“Know what I don’t get?” Miller said to no one inparticular. “How someone as smart as Natalie falls for a guy who mopes aroundfeeling sorry for himself.”
T.J.’s pissed-off-o-meter climbed. “Fuck you, Miller, andthe high horse you rode in on.”
Miller smirked and took a pull of his beer.
“Making the leap takes balls,” Mark added helpfully. “AskingCarla to marry me scared the everlovin’ shit out ofme.” He shrugged. “But I persevered.”
Mark glanced over at Carla and winked. She blew him a kiss.He mimed catching it before turning back to T.J. “Here’s what you gotta decide, my man. Do you want to go through life withher or without her? If it’s with, you’ve got your work cutout. And I wouldn’t wait too long. That girl won’t stay on the market.”
“Who says she’s on the market?” T.J. muttered underhis breath. His intel toldhim she wasn’t—yet.
Looking at T.J., Miller jerked his chin toward Mark. “Whathe said.” A beat later, he added, “Friends don’t let friends lose their girlsto dicks like Ethan Lind. Grovel.”
Mark chuckled. “Groveling’s good.”
Paige and Carla came over, and T.J. mentally disconnected,studying the surrounding trees and the bright blue sky arcing above. So much color.
Comprehension clobbered him like a hundred-mile-an-hour slapshot. Before Natalie, his world had been shadedin grays. Like now. With her, it had beenvibrant, bursting with the spectrum of a full paint palette. She was the bestfucking thing that had ever happened to him.
In that moment, he made up his mind he wanted color. He deservedcolor.
It was time he owned it.
CHAPTER 32
Truly, Madly, Deeply
Ten days after the regular seasonended, Natalie’s phone lit up with an unexpected number.
“Kevin? Hey!”
“Hey, Nat.”
“How are Kris and Emma?”
His voice cracked. “Kris and I decided to re-tie the knot.”
A thrill shot through her. “I’m so happy for you both!When?”
“Early August. But that’s not why I called.”
Confusion took up space alongside her happy bubbles. “Oh?”
He laughed. “Don’t worry.”
She let out a mirthless laugh. “Be happy.”
“Seriously, I wanted to call and find out if you knew what Shanstrom did.”
Her bewilderment blossomed. “What he did?”
“I didn’t think so,” he chuckled. “He came to visit me lastweek. To work something out between the two of us withoutlawyers in the way. That took guts. And we got it done. The attorneyswrote up the agreement, and we signed it today. He’s no longer part of thelawsuit.”
Her mouth fell slack, her eyes softly focused on the arm ofher couch.
When no words came out, he said, “You there?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“He handed over some very compelling evidence that’ll helpus go after the team. I don’t know what all happened between you two, but Ithought you should know. Guy’s not all bad.”
.~* * * ~.
Three days later, Natalie was homeworking on Paige’s books when her phone chimed a text.
T.J.: Hey. Got any dog-sitting openings?
She stared at her screen for so long another text chirped.
T.J.: Hello?
Natalie: Um, hello.
T.J.: Haven’t contacted u b/c couldn’t figure out a wayto show u how sorry I was.
Natalie shook her head to be sure she wasn’t dreaming beforeanswering: And you found a way?
T.J.: Think so. HOPE so. Can I tell u in person?
Natalie: When?
T.J.: Now?
Natalie: Where?
T.J.: Outside urfront door.
Her eyes flew to the window. A bright blue Audi sat outfront. Her heart lurched against her ribs, and her tummy wobbled. Should Ibe happy? Indignant? Unsure which emotion to call on, she stood slowly,finger-combing her hair and smoothing her top.
Rapping sounded. She skittered toward the front door, onlyto brake, taking deliberate steps. He can wait. She broke into anotherscurry, and her hand was on the knob in a nanosecond. Oh, what the hell. Sheyanked the door open.
T.J. Shanstrom stood on her stoopholding a huge box. He gave her that grin, the one that puddled her insidesinto pudding. “Can I come in?”
A swarm of butterflies took flight in her stomach all atonce. Ecstatic to see him but befuddled and off-kilter, she stood aside. “Uh,sure?”
Sporting shorts and a T-shirt that matched his moss-greeneyes, he brushed past her, his cedarwood man-scentfilling her nose. Ooh, he smelled good. And the T-shirt showed off every carvedmuscle on his torso. The butterflies were flapping furiously now.
He stood in her living room, his mouth quirking. The scar onhis lip was a broken pale pink line, and the memory of nibbling it bloomed. Down,Hailey!
The box seemed to move … and snuffle?
She eyed it closely. “Um, whatever that is, do you want toset it down? It looks heavy.”
“Maybe in your sunroom?”
She led him through the door. Scuffling noises came from themystery box, and she grew more baffled.
He placed it in the middle of the room and gingerly openedthe lid. She peered inside, and her hand flew to her chest on a gasp. A clusterof fat puppies wagged, wiggled, and scrabbled. Brown, black,yellow squirming balls of fur. Natalie barked out her astonishment witha laugh.
“Not a bucket, but hopefully a box of puppies willsubstitute,” he said. “I also noticed your porch light is loose. I can fixthat.” Before she could restart her heart, he pointed at the box. “May I?”
She nodded dumbly as he grabbed a pair of pups and set themcarefully on the floor at her feet where they sprawled. Stumbling and falling,they tried to climb her legs, their little needle teeth gnawing her bare toes.
“Oh my God!” she yelped, giggles gurgling inside her. “Wheredid you get them?”
“The Dumb Friends League came to my rescue—in exchange forhelping out with one of their fundraisers.”
More puppies joined the first two, and she knelt beside thebox to help free the rest. Soon her neck and face wereassaulted by pink puppy tongues, and she couldn’t stop laughing. Sheplopped down and let the roly-polies crawl over her, licking and wagging asthey went. “Eight puppies?”
T.J. dropped beside her, and they pounced on him. “Yeah.Aren’t they great? They’re almost all spoken for.”
She held a chubby little guy in her hands, and he lapped ather chin.
T.J. cleared his throat. “This woman I’m in love with—who’ssweet and sassy and smart and
