Page 91 of Third Strike Smitten

“About Isla I presume?”

My head snaps toward her. “What?”

Sutton smiles, the kind that says she knows something I don’t. “Don’t look so surprised. You’ve been watching her all night like you’re afraid she might disappear.”

I shrug, trying to play it cool even though my pulse has picked up. “Just making sure she’s having a good time.”

“Right.” She chuckles, stretching her legs out and crossing them at the ankles. “You’re so in love with her.”

I almost choke on my beer. “What? No, I’m not.”

She doesn’t say anything, just gives me that look. The one that says she sees right through my bullshit.

Fuck, I hate that look.

“It’s not like that,” I insist, keeping my voice low.

She laughs now. “Oh, okay, so you’re just going to tell me that whatever the hell is going on between you two is all fake?” She rolls her eyes but when I don’t say anything, her smile falls, and her expression changes. “Oh, my God, Kill. It’s all fake?”

The look on Sutton’s face is like a dagger to the chest.

I glance over at Isla again, who’s now demonstrating something with her hands, making Mackenzie laugh so hard she’s wiping tears away. The sound hits me deep in my soul.

“Look,” I say, turning back to Sutton. “I’m going to tell you something but only because you and I have been close ever since you met Shep and I trust you. But I haven’t even told my brothers yet.”

Her brows furrow. “Oookay…”

I take a deep breath and release it as a heavy sigh. “It started out as a favor. Harper told me I needed to clean up my image and calm myself down on the mound or there was a high possibility I would be traded.”

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah. I know. And I couldn’t let that happen. So, Isla’s been…helping me out.”

“Wait…” she cocks her head. “You’re seriously telling me none of this was…it’s not real? Any of it?”

I shake my head. “That’s not what I’m…I mean…it wasn’t supposed to be…” I rub my hand across the back of my neck. “Fuck, I don’t even know anymore.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means none of it was supposed to be real but I think I fucking suck at faking anything, and now I fucking like her and I have no idea if she feels the same way but I think she does, but I also know she doesn’t plan on sticking around at the end of the season.” I take a deep breath after vomiting all those words at once. “She’s going to leave and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it.”

Sutton watches me for a few quiet seconds as she puts the pieces together. “You don’t just like her, Kill. You’re in love with her.”

I scoff. “I don’t know if I would go that far.”

“The whiffle ball game…” she starts. “You practically carried her off the field after she got hit.”

“That was different,” I mutter. “I’m the one that hit her. I hurt her.”

“Uh huh.” Sutton takes a sip of her wine, watching me as she does so. “And that’s the only reason you were so protective?”

I set my beer down on the coffee table, running a hand through my hair. “What are you getting at, Sutton?”

She leans closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m getting at the fact that you’re in love with her and you should at least admit it to yourself.”

The words hit me like a fastball to the chest. I open my mouth to deny it, but nothing comes out. Because she’s right. She’s so fucking right it hurts.

“I saw it the night you brought her here,” Sutton continues, her voice gentle but firm. “The way you look at her...that’s not how you look at someone who’s just a friend or a fake girlfriend. The way you look at her…it’s the same way Shep looks at me and the same way Hop looks at Mack but thinks no one notices.”