Biggest Player in Town (Cedar Brook Falls #2)

Chapter 1

Sage

Music blares across the dimly lit penthouse and despite the crowd surrounding me, I’ve never felt lonelier. My friends are here somewhere, but they’re with their husbands. I didn’t bring a date to the party since I was supposed to meet a friend, but he canceled at the last minute.

Now I’m stuck, drinking beer from a long-stemmed glass, instead of a bottle, all by myself.

I remember a time not too long ago when we preferred our beer in red plastic cups, but that was before my best friend married a New York City professional baseball club owner.

Yet, the stemware’s been the smallest change since Charlotte met Caleb. The biggest change has been seeing her less. But that’s to be expected since we’re no longer roommates.

Jazz music and business types are not usually my vibe, but I would put up with it to spend more time with Charlotte.

I spot her across the room. Her brown hair falls down her back in loose curls and she’s wearing a slim-fitting black dress.

She laughs at something her husband says to a couple of men dressed in designer suits.

They’re older than Caleb, but he seems at ease in their presence.

There isn’t much that riles Caleb up, unless you insult his wife or kids.

Charlotte catches my eye, and I smile, taking a sip of my beer. She excuses herself and walks across the spacious living room floor of their Manhattan penthouse.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good.”

“Where’s Teo?” she asks, looking around the room.

“He couldn’t make it. But it’s better this way. Now I can flirt with all the other baseball players in the room.”

She looks at me with a side glance, and I smile brightly, knowing if I do, she’ll believe me.

“Well, you may want to save some of that charm for a particular ball player I heard is on his way.”

“Oh, really? Who’s that?” I take another sip of my drink.

She raises her eyebrows so high they nearly touch her curls. “Casey Tucker.”

I spew the whole gulp of beer onto her new dress.

“Oh, Charlotte. I’m so sorry.”

Grabbing a napkin from one of the high-top tables beside me, I blot at her neckline. Fortunately, Charlotte is laughing despite my horrified expression.

She stops me, clutching my fingers into her hand. “It’s all right. Kitt spit up on this dress earlier. I’ll have to get it dry cleaned, anyway.”

As a third-grade teacher and the mother of two, Charlotte has the patience of a saint. Her reaction doesn’t surprise me, and it makes me feel an awful lot better.

As soon as my embarrassment fades, my head starts spinning again. “You did say Casey Tucker, right?”

She eyes my hand, ensuring the beer is far away from my mouth. “Yup.”

“The World Series Champion who pitched a no-hitter two years ago. That Casey Tucker?” I whisper.

She rolls her eyes, understandably. She grew up with Casey, and I’m the biggest baseball fan, so of course we both know who he is. I just can’t believe it.

“He’s on his way, here? To the penthouse? Tonight?”

She nods, pressing her lips together and clasping our hands. “You’re finally going to meet him!” She bounces on her tiptoes and her eyes dance with merriment. “Isn’t this great?”

Great?

I spent three summers in Charlotte’s small town, Cedar Brook Falls, before moving there after college. That was ten years ago, and despite the many opportunities that Casey and I could have met, it never happened.

It’s not supposed to.

“I’ve got to go. We can’t meet or I’ll jinx him.”

“What?” Charlotte shouts as she pulls my arm back, stopping me from running through the crowd and out the front door. “Sage, what are you talking about? You’ve always wanted to meet Casey.”

“Yes. But something’s always stopped us. We’re not meant to meet. It’ll be bad luck or something. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you back at the Falls.”

But before I can escape, someone opens the front door, and the music stops.

In my head, the penthouse goes silent. Mouths and bodies move, but I don’t hear them. Instead, I stare at the six-foot-one, two-hundred-and-ten-pound baseball player who just walked into the room. And yes, those numbers are accurate based on his stats, which I check annually.

He isn’t alone. Two other guys and a woman walk in behind him. The woman is wearing a sparkly silver dress and has vibrant red hair. A small crowd gathers to greet them, smacking Casey on the back and fist pumping him. When he goes in for a one-arm hug with Caleb, our eyes lock.

He has the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.

They are as blue as the Caribbean Ocean and framed by thick brown lashes.

His light brown hair is short, and he keeps a trim stubble on his face.

He’s even more beautiful in person than he is on television.

Although he’s not wearing his uniform, his snug white T-shirt shows off his muscled chest better than any baseball jersey could, and while the jeans aren’t as tight as those white baseball pants, they cling to him like sand on wet sandals.

I swallow with difficulty through a desert-dry throat, barely getting enough air into my lungs. It’s hard to breathe, and even harder to take my eyes off him.

He’s staring at me, too, and the little breath I had is now gone. I’ll hyperventilate in a minute, I’m sure of it.

“Sage, are you okay?”

“No,” I whisper.

“Come. Let’s go say hello.”

Charlotte pulls me toward Casey, but I don’t budge. My body doesn’t cooperate as my legs forget how to walk. “I can’t.”

Charlotte laughs. “Of course you can.” She tugs harder and I stumble forward. But I can’t do it. I plant my feet and shake my head. “Go ahead without me.”

She reads my face. “What’s going on? I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I don’t know. I need a minute. My body’s in shock.”

“Fine. I’ll say hello and then come right back for you.”

Charlotte maneuvers gracefully through the crowd and Casey smiles when he sees her.

His perfectly straight white teeth gleam over plump lips, and I’m struck again at how breath-taking this man is in real life.

He’s just a man. A gorgeous, athletic, superstar—but still just flesh and bones.

I inhale deeply and walk toward him. He’s no longer looking at me, but I still feel this string between us, pulling me closer to him.

When I was in college, I taped his poster onto my bedroom ceiling. I’d say goodnight and imagine him smiling down at me before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

It’s unreal to see him in front of me now, smiling, laughing, and sneaking glances my way. I’m nearly through the crowd when someone calls my name.

“Sage!”

I turn to my right and Billy waves with one hand while holding a glass of red wine with the other. “Hey!”

He walks over before I reach Charlotte and Casey. “Good to see a friendly face.”

He smiles and I can’t help but notice a dimple beneath his mouth. Billy is devilishly handsome and probably has more attention than he needs. “Yeah, it sure is,” I say.

“When did you get here?”

“Oh, um, about an hour ago.”

“If I had known you’d leave so late, I would have offered you a ride.” Billy lives in the same small town as I do. His father owns the Cedar Brook Falls Mill, which is one of the largest electricity plants in the State of New York.

“That’s nice of you, Billy, but my last yoga class was at four and I didn’t know what time I could leave.”

He nods, taking a sip of his wine. “Are you staying overnight?”

“Yes. Charlotte got me a room in the building for the night.”

“That’s good. Me, too. I wouldn’t want you driving by yourself for four hours in the middle of the night.”

“No. I wouldn’t think of doing that after the day I had.”

“What happened?”

“Ugh. Well, Mrs. Green came to one of the meditation classes, but she—"

“Hey, is that Casey Tucker?”

Billy’s eyes drift over my shoulder and a child-like grin spreads across his face. “It is Casey! I haven’t seen him in ages.” Then he turns and excuses himself before running off.

I’m not offended by his quick exit. I would have reacted the same way if I wasn’t paralyzed with fear at finally being in the same room as my celebrity crush, my baseball idol, and arguably the greatest player in the major leagues right now.

My body shakes and I curse my racing thoughts. Calm down, Sage. You should play it cool and just go over there and meet him. When will you get this chance again?

For a second, I think about the jinx—or at least the one I just made up a few minutes ago. It sounds silly now that I’m going over it in my head. It was only a coincidence that I haven’t met Casey Tucker until now. Maybe it was meant to be today. Maybe it wasn’t a jinx, but fate.

I’m about to step forward when the woman beside Casey shrieks.

“Shit!” Casey shouts as he jumps back.

“Oh, man. I’m sorry. Someone pushed me from behind.”

Casey stares horrified at the growing red wine stain on his white shirt. “What the fuck?”

“I’m so sorry,” Billy says again. “Let me help you.” He starts patting Casey’s chest with a crumbled napkin, but Casey pulls away.

“That’ll only make it worse.”

Charlotte steps in. “Casey, come with me. I’ll give you one of Caleb’s shirts while I soak this one.”

Casey glares at Billy as he follows Charlotte down the hallway.

My heart sinks when I catch Billy’s stricken face, and I console him with a pat on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. It happens.”

“I feel like such an idiot.”

“If you’re an idiot, then so am I. I spewed my beer all over Charlotte’s dress earlier.”

He looks up at me skeptically. When I smile and waggle my eyebrows, he grins. “You did?”

“Yup. So, don’t beat yourself up over it. It happens to everyone.”

He chuckles. “I don’t know about that, but you and me, we sure do get ourselves into trouble.”

I act affronted, placing my hand on my chest in exaggeration. “Me? Trouble? Never.”

“Between me, you, and Frankie, I don’t know who’s worse at putting their foot in their mouths.”

“Probably me since I’m the most flexible.”

He barks out a laugh, and I feel better having taken the load off his shoulders.

Billy looks toward the hallway, but Casey and Charlotte are gone. “I should see if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Recalling Casey’s glare, I pat Billy’s shoulder. “I’ll go and report back. He’ll feel a lot better once he’s in cleaner clothes. Then you can apologize again if you’d like. But I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m sure he’s already over it.”

“Thanks, Sage. I owe you one.”

I walk past some inquisitive glances on my way to Charlotte and Caleb’s bedroom. As I approach the door, I’m still a little nervous about speaking to Casey, but feel comforted that I’m doing this for Billy and not myself.

Charlotte walks through the bedroom door and sees me. “Hey, everything all right?”

“Yeah. Just came to check in on Casey. I thought it best that Billy hangs back until Casey is in a better mood.”

“Good idea. He’s just changing right now, so maybe wait a few minutes.”

“Of course. I’ll wait until he’s done.”

“Do you want me to wait here with you?” She looks over my shoulder and her forehead wrinkles at something she sees.

“No. I’m fine. I’ll be back out in a minute.”

“Okay. I’ll be by the bar, making sure everyone is okay. I’ll see you soon.”

She scurries off and I smile, knowing she may have married Caleb but she’s still the same Type A Charlotte I know and love.

As I wait for Casey to walk out of the bedroom, I lean back against the door.

What should I say when he comes out? Hey, how’s your shirt?

No. That’s stupid. Are you okay? No. He isn’t hurt.

Um, maybe just ask if he needs anything.

That could work. But imagining him smiling up at me as I ask him that question makes me think of all sorts of things I could help him with, and it would have nothing to do with cleaning his shirt.

A loud crash resonates inside the bedroom, followed by Casey’s harsh curse. I wait a second, but there’s no other sound. What if something happened? What if he is hurt now?

I knock on the door, and when there’s no answer, I open it and find Casey, shirtless, on the bathroom floor, one leg out in front of him and the other bent in front of his chiseled bare chest.

My mouth hangs open but I shut it as soon as I realize I’m gawking. I wasn’t ready for a shirtless Casey. Not in real life, at least.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

“Just peachy,” he says with a frown. “Slipped on some water and landed flat on my ass. It’s been a hell of a party, and I’m not even drunk, yet.”

Normally, I would laugh at his remark, but I can’t help the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. He’s right. It’s been one instance of bad luck after another from the moment he walked into the penthouse. Correction. From the moment we locked eyes.

What if I’m not silly? What if the jinx is real?

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I blink at him, and he extends his hand. “Can you help me up?”

I want to say no, afraid I might hurt him, but I’m afraid of how irrational that would sound. He reads my hesitation and lifts himself using the bathtub, instead. He groans and grabs his back, and I hold my breath, worried about what I may have caused now.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault,” I say, warning him to stay away from me.

His brow creases and he shakes his head. “What are you talking about? It’s Billy’s fault, the idiot.”

I bristle at his harsh tone. He could have said worse but, his tone was like a whip over a wound.

“He didn’t mean to spill wine on you. It was just an accident.”

“You don’t know Billy.”

“And you do?” I ask, a little annoyed that he insists on putting my friend down.

“Yeah. I grew up with him,” he says with a tinge of annoyance in his voice now. “I don’t know where you’re from, but Cedar Brook Falls is the lamest town in America. I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there and haven’t been back since.”

My mouth hangs open again, but this time, it has nothing to do with his chest. “That’s not true,” I say, defending the town. But he misunderstands my words.

“It sure is. I’ve avoided the town like the plague since I left.” His frown slowly disappears as he looks at me from head to toe. “I’ve never seen you at any of Caleb’s parties before. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

I curl my fists at my sides.

He notices and sighs. “You’re not upset about Billy are you? If you two are an item, then I did you a favor. Get out while you can. Especially if he suggests visiting his hometown. Avoid that place at all costs unless you want to die of boredom.”

He laughs at his pathetic joke and then turns toward the vanity. “Can you pass me that shirt?”

I don’t turn to look at it, although I assume it’s the new one Charlotte gave him. All I can think about is how he not only disrespected my friend, but the town that took me in when I was all alone. The town that accepted me as one of their own.

“No,” I say, and there’s a growl to it. “Get it yourself, asshole.”