Chapter 4

Chapter 4

J D stretched after his morning workout. Clive Bentley strolled into the room with a towel wrapped around his neck. His golden blond hair was drenched with sweat. He lifted the towel and rubbed against his hair. He turned and met JD's gaze. He narrowed his eyes so a tiny amount of his emerald green irises were noticeable. Clive dropped the towel so it flopped back in place around his neck.

"Why are you here?"

"I didn't realize I had to get your permission to use the facilities," he drawled, allowing his acerbic tone to flow through his words.

"That's not what I meant." Clive sighed. "Your practice was earlier today with your coach. I figured you would have left with the rest of the team."

The pitchers had stayed back, working with their coach a little longer. They had to get everyone in top shape if they had any chance of winning the pennant. Their hitting game was top notch, and they had a decent defense, but the pitching hadn't been the best. Clive was the exception to that. He was their ace, but he couldn't hold the entire team on his own. A pitcher could start a game every three days. For the rest of the week's games, they had to rely on their other starters and their bullpen. So far, the team manager wasn't impressed with their performance.

"I decided I needed a little extra me time. Is that a problem?" He was in a surly mood after witnessing Scarlett moon over Remington Wyatt. It had soured his stomach, and he'd left My Alibi sooner than planned. He couldn't watch her with another man—not that he had any claim on her. JD had destroyed their relationship with his own actions. He had let his ambition drive a wedge between them that probably didn't need to be there. Scarlett never would have prevented him from pursuing his baseball career. She would have encouraged him and supported him every step of the way.

"No," Clive said in a firm tone. "Not at all. I've been meaning to talk to you. Since we will be working a lot together, I thought we could schedule some time to go over strategies."

JD sighed. As the starting catcher, he would work with Clive a lot. He understood the man's reasoning, but he was also not inclined to be welcoming at the moment. He had to let go of his animosity though. "I'm exhausted after my workout." JD didn't want to have another grueling session on top of the one he'd forced himself to have. "Can we do it another day?"

"I'd like to talk right now about what we want to do. We could, I don't know, get coffee."

He could use a drink of a different sort. He was stressed to the max. While he didn't particularly want to spend his off time with Clive, it would help to have a good rapport with him. So, he'd go for some coffee he didn't particularly want. "Sure. We can get coffee. Let me shower and then we can go someplace." He really didn't care where. He rattled off his phone number. "Text me the location, and I'll meet you over there."

"I could use a shower myself." Clive walked over to his cubby located in the room attached to the exercise room and pulled out his phone. He tapped it a few times and then set it back on the shelf, then came back to JD. "Let's meet in an hour."

JD nodded and stood. He walked over to his own cubby and grabbed his shower supplies. It wouldn't take him long to shower. He didn't like taking long washing at the stadium. JD preferred privacy whenever possible. The showers were a necessity after a hard workout or a grueling game, but he was in and out. At home, he took long, leisurely, scorching-hot showers. The only thing that would make one of them at home better was if Scarlett joined him. Unfortunately, that wasn't likely to happen.

He washed quickly as planned and dressed. His hair was still damp as he exited the clubhouse and strolled toward his bike. He put his helmet on, practically pasting his wet hair to his head in the process. It would give a whole new meaning to helmet head if it dried while he drove to the coffee shop Clive suggested.

When he reached the location, he parked his motorcycle and tied the helmet to the back. Then he went inside to find Clive. He scanned the coffeehouse and then froze when his gaze landed on a familiar face. Scarlett was there, and she wasn't alone. Remington Drake was with her. They were in a back corner with their heads bent together. He gritted his teeth and made himself look away. JD hadn't come there to glare at Scarlett and her new romantic interest. He'd come to talk to Clive, and that was what he intended to do. She would ignore him either way.

JD was on the verge of leaving too. He didn't notice Clive anywhere in the shop, and his irritation rose. If Scarlett hadn't been there, he'd have had more patience. Clive strolled into the coffeehouse. It was a good thing he had too; otherwise, JD would have headed home, where he'd wanted to go from the start. "Want to get a table and I'll get the drinks?" Clive asked.

"Sure," he said. "A coffee. Black." He probably shouldn't have any caffeine. His adrenaline was through the roof, and it would make him more on edge. Add sugar to that… Yeah, if he was going to indulge, he couldn't have anything but coffee completely dark.

"Be right back," Clive said and strolled to the counter.

JD returned his attention to the room. There were not too many empty tables. In fact, there was only one, and it was near Scarlett and Remington. He clenched his hands into fists and closed his eyes. This was not good. It killed him, but he moved to the table and didn't glance in their direction. He pulled one of the chairs out and slowly sat. A small gasp indicated that Scarlett had noticed him. She didn't say anything though, and for that he was grateful. Maybe he would be able to make it through this meeting with Clive after all…

Scarlett stared at JD's back. She wanted to force her gaze away from him, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. Why did he have to be as gorgeous as ever? She would always be drawn to him. Perhaps it was time she accepted that… Damn, he was easy on the eyes though. She held back a sign and forced herself to focus on Remy. He deserved her undivided attention. Still, she kept peeking a glance, or several, at JD.

He must have noticed her there and chose that seat on purpose. She was a little grateful for his decision to do so. It would make things much easier for the both of them not to face each other. The tension in the room thickened, and she found it a little hard to breathe. Maybe she should suggest to Remy that they leave. Their meeting had been perfect until JD chose to sit near them and ruined her attention span. Not that he had much choice… The coffeehouse was packed.

"Is something wrong?" Remy asked. She was still getting used to the nickname. It suited him though.

"It's fine," she said. She didn't want him to realize JD's presence had caused of her anxiety. "I remembered something I need to do later today." Could she be any more lame? As far as explanations went, that one topped the list of deficient excuses. Hopefully, he didn't realize how distracted by JD she'd become and accepted it without too many questions—or rather, more questions.

"I'm not keeping you here, am I?" He frowned. "I love your ideas and want to work with you."

Was that a little hesitation in his voice? "I promise that this is exactly where I want to be." JD be damned… "Is there a reason you don't want to explore this with me?"

She really liked Remy, and she hoped that by presenting these ideas she wasn't putting him off of being her friend. Scarlett wanted to work as much as possible with him. She had a feeling they'd make beautiful music together. With his southern rock roots, it would give a different feel to her country twang. She loved the huskiness of his voice and believed it would mix well with her own.

"No," he said. "Not exactly, anyway. I …"

"You can tell me no," she said reassuringly. "I understand if you don't want to do this, but I do hope we will still remain friends."

He shook his head. "It's not that." Remy gestured to the table JD sat at. For a moment, she thought he'd bring up him and her prior relationship. "Is that Clive Bentley?"

Scarlett sighed in relief. She shouldn't have believed that he would even be aware of her failed wedding. Her family had done their best to keep it out of the news and bury it. She forced herself to glance at the table. "I believe it is. Are you a baseball fan?"

"I love it," he admitted. "I'm excited for the rest of the season. They made some good trades, and I think the new catcher and his hitting record is going to help make them hit if not the top spot, damn close to it, in our league."

She held back a groan. Of course he'd be a fan of JD's too. Scarlett could be nice and introduce them, but the idea of having a conversation with JD made her stomach turn. The anxiety was starting to build up again. This meeting had taken a turn, and she had to find a way to steer it back in the direction she needed it to go. Maybe if she suggested he go talk to them, then they could then return to their conversation. It might be the only way for them to finish, and in turn, convince him to work with her. "I'm sure if they were worried about fans, they wouldn't be here. Go and talk to them."

"You think?" he said. Excitement filled his voice. "I'll be a minute."

The polite thing to do was go with him. She was acquainted with JD, at least. Instead, she stayed in her seat as if she'd been glued down. Scarlett stared down at her coffee, ignoring the dread pooling in her stomach. She didn't know how long she stayed that way. A shadow moved over her, and she glanced up, expecting to see Remy. She wasn't that lucky.

"What are you doing over here?" she asked JD. Had he taken Remy's excitement as an invitation to talk to her?

"Your date had to go outside to take a call. He asked me to let you know."

Damn it. "You've informed me, so now you can go."

He didn't listen to her. He sat in Remy's empty chair. He placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "We still need to talk."

She didn't meet his gaze. "I told you there isn't anything I want to discuss with you."

"I disagree," he said. "There is a lot unsaid between us, and I think it is time we rectified that. It can happen now or later, but it will happen."

She glanced over at the table where Clive Bentley still sat, seemingly preoccupied with something on his phone. At least he wasn't staring at them. Scarlett didn't want to be scrutinized by anyone, but especially not by someone associated with JD. "Shouldn't you get back to your teammate?" JD had always loved the game. It didn't surprise her to find out that he'd been drafted earlier than he anticipated. He'd gone to the majors instead of going to college. When he left her at the altar, he'd gone straight to training camp. He did a small sting in their minor league team until he could officially be moved up, but after that he'd made steady progress until he was a well-known name in baseball.

"Clive can wait," he insisted. "This can't."

"Why are you being so difficult?" Her cheeks heated and anger boiled in her blood. She clenched her hands until her nails bit into her palms. "You said all you needed to when you deserted me. Anything else is words, and I don't need or have to listen to them. I owe you nothing, JD."

She stood and grabbed her purse. Remy was outside, and she couldn't stay in the coffeehouse a moment longer. She could text him if need be and apologize. They could finish their discussion later. JD came to his feet and reached for her. "Please, don't go."

Scarlett yanked her arm back and said in a harsh whisper, "Let me go." She glanced around, and a few of the coffee shop patrons looked in their direction. They were both celebrities of a sort, and someone would probably make a comment, or God forbid, record their interaction on their phone. She had to make him see reason and fast.

JD instead stepped closer to her and caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "I've missed you." Damn him …

Her heart ached at the sweetness of his voice and the admission nearly gutted her. "Don't…" She forgot about the crowd of people, and for a brief moment, it was just her and JD. The world be damned. Her breath hitched, and she wanted to step into his warmth, to kiss him, pretend for a short time that their past didn't still haunt her. That would be foolish though. A mistake she'd regret as much as the disaster of her wedding day—Scarlett could not let herself forget what he'd done to her. She had to step away from him before she fell into a previous bad habit.

"Don't what?" his voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "Love you? Need you? Regret every day that I was foolish enough to let you go? I can't. I won't."

A tear slipped down her cheek. She hadn't realized how close she was to crying until that moment. The music returned too. It filled her ears and created a haunting melody. Damn him to hell and back. JD might be more important than she wanted him to be. She wrenched herself away from him and nearly ran from out of the coffeehouse. Scarlett didn't bother to stop and didn't pay attention to her surroundings.

She was past caring if anyone noticed her interaction with JD. She hoped she wouldn't find their meeting posted up all over social media later. The last thing she wanted to do was relive that moment over and over again for eternity. At least she could be grateful for one thing. When he'd stood her up at the altar, they hadn't been famous and no one had cared enough about her to record her humiliation for posterity.

She didn't stop to talk to Remy, and not once did she glance back. He might have called out to her. She couldn't be certain. Scarlett had stopped listening to anything around her. She would apologize to him later for her rudeness.

The tears flowed harder and harder as she ran to her car. Once she was safe inside the corvette did she stop and wipe them away. Her heart breaking all over again…