Chapter 5
FIVE
S ometimes, as an actress, Bianca wished the spotlight could be turned off. Instead, she put a smile on her face and flipped her hair over her shoulder. All eyes on the field were fixed on her, except those of the man who had saved her life. The man she needed to help her again.
After the last take, Leo had rubbed his chin, considering Grace’s idea. “I like it. I believe the producers will too. Make this happen between you and the firefighter hero, and your contract is still safe. Once the media grows tired of you two, you’ll move on to Carter before the movie hits.”
Move on. As if a fake relationship right after another fake relationship could be considered normal. It really shouldn’t be. Not that she’d had better luck with her actual relationships.
She put more swing into her hips, just as she would do when playing her current lead character on screen.
This was a performance. Like too many things in her life. The more that people saw them together, the quicker the media would catch wind of their supposedly blossoming relationship, and the more the movie’s future audience would grow.
Her left heel wedged in the gravel, and her ankle twisted. She caught herself on the side of the dugout.
A snicker came from two of the boys on the field, and Eddie sent them a glare. Then he turned to Bianca. “You okay?”
Bianca pressed her lips together and said the first thing that popped into her mind. “You’re around. Of course I’ll be fine.”
The cheesy compliment tasted like vinegar on her tongue, but she kept her smile.
Eddie tilted his head at her as another man walked out of the dugout and cleared his throat.
The man with his young-looking face half hidden with a baseball cap, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt with a faded emblem, seemed vaguely familiar, but outside of the movie crew, she hadn’t met many people in Last Chance County.
He stepped closer to Eddie. “She’s the one who arrived at the station earlier.”
That’s where she’d met him. He must be one of Eddie’s firefighter friends.
Bianca opened the gate and entered the field near the dugout. “Eddie Rice, you’re one tough firefighter to find. And apparently, besides being a hero, you’re also a baseball coach.” Wait. Her stomach flipped. “Which one is your kid? Or is your wife bringing him or her to practice?”
Why had she and Grace assumed he was single?
The other firefighter failed to mask his smirk behind his hand. “Coach here isn’t married, or dating anyone, and although he’d claim all the kids here, they’re not actually his.”
Eddie sent his friend a scowl and then stepped closer to Bianca, lowering his voice. “How’s your head feel?”
Feel? She almost stumbled again. No one had asked her that the entire day. Besides Frances. The only concern had been about her stitches showing.
“I’ve been worse.” She angled her face toward him, ignoring the pain. “Do you think they did a good job fixing me up?”
He inspected the left side of her face. “Glad you’re healing well.”
She put her hand on his arm. “I have you to thank for rescuing me.”
“Healing is God’s department.” He stepped back, and her hand was left stretched out in the space between them. “And I believe you said you helped rescue me ?”
“Want me to finish practice, while you two”—his friend flicked his finger back and forth between Eddie and Bianca—“catch up?”
Eddie handed his friend a glove. “How about you take the pitchers on the practice mound?” He grabbed a bat. “Thanks for stopping by, Bianca. It’s good to know you’re doing well. We don’t always get to follow up with those we help. Unfortunately, we’ve got to get back to practice.”
Not where she’d thought their conversation would go, but improv twist accepted. “Could I help field?”
Eddie finally looked her up and down. “This isn’t a pretend practice for any cameras. You won’t want to get your outfit dirty.”
Bianca grabbed a mitt from the equipment bag. “I know all about real practices. I played softball in high school.”
She kicked off her heels and marched to the outfield. The grass wedged between her toes like a welcome-back hug. She glanced over her shoulder. “You want me in right field?”
A tall, skinny kid shoved past another shorter boy. “You can stand beside me any day.”
“Enough, Tank,” Eddie growled and then shook his head at Bianca. “The last thing we need is for you to get hurt on my watch again.”
Bianca stopped in the middle of left field. Was that what he thought? That it was somehow his fault that she’d gotten injured. “Eddie, if you hadn’t been on watch, I would’ve gotten even more hurt.”
Or worse.
“Coach.” The only other girl on the field crossed her arms. “Just let her play. Girls don’t get hurt that easy.”
“Yeah, if Scarlette can do it, then any girl can.”
The girl—apparently Scarlette—sent a glare toward the boy in center beside Bianca.
Eddie headed toward the pitcher’s mound. “Fine. Bianca, take left field. Tank, come back to third. But everyone needs to pay attention to where the ball is at all times.”
Bianca thumped her fist into her stiff mitt. This was going to be just like riding a bike.
The boy beside her in center field stage-whispered to the shortstop, “See, I told you she was hotter than?—”
“Will, you go with Zack and practice pitching.” Eddie kept his gaze off Bianca and on his players. “Scout and Scarlette, get your bats and helmets. We’re running out of practice time.”
Scarlette sent a thumbs-up to Bianca, then grabbed her gear and stepped up to the batter’s box first. Her braided ponytail stuck out of the helmet, just how Bianca used to wear her hair to play.
Eddie stepped up onto the pitcher’s mound. “Remember, watch the ball hit your bat. If you’re bunting, don’t run until you?—”
“Make contact, and keep my bat at an angle.” Scarlette wound up as if she were going to swing away, but when Eddie pitched, Scarlette tilted her bat out. The ball hit the barrel and rolled on the line to third. The catcher popped up, grabbed the ball, and threw it to first. But not nearly fast enough.
“Nice bunt, Scarlette.” Eddie grabbed another ball from the bucket beside the mound. “Good throw, Lincoln. Just a little quicker on the fielding.”
Praise and correction. Of course he’d be as excellent a coach as he was a firefighter.
Eddie held up another ball. “All right, Scarlette, swing away.”
Bianca tucked her hair behind her ears and tugged up the front of her dress. She totally should have worn something with straps.
Scarlette choked up on the bat, moving her fingers toward the barrel.
Eddie pitched, and Scarlette swung, sending the ball in the air right to left field. Bianca sprinted forward. The shortstop jumped, but the ball cleared his mitt and bounced on the edge of the infield. Bianca bent over and grabbed it with her bare hand. Scarlette had rounded first, heading toward second. There was still time to make the throw.
Bianca wound her arm back. Except the second baseman wasn’t near the bag. He gawked at her.
So did the shortstop. The third baseman had his phone out, aimed at her.
Eddie raced over, and in one quick motion of his hand, swiped something off the side of her dress along her leg.
Bianca turned in a circle. “Was it a bug?”
“No.” Eddie’s cheeks darkened. Was he…blushing? “Your dress had sort of flipped up on the hem, and your leg…”
Scarlette took her helmet off and adjusted her ponytail from second base. “Don’t worry. It was only the top of your leg. We couldn’t see your underwear.”
It was Bianca’s turn to blush. “Th-that’s good.”
Not exactly.
She dropped her gaze away from Eddie’s stormy expression.
He sighed. “Scout, it’s your turn up to bat. Tank, hand over your phone.”
Tank groaned. “But…”
Eddie shook his head. “Make sure it’s unlocked. Ms. Pearl doesn’t need anyone to see that video.”
No longer Bianca. Only Ms. Pearl. Sometimes she got tired of her middle name. Maybe joining practice to win over Eddie wasn’t part of the perfect plan.
Once Tank surrendered the phone, Eddie made a few swipes on the screen.
Bianca pushed back her shoulders and held out the borrowed mitt. “Thanks for protecting me again. You’re right. I don’t need any more poor press.”
She yanked at the hem of her dress along her legs and dropped her voice lower. “I really don’t mean to cause a distraction.”
Eddie lifted the bill of his baseball cap. “Was there something you needed?”
Finally, her cue. “Actually, I was wondering if we could spend some time together and maybe talk.”
Eddie’s gaze shifted to hers. “About the fire?”
Something seemed to burn in his eyes, and Bianca hesitated. “Um, that wasn’t exactly on my agenda.”
A laugh echoed from behind Bianca’s shoulder, and Eddie pointed his mitt right at Tank, who was on third base. “Don’t you dare throw another dirt clod.”
This was never going to work. She needed to suggest a different scene location. “What time is practice over? We can meet at, say, eight?” Practice wouldn’t be longer than three hours, would it?
Eddie rubbed his fingers along the seams of the baseball in his hand. “I have to run a lot of these boys home. It will be too late. But I’m glad you stopped by. It’s good to know that you’re…doing well. If you ever need to talk about the fire, or if you remember anything about the arsonist, I know the police chief or my crew would be ready to hear your report.”
His crew. Not him. He was declining her.
Rejection never got easier.
She handed over the mitt. “If I think of anything new about the fire, I’ll let your department know. Good luck with the team, and thanks again for everything the other night.”
She grabbed her heels, slipped them on, and filed out the gate to her rented car.
“But coach…” one of the boys whined, but Bianca didn’t hear Eddie’s reply.
She hopped inside and pulled out of the parking lot.
So much for the new plan.
She turned on her favorite song. A call buzzed over the car’s speakers. She clicked the accept button and cleared her throat. “Hello?”
“So, when should I schedule your first outing together?” Grace’s cheerful tone hummed through the car speakers.
Bianca pulled the visor down. Too bad it only blocked the lowering sun, not reality. “He was busy. He’s a youth baseball coach, and my dress was the opposite of helpful during practice when I tried to field the ball.”
“Why would you try to field a ball? But a baseball coach too—that’s even more perfect. How old is his kid?” Grace sucked in a breath. “Wait…is he married?”
“We should have thought of that before now. His friend said he wasn’t married. Or dating. Not that it matters. Things did not go well.” At a cross street, Bianca checked both ways. Was this where she had turned earlier?
“Nope.” Grace popped the ending p . “You’re right. Not married. Based on his social media. Doesn’t look like he actually has a kid either. That’s a shame. The media eats up a single parent, underdog story.”
Rows of white chipped houses filed past on the left-hand side of the road. This did not look familiar. But what really did lately?
She pulled into the next parking lot. “Single or not, I don’t think he’s interested in me. Which is fine. I’ll go back and have Carter and I take pictures. I’ll start posting the original plan. The media will change.”
Hopefully.
“Except you can’t.” Grace’s strangled tone paused. “I may have already leaked stuff about you and Eddie. The good news is you two are already trending. If you want to raise your social numbers and eventually movie attendees, then the rescue firefighter has got to agree to fake date you. It’s what the media obviously craves. You have to give the people what they want. Plus, you’re Bia Pearl! The man has got to be crazy if he doesn’t want to be seen with you. It’s not like he’s got to marry you.”
“Assistant improvement suggestion—maybe make it sound a little less horrible the next time you talk about me and marriage in the same sentence.”
“Oh, there’s a red jumper here in wardrobe. Now, this outfit says ‘date me’ for sure.”
Bianca shook her head even though Grace couldn’t see her. The color red also represented the word stop .
She put her car in Park and gripped the steering wheel.
Was it wrong to ask Eddie to do this favor? To her, it wasn’t lying about a relationship; it was part of her job—to pretend. But he wasn’t an actor. He was a real-life firefighter hero who had a heart for children. Nothing fake about him.
Her gaze landed on the color red on a storefront diagonal from her parking spot.
Kitty’s Family Clothing Outlet, where we dress you for less .
The store was sandwiched between a pizza shop and some kind of birthday party store. On the corner, a teal fabric awning fluttered in the breeze over the bakery. Painted on the window was a heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie and the words: You won’t just like our cookies, you’ll love them.
She could really use some comfort sugar right about now. Bianca brushed a piece of dirt off her dress. Her outfit and flirty ways had not been helpful for baseball practice. It was like he’d known that wasn’t the real her. Though her softball skills were rusty, that didn’t mean she couldn’t help. If she were actually dressed for the role of baseball assistant, she could help show Lincoln how to jump quicker to field the ball from his catcher’s position.
Her attention locked onto an exercise outfit on a display mannequin in the store’s window. “Hey, Grace, I’ve got an idea.”
“Come back and I’ll meet you at wardrobe and?—”
“I’ve got my wardrobe covered.” She turned off her car. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
They wouldn’t have to lie. She and Eddie could make another deal.
“Bianca, I totally believe in you. But Leo talked to me again after you left. Just remember, there’s a lot resting on this film doing well. And don’t tell anyone, but one of the producers is talking about pulling out. So there might be even less for marketing than planned. So we need all the creative ways to draw people to both you and the film. Please get your hero to say yes to a real or fake date. I’m not picky.”
That was not the encouraging speech Bianca needed.
Lord, please let this work.
After going inside Kitty’s store and purchasing a T-shirt, tennis shoes, and shorts and changing into more appropriate baseball practice gear, she stopped by the bakery. She grabbed a couple packages of cookies in case things didn’t go well and headed back to the field.
Eddie had looked like he could use some help with his baseball team, and at the auction, he’d needed to talk with the mayor. Surely she could get that arranged.
But would that be enough for a deal?
She turned back into the baseball parking lot and hopped out. She jogged to the dugout. Her tennis shoes hit the gravel far better than her heels.
Tank spotted her first as she reached the gate. “Hey, Bia’s back.” The kid squinted. “I think it’s her?”
Eddie frowned, shouting at her from the pitcher’s mound. “Did you get lost?”
Bianca waited at the dugout. “Depends. I was wondering if you and the team needed another helper for tonight.” She pulled on her shirt’s baggy hem. “One more suitably dressed.”
Eddie pointed to home plate. “If you can hit. We’re having a hard time remembering to get our gloves on the ground.”
Bianca lifted the latch and grabbed a bat and helmet from the dugout. “What if I promise to give the team cookies if they don’t allow any passed balls?”
The boy on first thumped his fist into his mitt. “I could go for some cookies.”
The catcher stood and lifted his catcher’s mask. It wasn’t Lincoln this time. Scarlette’s dirty face lit with a smile. “They chocolate chip?”
Bianca rested the bat on her shoulder and walked toward home plate. “You better believe it.”
“Then you got yourself a deal.” Scarlette lowered her mask again. “Get down and dirty, guys.”
Eddie stepped onto the pitching rubber. “Hope you’re not expecting me to lob it in to you.”
She held up her bat, bent her knees, and shifted her weight to her back leg. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
He threw it, and Bianca swung. Hard.
And missed.
Scout snickered.
Scarlette raised her catcher’s mask. “If she strikes out, it still counts for us not missing a ball, right?”
Bianca sent Scarlette a scowl. “It was one strike. Let a girl get warmed up.”
Scarlette shrugged. “No offense. I like cookies.”
Bianca choked up on the bat. “A girl after my own heart.”
Eddie lined the seams of the baseball up in his palm. “I’ll slow it down?—”
“Don’t you dare.” Bianca pointed the end of her bat at Eddie. “Same heat.”
“Bet you two cookies she can’t even hit it to the pitcher’s mound,” Tank muttered behind his mitt toward the shortstop.
Bianca dug her foot into the batter’s box and widened her stance, pulling her bat farther back. One deep exhale.
Eddie wound up the next pitch, and when it crossed the plate, Bianca whacked it over the center fielder’s head.
Scarlette jumped to her feet. “Wow, I think you’ve just become Coach B.”
“Coach B?” Bianca smiled and hit the bat against the bottom of her tennis shoes. “That has a nice ring to it.”
For the first time since she’d seen him today, Eddie smiled. A deep one, revealing two dimples. No wonder she’d thought he was a movie star the other evening.
Tank bent his knees and put his mitt between his legs. “Everyone gets lucky once. Double or nothing.”
Eddie raised his brow, and Bianca smirked. She hit each pitch, and the boys fielded perfectly.
Soon Bianca’s arms and sides ached, and thankfully, Eddie put his mitt down inside the bucket. “All right, everyone, a much better second half of practice. I need the field raked and the gear returned to my truck. After everything’s picked up, if you need a ride, have a seat on the bleachers.”
Zack jogged over from where he and two other boys had been inside a batting cage, throwing pitches. “If I’d known my position on the team was up for grabs, I would have brought my batting glove.”
Zack and Eddie each picked up a bucket, while Bianca scooped up a ball that dumped out. “I’m not trying to take anyone’s spot. It’s been a while since I practiced.”
“How long has it been since you played?” asked Eddie.
She shrugged. “My senior year of high school.”
Zack ran his knuckles along the scruff on his chin. “That makes one of us.”
Bianca stopped. “You guys didn’t play ball?”
“The opportunity didn’t exactly come up when I was their age.” Eddie reached out his hand toward Zack. “I’ll load everything. I know you want to meet up with Naya.”
Zack sent a grin first to Eddie and then to Bianca. “Good to meet you, Bianca. Don’t be a stranger, on or off the field.” He waved, and the gate swung closed just as Eddie stepped through. He put up his arm, but when he did, the second bucket of balls tipped.
Bianca grabbed the handle. Her fingers brushed against Eddie’s. His gaze snapped to hers, and a rush of warmth spread through her skin.
He cleared his throat. “Thanks for helping.”
Bianca moved her hand away and opened the gate fully. “It was…” A little embarrassing. “Fun.”
She followed him, and he put the equipment in the back of the truck.
“Sorry about earlier.” She crossed her arms over her chest. How did one go about asking someone outside of the entertainment industry to fake date them? “I, ah…would like to help out more with the team. If you wouldn’t mind.”
He lowered his brows. “You have time for that?”
“I’d make time.” She inhaled long and slow, but it didn’t loosen the tightness in her lungs. This was just another part. “I was thinking we could help each other out—again.”
He rested his arm on the tailgate of his truck.
Bianca twisted the hem of her T-shirt. “Have you seen that we’re trending online?”
Eddie sent his fingers through his hair. “I’ve seen a picture or two of us. I should have suggested you completely cover your face with my suit jacket quicker. I’m sorry. I’ve never had to deal with paparazzi before.”
The man was apologizing to her for something out of his control.
She touched his arm, and he stared at her fingers. “It’s totally not your fault at all.” She dropped her hand against her side. “But because of that, I sort of need a favor. Another deal, perhaps? What if I assist you with the kids and also coordinate that meeting you were hoping to have with the mayor?”
Eddie narrowed his eyes. “And in return?”
She barely refrained from wiping her sweating palms on her shorts. “You and I could have a cup of coffee while I’m here filming in Last Chance County. Or eat at a restaurant or two. I’ll pay for dinner, of course. Perhaps have a picnic here at the field with the kids. Even at the park, walking?—”
“You’re asking me out?” His tone didn’t seem all that welcoming.
Bianca wanted to cover her face now. An actress really should be better at this. “Here’s the thing. I was supposed to be sort of fake dating…someone else to help promote the film. Not that anyone was supposed to know that. But after you rescued me…well, once the media gets ahold of something…” She blew out a breath. “Now it kind of needs to be you.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, but at his silence, she peeked through her lashes.
His brows lifted. “You want us to…fake date? That’s really a thing?” He glanced at her and then back at the field. Then he frowned.
Not a good sign. “Only a couple of outings. It’s asking a lot, I know, but I really could use a teammate’s help, please.” Why did her voice sound so unsteady?
Eddie shook his head. “I don’t think faking a relationship would be a good idea. Those kids…it’s important that they see me as reliable, trustworthy, and a truth speaker.”
Reliable. The word that Nathan’s lawyer had claimed she wasn’t when she’d testified about Nathan’s second phone that she’d found in her purse the day the police had shown up. The one that had gone missing after she’d surrendered it to a different officer days later.
She backed up. “I understand.” Her career was sinking faster than the tabloids had predicted the day Nathan had first been indicted.
Eddie’s fingers landed on her elbow. “I don’t think you do. Most of these kids don’t have ideal family situations. Most of the time, I’m the only one who keeps their word in their life. I can’t have a relationship that’s a lie. Kids are smart. They’d know it, and it would prove to them again that adults let them down.”
“I understand about adults letting people down,” she half mumbled as she took a step toward her car.
Scarlette popped up from behind the other side of the truck, and Bianca put her hand to her thumping chest.
A smirk covered the girl’s face. “Or, Coach, you could make us all pinkie swear to the fake dating deal, and then Coach B could pay to have our indoor rec center built.” Her pigtails swung behind her as she marched around the truck bed. She put her fists on her hips. “The grant money to cover the down payment still hasn’t come in yet, right? This would be like double-stamping it to make sure we get enough funds.”
Eddie aimed his finger at Scarlette. “Eavesdropping is not cool.”
“Neither is the word cool anymore, but Coach B needs help, and she can help us right back. Can’t you? You’re a movie star. And movie stars got money.”
Bianca held on to her practiced smile. One would assume actors had money.
Eddie sighed. “It’s have money, not got money, and it’s rude to talk about someone’s income or force them to do something for money.”
Bianca rested her right elbow on the back of the truck bed. “Extortion is totally not cool.” She’d had enough money issues from Nathan to last a lifetime. “I don’t know what kind of center you’re wanting to build, but you’re probably talking millions and millions of dollars, which, movie star or not, I don’t have. But I can offer my endorsement for the center, do some fundraising, and give a donation if the movie is successful.”
The word if couldn’t be avoided.
Scarlette winced. “Thought it was a good plan, but that long word sounds like jail time.”
Eddie crossed his arms. “Extortion sort of means blackmail.”
Scarlette hung her head. “Oh.”
The end of practice was quickly resembling the botched beginning. “But I’m all for helping. A teammate helping another teammate.”
Scarlette pushed out her bottom lip. “Could you still make a promise to help each other? Do a handshake-friend-deal thing. No need to spit. That’s too messy. I’ll be your witness.”
Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose. “Scarlette, you’re going to make an incredible lawyer one day, but Scar, I can’t let money trump what I know is right.”
His words hit Bianca hard. Was what she was asking him to do wrong? “You’re right, money and fame don’t come before truth. Just please take the time to reconsider the deal. My job kind of depends on it.”
Scarlette pressed her palms together under her chin. “Counteroffer her, Coach. Ask to be in her movie along with funds for the rec center. No, wait!” She snapped her fingers. “Ask that both you and me be in the movie, and then Will’s gonna wish he’d chosen me to partner?—”
Eddie held up his palm to Scarlette. His deep-brown gaze shined not with hope but pity. “Sorry. It’s a no.” He met Bianca’s gaze. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find another man to take my place easily enough.”
Strike two. If he didn’t reconsider, Bianca would lose everything she’d worked for.
Bianca’s fingers trembled as she pulled her keys out of her pocket. “Thank you for letting me practice with the team. Playing ball was more fun than I remembered.”
With a nod, he headed to the field with Scarlette chasing him.
Bianca tugged out her ponytail holder and rewrapped her hair in a bun. There couldn’t be a strike three. She’d have to come up with a new plan. One that didn’t include fake dating anyone.