Page 210 of Challenge Me

He scoffed. “Don’t underestimate him. Maybe a violent tragedy would befall all the other teams’ batters.”

“He must know that I don’t condone violence.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re all aware that you’re boring.”

“Speaking of boring, this venue you sent me seems . . .”

“What?” he asked.

“Plain.”

The word clearly offended him. When I reached for him, he evaded me and grabbed a piece of Halloween candy from the bowl on the counter.

“It’s in the woods,” he pointed out.

“Woods can be plain.”

“That chapel is gorgeous. Did you see all the glass?”

“It’s small.”

“We’re not having a big wedding.”

“Why not?”

His eyes narrowed. “I have a total of, like, ten people to invite. You haven’t mentioned having a huge family.”

“I don’t, but there’s the team, then Avery’s family, my friends.”

“You have no friends.” He held up his hand before I could respond. “You already counted the team.”

With a thoughtful hum, I took a caramel from the bowl. His nose wrinkled as he watched me pop it into my mouth.

“So, like, a hundred people,” I said.

“More like fifty.”

“We could open it up to the public. The fans. Oooh.” I smiled as I chewed the caramel. “The press.”

“If Clara’s fugly face shows up, I will find a chainsaw and cut it off of her.”

My lips pursed as I glanced over at Mal, who was doing homework at the table. Grabbing Remi around the waist, I dragged him to the other side of the kitchen, then leaned against the counter without letting him go.

“The season’s over for us,” I said softly. “I want you to know how much I appreciate you sticking it out.”

“Of course I stuck it out. I promised.” He held up his left hand.

I kissed the ring, then pressed his fingers against my chest. “I know it’s affected you, though. You’ve been stressed.”

“Just because the vultures spotted my ring and want to invade my personal space. It’ll die down soon enough.”

“It might spike for a bit since they’re curious about my departure.”

He shrugged, and a soft smile settled on his lips. “I’m allowed to be an asshole to them now, so it’s fine. You might be worth it.”

“You might not be saying that when I’m working with you every night.”

“Every night? Absolutely not.”