but she shooed him, letting him know he should go and network.
“I’ll see you around,” he said to Audrey, getting to his feet.
“Thanks for…” She trailed off as the words stuck in her throat. Thanks for what? Paying for the drinks and dogs? For keeping her company? For looking at her in a way that stirred up things she wanted to ignore? “Just thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled his crooked smile and then left her sitting there, her body grieving the warmth of his thigh pressed against hers.
After the game was over—where Audrey and Deanna almost lost their voices screaming as the score remained neck and neck until the bottom of the ninth—they followed the crowd away from the diamond and toward the parking lot.
“You like that guy,” Deanna said, a delighted smile on her lips.
“The first baseman? Yeah, I thought he played a good game. He’s got good reach, considering he’s not as tall as Thomas from last year.”
“No, silly.” Deanna giggled. “The professor.”
“Ronan?” She tried not to react. Her little sister was like a sponge for information, and she picked up on subtle emotions and feelings that most adults totally missed. “Sure. He’s nice.”
“You like like him.”
Audrey rolled her eyes. “That’s a lot of likes for one sentence.”
“But you do, don’t you? I can’t blame you. He’s cute.”
“He’s twenty years older than you.”
Deanna shrugged. “Sure, I mean, he’s old. But that doesn’t mean he’s not cute.”
Audrey couldn’t deal with this right now. “Well, it doesn’t matter, anyway. We have rules against dating…customers.”
“Why?”
“It would be inappropriate.”
“Why?”
Lord give her strength right now. “That’s the rules, okay? It’s not allowed. I don’t like it, either.”
The words tumbled out of her so fast and so strong it almost stopped her in her tracks. Of course, she wasn’t talking about the rules of dating a customer. It was his job that was the concern. Which seemed stupid to her—sure, she was his student. But she wasn’t studying for a degree or even career development, which meant him giving her better grades—or penalizing her if things went south—didn’t mean a damn thing. The grades were inconsequential.
Hell, she didn’t even have a high school diploma. It wasn’t like taking one night class a semester meant anything more than something she needed to stay sane. She learned for her own personal enjoyment, and that was it. Him being her professor meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Rules are rules.
Deanna looked up at her, brow wrinkled and her blue eyes narrowed in sisterly worry. “Maybe your boss would give you one of those…inceptions?”
“Exceptions?” Audrey laughed and shook her head. “No, baby, I don’t think that can happen.”
It flitted across her mind for a brief moment that maybe she could switch classes—then it wouldn’t be as much of an issue, right? But she was 100 percent getting ahead of herself now, because all Ronan had done was show some polite interest in her.
And look at you with those incredible blue eyes like you’re the only woman in the world.
Wish fulfillment and maybe a hint of desperation; it wasn’t anything more than that.
The parking lot was, to put it not so delicately, a shit show. It would take them forever to get onto the road. Thankfully, there was no need to rush tonight, since her dad knew exactly where they were. Baseball was an acceptable reason to be out of the house, and with Deanna in tow, Audrey wasn’t likely to be “whoring around,” as he’d insultingly put it.
“I think I can see Big Red.” Deanna squinted and pointed ahead of them. “Next to that green truck.”
“Good eye.” They made their way over but didn’t bother to get in the car. Audrey was happy to avoid going home for as long as possible. Plus, she feared her beloved vehicle was one love tap away from falling apart at the seams. She’d rather give it ten or fifteen before attempting to navigate the traffic.
She listened to Deanna talk happily without taking a breath until the parking lot was finally clear. Seriously, the girl could keep up a steady stream of words. Audrey would put money on her being able to pass that SEAL test where they have to sit on the bottom of the pool and hold their breath for an eternity, since it was clear that Deanna’s lung capacity was better than most.
“All right, munchkin. Time to scoot.” She unlocked the front door and dropped into the driver’s seat, reaching over to yank up the lock on the passenger