Darcy

I flopped back on the guest room bed, my body sinking into the familiar mattress as I held my phone above my face. After pacing the house for another half hour, I’d retreated to the guest room, needing to talk to someone who would understand the jumble of emotions churning inside me. I tapped Rachel’s contact and waited as the video call connected, the spinning circle making me impatient. When her face finally filled my screen, her red curls wild around her head and her green eyes bright with excitement, I felt the first genuine smile since arriving spread across my face.

“Well, well, well,” Rachel drawled, her image shifting as she adjusted her position. “Look who’s back in the land of baseball and heartbreak.”

“Don’t start,” I warned, but couldn’t help smiling. “I just got here.”

“And? How does it feel to be back in Carter Blake territory?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m here to see my brother, not some player who probably doesn’t even remember my name.”

“Sure, honey. And I’m just casually following the Falcons’ Instagram for their baseball stats.” Rachel’s laugh was so loud I had to lower the volume on my phone. “Come on, Darce. This is me you’re talking to. I was there for the whole saga two years ago, remember?”

I sighed, turning to my side and propping the phone against a pillow. “How could I forget? You were the one who held my hand through a pint of ice cream every night for a week.”

“Three weeks,” Rachel corrected. “And it was two pints on the really bad nights.”

“Fine, whatever.” I picked at a loose thread on the quilt. “But that’s ancient history. I’m just here because Dominic’s having a rough time, and Mom thinks I can help.”

Rachel’s expression softened. “How is the big brother? Still throwing fire on the mound?”

“I haven’t seen him yet. He’s at practice.” I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Won’t be home for a few hours.”

“And how are you really feeling about being back?” Rachel’s voice shifted to the gentle tone she used when she was being serious. “Honestly?”

I hesitated, considering whether to deflect with humor, but this was Rachel. She’d see right through it.

“Honestly? I feel like I’m seventeen again, anxious and out of place. Which is ridiculous because I’m a grown woman with a successful career. But being here…” I gestured vaguely at the room around me, though I knew she could only see my face. “It’s like stepping back in time.”

“To before or after Carter Blake?” she asked carefully.

I flinched at the name. “Both, I guess. This room still has my old bulletin board, for crying out loud. And the living room is basically a shrine to baseball.”

“Including pictures of a certain shortstop, I assume?”

“One,” I admitted. “With Dominic. They look… happy.”

Rachel clicked her tongue. “Teammates on the field, rivals in love.”

“It wasn’t like that,” I protested, though we both knew it kind of was. “Dom never saw it that way, at least.”

“Because he never knew the full story, did he?” Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Wait, hold on. I want to show you something.” Her face disappeared from the screen, and I heard rustling in the background.

“What are you doing?”

“Research,” she called from off-camera. Her face reappeared, now with a smug expression. “I thought you might need a reminder of exactly what kind of man Carter Blake is.”

She held up her iPad, showing me a tabloid website. I squinted at the screen, then felt my stomach drop as I recognized Carter’s face. He was leaving a club, his arm around a gorgeous blonde who was looking up at him adoringly.

“That’s from last month.” Rachel swiped to another photo. Carter at a charity event with a brunette in a red dress. Swipe. Carter on a beach with a different woman. Swipe. Carter and yet another woman getting coffee. “And these are just from this year. The man’s been busy.”

“I get it, Rachel,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “He dates a lot of women. That’s not exactly breaking news.”

“Not dating, honey. These are all different women. One-night stands, from what the gossip sites say.” She set the iPad down, her face filling my screen again. “I just want to make sure you remember who you’re dealing with. Carter Blake, baseball star and Bridger City’s most notorious player—in every sense of the word.”

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the twist of something unpleasant in my chest. Jealousy? Disappointment? I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to examine it too closely.

“I know exactly who he is,” I said quietly. “And it doesn’t matter anyway. I doubt we’ll even see each other.”

Rachel snorted. “Your brother is his teammate and best friend. You’re staying at your brother’s house. The math isn’t that complicated, Darcy.”

“Fine, we might run into each other. But it’s been two years. He’s obviously moved on.” I gestured toward where the iPad had been. “Many times, apparently. And so have I.”

“Have you, though?” Rachel’s voice was gentle. “Because Chicago Ryan didn’t exactly work out, and neither did Denver Mike or that weird yoga instructor whose name I can never remember.”

“Phoenix Phil,” I supplied with a grimace. “And thanks for the relationship roll call. Really boosting my confidence here.”

“My point is,” Rachel continued, ignoring my sarcasm, “you haven’t exactly settled down since leaving Bridger City. And I can’t help but wonder if a certain blue-eyed shortstop has anything to do with that.”

I sat up, suddenly needing to be in a less vulnerable position for this conversation. “That’s ridiculous. I’ve dated perfectly nice guys. It just didn’t work out.”

“Because none of them were Carter,” Rachel said matter-of-factly.

“Because none of them were right for me,” I corrected. “Carter wasn’t right for me either, or have you forgotten how that ended?”

Rachel’s face softened. “I haven’t forgotten. I was just there with the ice cream, remember? But it’s been two years, and you still get that look in your eyes when his name comes up.”

“What look?”

“Like someone just punched you in the gut but you’re trying to act like it didn’t hurt.”