He leans down and kisses me. He holds me possessively, and I wrap my arms around him. I want to be with him, but I just hope he doesn't regret his choices.
CHAPTER 15
RYKER
My phone rings again, but I ignore it.
“Should you get that?” Izzy asks me.
We’re standing in her kitchen on Christmas Eve. She’s been cooking since early this morning, and I’ve been doing what I can to help. Tonight, my dad and Caroline are coming to eat dinner with Izzy, Brock, and me, and then Brock is going to his dad’s tomorrow for Christmas. I know this will be the first Christmas Izzy is going to be away from her son, and she’s struggling with it.
“Nope. It’s Christmas Eve. My agent can wait.”
She looks at the phone curiously and then frowns. Izzy and I have gone back and forth on me retiring from baseball. She worries that I’m making the wrong decision, but I haven’t had one second thought about it.
Brock runs into the kitchen, smiling and holding up his phone. “Oh my God, Ryker, is this for real? Fifty million dollars a year in a new three-year contract? That’s awesome, dude.”
He’s holding his hand up, waiting for a high-five. I can see the shocked look on Izzy’s face, and I realize now that I should have talked to her about this. I slap hands with Brock. “I turned it down.”
Brock is shocked. I swear the boy turns green. “You turned it down? That’s crazy. Do you know how much money that is? How? Why? It says it’s the most that a designated hitter has ever been offered.”
Izzy brushes her hair off her face. She’s in another Christmas sweater, and I have a matching one that I’m going to put on later. She comes around the counter. “What… what is he talking about, Ryker?”
My phone starts ringing again. It’s my agent, and I’m about to reach for it and turn it off when Izzy crosses her arms over her chest. “Answer it.”
I blow out a breath and answer the phone. “Hey, Mack. It’s Christmas Eve. Can we talk about this later?”
“Ryker. This is fifty million dollars for three years to hit a ball. No sane person would turn this down.”
I shake my head. “I’m tired of everyone saying I’m crazy. I know how much money that is, and it’s more than just hitting a ball. It’s traveling and being away from home for long periods of time… I’m not interested. I retired.”
He starts to plead with me. “Think about it. They really want you, Ryker. There has to be something to convince you?—”
Both Brock and Izzy are staring at me. Brock is still excited, thinking I’m going to change my mind, and I can’t make out theexpression on Izzy’s face, but it’s obvious she’s not happy with me.
“Mack, it’s Christmas Eve. I’ll talk to you in two days.”
I hang up the phone, turn it off, and then drop it into my pocket. Izzy is quiet and goes back to cooking. Brock senses the shift in the room and holds his hands up. “I’m going back to the living room.”
I walk over to Izzy. “I didn’t tell you about it because I knew I was going to say no.”
She puts one hand on her hip. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t. This is a big deal, Ryker. You love baseball.”
I nod. “I do love baseball… but not as much as I love you.”
Her reaction tells me that I said the wrong thing. I don’t think what I said was bad, but obviously she does.
She shakes her head and looks away from me. “Well, I think you should do it.”
I put a hand to my chest, right over my heart. “What?”
She shrugs as if this isn’t even an important conversation. “I think you should go and do it. As a matter of fact, I want you to.”
I hold my breath. “You want me to go.”
She nods. “Yeah, I do.” She waves her hand around, still avoiding my eyes. “This is happening too fast. I’ve only been divorced a few months, and we should slow things down.”
I walk over to her. “Izzy, you don’t think that. You don’t?—”
