disconcert any man to have fallen in love with a woman who could so accurately interpret his every expression, body move or careless word? Face it, Jones, he told himself, you could have picked an easier woman. Could have, he reflected, but didn't. And since Brooke Gordon was who and what he wanted, she was worth the effort it took to have her, and to keep her. He wasn't so complacent that he believed he had truly done either yet.
Yes, she loved him, but her trust was a very tenuous thing. He sensed that she waited for him to make a move so that she could make a countermove. And so the match continued. Fair enough, he decided; they were both programmed to compete. He didn't want to master her…did he? With a frown, Parks pulled a bat out of this locker and examined it carefully. If he had to answer the question honestly, he'd say he wasn't sure. She still challenged him-as she had from the very first moment. Now, mixed with the challenge were so many emotions it was difficult to separate them.
He'd been angry when Brooke wouldn't change her schedule and fly east during the games at the Herons' home stadium. And when he'd become angry, she'd become very cool. Her work, she had told him, couldn't be set aside to suit him or even herself…any more than his could. Even though he'd understood, Parks had been angry. He had simply wanted her there, wanted to know she was in the stands so that he could look up and see her. He had wanted to know she was there when the long game was over. Pure selfishness, he admitted. They both had an ample share of that.
With a grim smile Parks ran a hand down the smooth barrel of the bat. She'd told him it wouldn't be easy. Brooke had been her own person long before he had pushed his way into her life. Circumstances had made her the person she was-though they were circumstances she had still not made completely clear to him. Still it was that person-the strong, the vulnerable, the practical and the private, whom he had fallen for. Yet he couldn't quite get over the urge he had at times to shake her and tell her they were going to do it his way.
He supposed what epitomized their situation at this point was their living arrangement. He had all but moved in with her, though neither one of them had discussed it. But he knew Brooke considered the house hers. Therefore, Parks was living with her, but they weren't living together. He wasn't certain his patience would last long enough to break through that final thin wall-without leaving the entrance hole a bit jagged.
With a quiet oath he reached into the locker and grabbed a batting glove, sticking it in his back pocket. If he had to use a bit of dynamite, he decided, he would.
'Hey, Jones, infield practice.'
''Yeah.' He grabbed his mitt, sliding his hand into its familiar smoothness. He was going to handle Brooke, he told himself. But first there was a pennant to win.
Alternately cursing and drumming her fingers against the steering wheel, Brooke cruised the parking lot in search of a space. 'I knew we should've left earlier,' she muttered. 'We'll be lucky to get anything within a mile of the stadium.'
Leaning back against the seat, E.J. interrupted his humming long enough to comment. 'Still fifteen minutes before game time.'
'When somebody gets you a free ticket,' Brooke said precisely, 'the least you can do is be ready when they pick you up. There's one!' Brooke gunned the motor and slipped between two parked cars with inches to spare. Hitting the brake, she glanced at her companion. 'You can open your eyes now, E.J.,' she said dryly.
Cautiously, one at a time, he did so. 'Okay…' He looked at the car beside him. 'Now how do we get out?'
'Open the door and inhale,' she advised, wiggling out her side. 'And hurry up, will you? I don't want to miss them taking the field.'
'I've noticed your interest in baseball's increased over the summer, boss.' Thankful for his thin frame, E.J. squeezed out of the Datsun.
'It's an interesting game.'
'Yeah?' Joining her, he grinned.
'Careful, E.J., I still have your ticket. I could scalp it twenty times before we reach the door.'
'Aw, come on, Brooke, you can tell your friend what's already in the papers.'
She scowled at that, stuffing her hands in her pockets. There'd been pictures of her and Parks, tantalizing little articles and hints in every paper she'd looked at for more than a week. In L.A., gossip carried quickly-a hot ball player and his attractive director were definitely food for gossip.
'I even caught a bit in one of the trades,' E.J. went on, blithely ignoring the storm clouds in Brooke's eyes. 'Speculation is that Parks might take up, ah…show business,' he said, giving her another grin, 'seriously.'
'Claire has a part for him if he wants it,' Brooke returned, evading his obvious meaning. 'It's small but meaty. I didn't want to go into it in depth with Parks until after the series. He has enough on his mind.'
'Yeah, I'd say the man's had a few things on his mind for some time now.'
'E.J.,' Brooke began warningly as she passed over her tickets.
'You know,' he continued when they fought their way through the inside crowd, 'I've always wondered when somebody'd come along who'd shake that cool of yours a little.'
'Is that so?' She didn't want to be amused, so she slipped her sunglasses down to conceal the humor in her eyes. 'And you apparently think someone has?' 'Honey, you can't get within ten feet of the two of you and not feel the steam. I've been thinking…'
He fussed with the front of his T-shirt as if straightening a tie. 'As your close friend and associate, maybe I should ask Mr. Jones his intentions.' 'Just try it, E.J., and I'll break all of your lenses.' Caught between amusement and irritation, Brooke plopped down in her seat. 'Sit down and buy me a hot dog.'
He signaled. 'What do you want on it?'
'All I can get.'
'Come on, Brooke.' He fished in his pocket for a couple of bills, exchanging them for hot dogs and cold drinks. 'Buddy to buddy, how serious is it?'
'Not going to let up, are you?'
'I care.'
Brooke glanced over at him. He was smiling, not the wisecracking grin she so often saw on his face, but a simple smile of friendship. It was, perhaps, the only weapon she had no defense against. 'I'm in love with him,' she said quietly. 'I guess that's pretty damn serious.'
'Grade-A serious,' he agreed. 'Congratulations.'
'Am I supposed to feel like I'm walking on a cliff?' she demanded, only half-joking.
'Don't know.' E.J. took a considering bite of his hot dog. 'Never had the experience.'
'Never been in love, E.J.?' Leaning back in her seat, Brooke grinned. 'You?'
'Nope. That's why I spend so much time looking.' He gave a heavy sigh. 'It's a tough business, Brooke.'
'Yeah.' She took off his fielder's cap and swatted him with it. 'I bet it is. Now shut up, they're going to announce the starting lineup.'
A tough business, she thought again. Well, he wasn't far wrong, even if he had been joking. Looking for love was a lonely occupation, one she'd given up-or thought she'd given up-years before. Finding it-or having it tackle you from behind-was even tougher. Once it found you it clung, no matter how much you tried to shake it off. But she wasn't trying to shake it off, Brooke mused. She was just trying to understand how it fit and make a few adjustments. The fabric kept changing.
'Playing third and batting fourth, number twenty nine, Parks Jones.'
The already boisterous crowd went frantic as Parks jogged out on the field to take his place in the lineup. When he stood beside Snyder, he let his eyes drift over. They locked on Brooke's. With a smile, he gave the customary tip of his cap. It was a gesture for the crowd, but she knew it had been aimed at her personally. It was all the acknowledgment he would give her until it was over. It was all she expected.
'I'm going to out hit you today, Iceman,' Snyder warned, grinning at the crowd. 'Then Brooke's going to realize her mistake.'
Parks never took his eyes off her. 'She's going to marry me.'
Snyder's jaw dropped. 'No kidding! Well, hey…'
'She just doesn't know it yet,' Parks added in a murmur. He slapped hands with the right fielder, batting fifth. 'But she will.'
Brooke detected a change in Parks's smile, something subtle, but to her unmistakable. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to decipher it. 'He's up to something,' she muttered.
