grabbing as many napkins as possible. Just as they’d finally gotten comfortable in their seats and Addison was getting ready to turn off her phone, she got a call from work.
“Crap,” she muttered, knowing she had to take it. “I’m gonna take this outside.”
“Who is it?”
As expected, the suspicion was there in his tone and eyes. She was certain it wasn’t going away anytime soon, and she knew it was her own fault for lying to him in the first place, so she addressed him immediately. “It’s my work. I told you we’re finishing up on a big project, so I have to take this.”
AJ nodded, eyeing her as she walked past him. Jesus, she hoped this wasn’t something she’d have to deal with forever, because it did not appear that AJ would be backing down for the sake of not annoying her. If anything, his actions spoke volumes. Just like she wasn’t giving into telling him who Fred was, AJ was not going to even try and hold back on making clear how he felt about Fred in her life.
Chapter 22
AJ
“That looks good,” Clair said, eyeing AJ’s ice cream cone.
“Clair Bear, I asked you if you wanted one.”
“I know. I was craving popcorn, so I didn’t think I did, but rainbow sherbet’s my favorite.”
AJ smirked, remembering how growing up his brothers always called him a fruity bastard for ordering rainbow sherbet. “It’s mine too,” he said, pleased that he finally had something in common with brainy Clair besides their love of baseball. “We can go get you one if you want.”
She stared at it, her big eyes clearly wanting a taste, and then glanced around guardedly. “I’m not allergic to ice cream, but technically, I’m not supposed to eat stuff that might’ve been contaminated, and ice cream from vendors who scoop straight from the box is one of them. I won’t finish one on my own, but I can have a taste of yours.” She reached out for the cone.
“Whoa, this was one of those places,” he said, lifting it away from her.
Once again he was treated to her eye. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, but you can’t tell my mom.”
“I don’t know about that.” AJ shook his head. “I got in trouble for that already.”
“This isn’t a big one. Just one I’d rather you not tell her so I can be spared the lecture.”
AJ raised his eyebrow but didn’t dare make any promises. “What is it?”
“I’ve had the tingly tongue and lips plenty of times when I haven’t been totally careful about my eating habits. It’s no big deal. I just don’t tell my mom because she’ll get all freaked out. It always passes.”
AJ eyed her as she reached for the cone again, and he let her have it, despite the slight apprehension. He’d always figured Addison was being a little overly cautious about Clair’s food allergies. She’d done a clean sweep of the area they’d be sitting in before giving them the go-ahead to sit down. But not before she’d wiped down the area Clair would be sitting in, in case there was any Snickers’ or Reese’s residue lingering. Anything with nuts was not Clair’s friend. He figured if sherbet was Clair’s favorite then obviously she wasn’t allergic to it, and last time he checked there were no nuts in sherbet ice cream. Clair took one lick of his ice cream then grabbed her neck and pretended to be choking.