teenager. The first time I ever saw my dad cry was in 2006 when they won the World Cup against France. He wept like a baby. So, yeah. He’s never forgiven me for playing baseball instead.”
“Surely he’s proud of you now,” I insisted. “The fact that you’re here, the ace of the Rangers, shows that it was the right decision.”
He smiled sadly. “On the contrary. To him, my success in baseball is proof that I could have gone professional in soccer. He still talks about how I should have been a forward for Italy.” He gestured with his beer. “Okay, there was one time he came close to being proud of me. During the World Baseball Classic last year. He wanted me to play for Team Italy. Mom wanted me to play for Puerto Rico.”
“I remember it being a big deal which team you chose to pitch for,” I said. “I didn’t realize there was a family element to it.”
“Sadly, yeah. I chose the United States since I was born here. But if I had to choose between my parents’ home nations, I would have chosen Puerto Rico over Italy.”
“A lot of amazing things have come out of Italy. Plumbing. Pasta. Pizza, especially pizza! But elite baseball players aren’t one of them,” I said with a wry smile.
“Oh well. I’ve accepted that dad will never appreciate what I do.” He shrugged. “You said you’re close with your father?”
“Very close. I talk to him every day. Literally every day. I tell him everything. I can’t imagine him not being proud of me.”
“You tell him about your date with the ace pitcher for the Texas Rangers?” Rafael said with a grin.
I took a pull of beer to think about how to answer that. “You insisted this dinner was purely professional.”
“Oh. I don’t know. I was just making a joke…” He looked down at his plate, suddenly flustered.
I leaned across the table. “I wasn’t just trying to make things awkward. But I am kind of curious about the answer. Two nights ago, at Darryl’s party, you said we shouldn’t do anything together. Now you’re inviting me out on a maybe-date? I’m getting mixed signals.”
“I don’t know what it is,” Rafael said slowly. “It could be a date. I just knew I wanted to take you out.”
I finished my beer and waved the glass at the server to order another. The alcohol was making me just bold enough to ask the next question that came to my lips.
“I thought you were going to share a girlfriend with Joel and Darryl.”
He struggled with the question for a few moments, searching for the right response. I was struck by how sexy he was when he was thinking really hard. It was how he looked when he was peering toward his catcher and deciding which pitch to throw.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he finally said. “We wanted to have someone chosen before the season started. Now… We need to be focusing on baseball. Not running around searching for the perfect woman.”
“Oh, the perfect woman?” I asked. “I thought this was just a piece of ass for you three to use during the season.”
His gaze was intense as it locked onto mine. “It’s more than just that, Natalie. A lot more.”
The server brought me my next beer, so I let the topic die.
Date or no date, we had a great time. A couple of beers, jokes and laughter. I was able to forget that I was his coach and he was one of my pitchers. We were just two people out at a restaurant, enjoying each other’s company.
Rafael signed a handful of autographs on the way out. Then we got back in his car and he drove me home. When we pulled into my apartment complex he hurried out of the car so he could open the door.
“Now you’re trying too hard,” I teased.
“My dad taught me how to treat a lady.”
“Ah, so your father was a famed Italian romancer?”
“I wouldn’t say famed. But he taught me what he could.”
Rafael held my hand and walked me to my door. It was only fifty feet from the car but it still felt like an intimate gesture. I removed the keys from my purse and held them at my side instead of unlocking my door. I wanted to see what Rafael would do next.
“I had a great time tonight,” I said.
His dark features tightened as he smiled. “Me too, Natalie.”
“We should do it again sometime.”
“Yeah. We should.”
Just