“Well, I’ve known others who’ve become single parents unexpectedly. Sounds to me like you’re doing better than most. Clair’s proof of that.” He smiled, finally easing the intensity in his eyes a bit. “I’ve never met such an amazing kid. You should be proud.”

“I am”—she smiled big—“very proud. She’s the precious center of my world.”

“Coach said he’s never met her dad,” AJ said, noticeably glancing away when she lifted her brow.

One thing Addison knew for a fact was that her father created very strong bonds with his apprentices. So it didn’t really surprise her that he might’ve shared some of the more personal stuff about her and Clair. What did surprise her was that AJ would see fit to ask her about it after spending just one day with them. This wasn’t just personal; it was one of the most private things in her life, and she intended to keep it that way.

“No, he hasn’t,” she said, turning back to the gift store, suddenly wondering what was taking them so long. “He’s never been a part of Clair’s life, so we never talk about him.”

“Guy doesn’t know what he’s missing out on,” he said as his expression hardened a little.

Instinctively, the words nearly jumped out of her mouth. You’re right. He doesn’t and he never will. He doesn’t deserve to. But it was too damn personal and she hardly knew AJ. Just because he didn’t seem to hold back whatever he was thinking or wondering about didn’t mean she’d be doing the same.

“Yeah, well, she’s been fine since day one without him.”

“Sorry if I touched a nerve there,” he said as she turned and their eyes met again. “I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to mention how inspiring I think it is that, not only did you earn such an impressive degree in something I can’t even pronounce while raising such a brilliant kid, you’d done so on your own. That’s all.”

“No worries.” Addison smiled, feeling a little silly that she’d made his touching a nerve so obvious. “Stats have always been my thing, so it’s not that impressive that I chose it for a career. I sort of always knew what I wanted to be.”

“From the time you were Clair’s age,” he said, smiling smugly.

That surprised her. “Did my dad tell you that too?”

He smiled such a beautifully sweet smile she couldn’t help but breathe in deeply. “Nope, I just figured as much. Clair told me she wants to be one too. For baseball though.”

Addison nodded, not surprised by that. “Sta . . . tis . . . ti . . . cian,” she said slowly.

His expression was a confused one at first; then he smiled but shook his head. “No way, I’m not even trying.”

“Why not?” She laughed. “It’s only four syllables.”

She sounded it out again for him slowly as his smile flattened, and his eyes closed in on her lips. “Yeah”—he lifted and dropped a big shoulder—“you and Clair say it real easy.” His eyes widened suddenly, and to her relief, the intensity she’d begun to get caught up in again morphed into a broad smile. “Like my full name. She rolls those r’s better than most grownups I know.”

“Andrés Josiah Romero,” she said with a gulp as his smile dissolved once again and his eyes were suddenly gazing into hers.

“So that’s where she gets it from.” He continued to gaze at her in that same way that made her insides go nuts. “You two make my name sound so . . . beautiful.”

Her heart was racing now as she willed him to stop feasting his eyes on her that way, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away either. “Yeah, well”—she smiled, stunned at what a wild ride her emotions had been on during this conversation alone—“your name is beautiful, and Clair”—she cleared her throat—“she does a lot of things better than most grownups.”

AJ was looking at her a bit oddly now—quizzically—and his head tilted a bit. “I know my full name is out there. It’s not a big secret or anything, but I’m pretty sure some of my own cousins don’t even know it. Why do you? And Clair?”

Feeling her face heat, she smiled. When she realized she’d inevitably be meeting AJ, she figured eventually she might have to tell him about this. She just hadn’t anticipated it’d be this soon. “When I was younger, I also did a lot of scouting. Informally that is,” she clarified when she saw his eyes widen. “My dad had me look into certain minor league players—catchers specifically—check their stats, and report back to him. I came across an article on a local web news site. Your school was in the finals that year, and I guess there was a brawl during one of the playoff games. You made one of the headlining photos.”

The curious expression he’d held the whole time as she spoke flattened and he frowned. “I remember that.”

“They had your full name in the paper. I started reading all about the team, gathering stats, you know, what I normally did. After you guys won the state championship your junior year, I kept following you as you progressed . . . among all the other catchers I followed for my dad.”

She smiled when he smirked at her weak attempt to back pedal. If he only knew the truth . . . From the first photos she’d found of him and stared at for the longest time, she’d been almost obsessed, especially because he was just a year older than she was. But even back then before he was a famous player, she could only fantasize. As young as she’d been at the time, she was already knocked up by the time she’d convinced her dad to really look into AJ.

“My dad went out to see you your senior year and suggested they call you up to the Padres farming system.”

His mouth fell open. “You’re why I got called up?”

“Of course not.” She laughed nervously. “You’re why. Over the years, I’d made plenty of suggestions about young and undiscovered talent. Most of those times I’d overrated them, but you blew my dad and his scouting team away.”

Aside from what his gaze did to her throughout the conversation, she’d noticed those same eyes do something else the whole time too. They roamed inconspicuously and sometimes not so inconspicuously. Almost as if he wanted her to know he was taking in everything about her. It made her crazy nervous—like how she’d felt way back when she’d gotten her first taste of capturing the attention of boys. Only AJ was an impressive beast of a man. The way he was gazing at her now made her belly flutter worse than it had all day. It felt like he was looking at her for the first time.

“So you knew me—about me—way back? And I’m just now getting the pleasure of meeting you. Doesn’t seem fair.”

Addison stared at him for a moment. Everything about him fascinated her. It always had. She’d always known plenty about the players; she’d been scouting for her dad long before she had the opportunity to meet them in person. She’d stayed away from AJ for good reason: she’d always known meeting him in person would be different from all the others. Her circumstances would never allow her to even fantasize about the possibility of a man like him gazing at her the way he was doing so at that moment.

“I’m glad you didn’t know me back then. I was a mess.”

Something flicked in his eyes, breaking through the intensity. Something playful or hopeful. It was hard to discern, but it felt strangely exciting, yet at the same time it scared her breathless. “What about now?”

Slippery slope, Addison. Remember the lessons learned. “I’m still kind of a mess.”

The profound way he gazed in her eyes was almost unbearable now. “Can I ask you something?” She gulped, almost afraid to nod but did anyway. “You ever gone out with Travis?”

It took her a second, but then she realized he was talking about Nick and shook her head adamantly. “Never,” she said, horrified that he’d think she might’ve, then added, “I don’t date baseball players.”

That sparked something else in his eyes, but it wasn’t a negative spark like she would’ve expected. It was almost a gleam. “So you’ve never dated any of the guys on the team?”