hate me.”
Joel studied me thoughtfully while I spoke. “You think I hate you?”
“Don’t you? I’m your former pitching coach, and used my intimate knowledge of your pitching motion against you. This loss… It will haunt you for the rest of your life. How can you ever forgive someone for that?”
He put his glass down and came over to sit next to me. “It’s only a game, Natalie. Yeah there are millions of dollars on the line and pride and fame and everything else. But it’s your job. You’re the Rangers pitching coach. Your job is to do whatever you can to help your team win the game, which is what you did. I wouldn’t have respected you if you kept it a secret just because you thought I would hate you for it.
“That’s why I love you so much,” he said. “You’re amazing at your job.”
“You love me?” I asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? Of course I do.”
“But our fight in the hotel room…”
“We were both under a lot of stress. I understood where you were coming from. And I hope you understood my position, too.”
“I didn’t at the time,” I replied. “I was frustrated and angry. But I understand now. You had to be true to your team first. Just like I had to be when I noticed your pitch tipping.”
“Yeah! Exactly. The result sucks, but it’s not your fault for pointing it out. It’s my fault for tipping them in the first place.”
“And your coach’s fault,” Rafael chimed in. “He should have noticed it and corrected it.”
Joel nodded, then turned back to me. There was a vulnerable look in his eyes now. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it back. It’s not a big deal. But I had to tell you because I—”
I threw myself into his arms and kissed him in the chair. After so long apart it felt warm and comforting. Like being home.
“I love you too,” I said.
A huge smile split his sexy face.
“Being apart made me realize how much I care about you. I’m certain of it now. I love you, Joel Rogers.” I smiled. “Even if you blew it in the World Series.”
“Hey! Too soon,” he said, but there was a smile on his lips as well.
Darryl cleared his throat. “Things are kind of unbalanced now that you’ve said you love her.”
“Rafa already told me too,” I said.
“What!”
“It’s true,” Rafael said, holding my gaze intensely. “I love Natalie. I’m in love with her. I don’t want to be apart.”
“You’re just saying that because she let you start game seven,” Darryl argued.
“Actually, he told me before the first game of the ALDS,” I said. “And I told him I loved him too.”
Joel perked up. “So that’s what cursed his arm!”
“It did not!”
“You told a pitcher you loved him right before his first playoff start?” Darryl shook his head. “That’s messed up.”
“He said it to me first!” I argued.
Joel grabbed his arm protectively. “I take back what I said! I just like you as a friend! Please don’t curse me with your womanly affection!”
I stuck my tongue out at him while they joked and laughed.
“Now things are unbalanced in the other direction,” Rafael pointed out.
Darryl crossed his arms. “Natalie’s pretty cool.”
“That’s all you’ve got?” Joel said.
“Yep.”
“You’re pretty cool too,” I said warmly. From Darryl, I was happy to hear that much. For now it was enough.
“So we’re in agreement?” Joel asked. “We keep this thing going in the off-season?”
“Longer than that, if we’re all happy,” Rafael said.
My smile disappeared. “What about you, Joel? You’re not on the Rangers. When the season starts back up…”
“You can come back,” Darryl told him simply. “You’re a free agent. Sign with the Rangers.”
“I’d love to… But I doubt Delorian would allow it. He traded me away because I shit-talked him in front of the team, remember?”
I caressed the back of his neck comfortingly. “Leave that to me.”
Epilogue
Natalie
Winning the World Series was exciting, but there was no time to rest. The next few days were a whirlwind of activity.
The star Rangers players were booked on the various nightly talk shows. Darryl and Gallaraga went on Jimmy Kimmel. Rafael was invited onto Jimmy Fallon… And surprisingly, they invited me to join him.
Paradoxically, I felt more pressure while sitting on the set of The Tonight Show than I had during the World Series. Probably because during the baseball games I was a coach hidden away in the dugout, while here I was one of the guests who was literally in the spotlight.
We