She smiled, easily accepting that, and nodded. “Deal. I promise.”

He didn’t know what else to say to her about the subject, and he had little time left before the start of the game. As calm as he told himself he was going to try and be about this, Lorenzo’s words came to him again when he spoke of putting up with his ex staying in touch with her baby daddy.

There was nothing I could do about it since it was her kid’s dad and she had to keep things amicable for the sake of her daughter.

It was one thing for her to have to deal with him every now and again. From what Clair just told her, the call didn’t sound like a pleasant one. According to Addison, Clair’s dad had never wanted to be a part of their lives. There was no reason to stay amicable with him. AJ would certainly be following up to ask Clair if there’d been any more secret calls. If this was strictly to keep her ex from getting pushy, that was one thing. But he’d be damned if he’d be putting up with any bullshit.

Everything else about getting involved with Addison had stopped feeling complicated or risky for a while now. The longer he was with her, the harder he felt himself falling for both her and Clair. The only thing that calmed him now was knowing the more time he spent with Addison, holding her, and making love to her, the more he could feel how genuinely she cared about him too. For now that’d be enough to calm the inferno he’d begun to feel when Clair first mentioned Fred.

Chapter 15

Addison

Addison tried to shake the strange unease she felt about AJ’s plan to get her out and away from her parents for the entire day. Even when he’d first told her about it, she’d been unable to hide her unease because he immediately followed up with another apology about his calling her Kelli that first day in St. Louis.

AJ’s brothers were driving out to Los Angeles for the series against the Dodgers that weekend. When AJ arrived in Los Angeles, he found out Nathan’s girlfriend, Kelli, had met them out there at the last minute.

“You can tell your parents and Clair you two hit it off and she’s out in Los Angeles so you want to hang out with her.”

He’d smiled excitedly even as Addison had stared at him full of apprehension. After he’d apologized once again and said he knew because of his stupid flub he totally understood why she might not be comfortable, he once again assured her his calling her Kelli had been a total fluke. He was in no way attracted to Kelli and would never even consider looking at or thinking of any girls his brothers dated in that way.

The latter was easier to believe. She knew how close he was to his siblings, and just from what she already knew about his character, she’d never believe he’d disrespect his brother that way.

But the former was a little harder for her insecure ass to buy. Kelli was nothing short of a beauty queen, the kind of girl that back in high school Addison could only dream of just being friends with. She wasn’t delusional to ever think she could pull off being the “it” girl. Addison was certain of that much. Kelli had either been the “it” girl or at least part of the “it” crowd. No surprise she’d landed a guy like Nathan. The Romero clan had no shortage of good looks.

Hearing her boyfriend refer to her as Kelli, after she’d just pleasured him orally, had been a slap in the face to say the least. Of course, the first thing that flew into her mind was that he’d been thinking of Kelli the entire time Addison had been down on her knees deep-throating him!

But, alas, she was done questioning it. One of the things she found most endearing about AJ was his in-your-face honesty. He held nothing back. Just like his reaction to Danny. Most guys would’ve at least tried to tone down any jealousy over something that petty.

Addison had been watching AJ’s on-field explosions for years. She’d seen that same familiar flicker in his eyes just before he spun around in the room that day and walked away from her. He’d been that close to detonating—over her conversation with Danny. If that weren’t reason enough, it wasn’t just the way he touched her and made love to her with such unabashed passion. The way he looked at and spoke to Addison with such genuine affection, not just for her but for Clair, was more than enough to prove that his feelings for her were for more than her looks alone.

Old habits die hard, but her habit of inwardly self-deprecating herself was one she’d thought she’d killed years ago. If the attention she’d been getting from men ever since she’d come out of her shell and put more effort into her appearance wasn’t proof that she could give someone like Kelli a run for her money, the fact that AJ Romero seemed as crazy for her as she was for him should be.

It was why she agreed to go along with AJ’s plan. Addison’s new friend picked her up at their hotel but didn’t come up to get her. Addison met her outside by the valet. Since their Saturday game had been a morning one, AJ and Addison had the rest of the afternoon and evening to be together.

Her parents had often commented, sometimes troubled, about how Addison sacrificed her social life too much. Ever since having Clair, she’d barely had one, and they knew, when she’d lived Chicago, she had no one she trusted to leave Clair with, just so she could go out. They knew it’d been a long time since she’d enjoyed a social life. So, of course, they’d graciously agreed to take Clair to Universal Studios for the rest of the day and then to dinner and a movie after. They seemed pleased about her spending time with a friend and encouraged Addison to go out and have fun. “Don’t rush back on our account,” her mother had added when Addison left.

Addison didn’t even have to worry about getting back before Clair’s bedtime. They were staying in a two-room suite so Clair could go to the room she shared with Addison whenever she was ready for bed.

Except for the time they were spending with his brothers and Kelli, this would be the most time all at once Addison and AJ would spend together yet. Addison was looking forward to it, so she decided to focus on that instead. The excitement was already whirling away inside her.

Kelli met her downstairs in her car. “Hello,” Kelli said, smiling as Addison got in her car. “Nice to see you again. Don’t worry; your secret is safe with me.”

Addison nodded, smiling pleasantly and feeling silly that at her age she was technically sneaking off with her boyfriend. “Thanks. It probably won’t be too much longer before I tell my parents. It’s my daughter I want to hold off telling for a bit longer.”

To Addison’s surprise, Kelli reached over and patted her leg. “You have no idea how much respect I have for you because of that.” She brought her hand back to the wheel as they came to a stop. “Most women would be dying to flaunt the fact that they’re dating AJ Romero. I’m glad you’re thinking of your daughter first. It’s how it should be. Sadly, most parents don’t. I know my dad didn’t. He brought every single bimbo he dated around my brothers and me when we were younger. I hated it.” She turned and smiled genuinely at Addison. “In your case, I can tell your daughter already loves AJ. But it’s good that you’re still being cautious. I commend you for that.”

“Thanks,” Addison said, not sure if that was the right response. “What about you and Nathan?” she asked, wanting to get off the subject of her and AJ’s relationship. “AJ said it’s been a couple of months. Are you two getting serious?”

“It hasn’t been that long,” Kelli said, staring straight ahead as she drove. “I’ve known him for a couple of months, but I didn’t actually start going out with him until just a few weeks ago. I wasn’t even gonna come out here this weekend because I didn’t want him to get the idea that things are that serious.” She shrugged, glancing at Addison. “I’ve been burned before, you know? I’m trying to play it safe and take things slow.” She stared ahead again. “I, uh . . . was coming out this way anyway for a little thing my brother’s having tomorrow, so when I was able to get the day off today at the last minute, I decided to meet Nathan today after all.”