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“You alright?” Blake gives me an amused smile.

I think my brain just malfunctioned. And in front of everyone. I go from blood pounding in my ears, to flooding my cheeks.

“Fine.”

“Shirt?” Bryce asks.

I hand him one. He and the rest of the players change shirts around me. But none catch my attention like Blake.

“Amelia,” Mayor Anderson calls out. “It’s time to start.”

I call everyone to me, not unlike Sophia did with the kids.

“Everyone get into groups of three to five people. I’ll call out an area, shout out if you want to take it.”

Chapter Nine

Blake

I get closer to Ethan as Amelia calls out different neighborhoods in Dogwood.

“Want to group together?” I ask him.

Bryce behind me says, “I’m in.”

And Scarlett, who’s standing next to Ethan answers, “Sure.”

Ethan straightens his shoulders and crosses his arms over his chest, staring me down.

I do the same but with my hands on my hips. Although we’re about the same height, I’m twice as broad as he is, and his posturing looks ridiculous.

I raise an eyebrow.

We disagreed, we argued, but this is me offering an olive branch. Let’s get over it and move on.

Is it hypocritical and dastardly that the only reason that I asked to group with him is because I can’t stop fantasizing about his ex-wife naked?

Something has changed between Amelia and me. I don’t know if it was when she told me she worries she’ll never have sex again, or even before, when we went on the hike. I don’t know. But ever since I allowed myself to fantasize about her the night of Bryce’s birthday party, I haven’t been able to get the thought out of my head.

I don’t know if Amelia is doing it on purpose. But when she told me that Claudia told her to have sex with someone else to get over Ethan, I knew she was talking about me. The memory of the two of them laughing and sharing a look when I sat next to her at the bar flashed in my mind.

I really did want to bend her over the counter right then and there. And maybe punish her a little for flirting with me.

And just now, the way she gawked, her eyes burning with desire, when I took off my shirt. All the blood rushed to my cock just from that one look. I was glad to be holding my shirt in front of my crotch.

Because…

As much as my body wants her, my brain is screaming that it’s a bad idea. Oh, I’m not opposed to bad ideas. They can be the most fun.

But I can’t be drooling over her in front of the entire town. The entire baseball team. My brother. Ethan.

The only solution, the only way I can get through today without being caught checking her out, is to team up with Ethan, the one person she’ll be avoiding like the plague.

In a way, I’m asking him to team up to respect his feelings. I am being a good friend. Right?

“Fine.” Ethan extends his hand out and I slap mine in his for a shake.

We’re good.