I tapped an anxious foot.“Alright Jax hurry up and try those on, the store is closing in fifteen minutes.”
I had raced over to T’s Sporting Goods after work, half debating if I should even bother with a hundred-dollar pair of baseball shoes he’d likely wear three times until the season was over. Most of that probably on the bench.
It was times like these, that I cursed the world.
Jax tugged on the rim. “This one fits,” he pointed to one foot. “but this one doesn’t.”
I threw my arms up in frustration. “How’s that possible?” Bending, I felt around both his feet before deciding there was no time for that. “Fine let’s just get the next size up and go.”
“Hang on a second,” a gruff voice came from behind me.
I turned and swore my breath hitched. A man strode up the aisle toward us. He was tall and innate with confidence. Prominent cheekbones and chiseled jaw surrounded his full mouth. His hair was dark blond and short, spiked and thicker up top. In a deep hunter green t-shirt that wrapped around a honed body. Was it as rock hard as it looked? My fingers itched to find out.
He simply glanced at me before approaching Jax. “May I?” he asked before sliding down to his knee to pinch around the shoes Jax tried on. He picked up the shoes Jax came in for the size. He removed the one that didn’t fit and stretched the heel section of the shoe. “It’s actually quite common for one shoe to fit better than the other.” He slid the troublesome shoe easily on Jax’s left foot and looked up at my son. “Did you know they’re actually made that way on purpose?”
“Really?”
The man rose to his full height beside me, automatically making my insides flutter.
“Yep. It’s for traction and stance purposes.” He positioned himself as a pitcher and then again as a catcher. “What position you play?”
“Second baseman.”
“Oh even better.” He shifted himself to a stance that Jax had mastered in the past year. “Honestly the snugger the better with these,” he pointed to the cleats on Jax that he seemed more comfortable in.
“Really? You don’t think we should get the next size up?” I asked. Green eyes deeper than his shirt turned to me and I’d nearly lost my train of thought. “I—I was kind of hoping they’d last him through next year.”
His iron-hard eyes turned soft. But before he could say anything, Jax stood and put his own shoes on. “These are fine. I won’t need a pair next year.”
“Jax—” I bit back a comment and shined a polite smile at the gorgeous man, hoping I didn't blush along with it. “Thank you for your help.”
“Sure thing. I’ll be up front if you need anything.” He was dressed casually, nothing about him said he worked here. But somehow, I had the feeling he didn’t work here. That man owned this place. That much was obvious.
“We won’t be long. I know you’re closing soon.”
He lifted his arm to check his watch. “Are we? It’s fine, take all the time you need.”
I waited until he wasn’t in earshot and turned back to my rude seven-year-old. “Jax, let’s not do this now, okay baby. You said you would give baseball another shot.”
He shot me an obnoxious look. “I am. And you said you’d get me a pair of skates and look into lessons for me.”
I sighed. “Fine, let’s go take a look.”
Fucking ice skates.
I thought about how much they might be. I budgeted for the cleats. Not for a pair of skates too. At least not this month. And now the kid wanted lessons? I should have known he’d hold me to my bribe.
The job offer from Jerry was becoming more appealing by the moment.
It wasn’t that I’d never seen a beautiful blond before, but the one rushing through the last aisle up to the counter was impossible to peel my eyes off. And my eyes never lingered. Not unless I was trying to send a clear invitation. And even then, it was purposeful and a means for a good time.
But I sure as hell wasn’t considering it here. She was dressed in jeans and a black scrubs top. Her hair, as gorgeous as it was resting around her shoulders and falling just around the bust, had seen a day. Ocean blue eyes—busy, cheerless eyes, glanced at the clock above me and cringed. No doubt noticing it was fifteen minutes past closing. She certainly didn’t need to. I wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. Here I had something to do other than endless workouts. Things to keep my mind from wandering to places I had no business thinking about anymore.
“I am so sorry. I swear I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you offering to take our time. We’re ready to check out.” She placed the single item, a shoebox, on the counter and blew out a breath. Then without looking, grabbed at random things off the front of the register, tossing them in the pile, a key chain, store logo pen, and a pack of gum. “Here, we’ll take some of these too.”
A laugh escaped before I could stop it. “That’s okay, you don’t have to do that.”
“How do you know I don’t need them?” She shrugged.
