Damn, the man was fun to be around. And I could use a little fun right about now.
My thumb hovered over the call button, but I hesitated. We didn’t have the kind of relationship where I just called him up. He was my one big sin. My naughty not-so-secret secret. Never in my life had I just thrown myself at a man without some sort of commitment in place, and I still couldn’t believe how okay I was with only being fuck buddies with him.
It had been months since I’d seen him, not since the end of last season. Although I’d been to New York to visit Whitney a couple time since then, our timing hadn’t worked out to hook up. Not that I could blame anyone for living it up in Hawaii. Ace Newman had the life!
I looked around the small kitchen of my childhood home and knew these four walls were crowding me to the point of strangulation. I needed to get away. If not to see Ace, then to check on Whitney.
To escape this place.
In the back of my head, knowing Ace would be in New York had a big appeal on my timing. And the timing was right. I just might be able to catch him before the Beasts headed south for spring training.
Whitney’s number was my last call, so I hit redial and waited for her to pick up.
“Holly!” Her voice was so welcoming it warmed my heart.
“Hey, lady, how are you?” I asked, trying my best to mask the pain in my voice.
“Having a cocktail. I wish you were here with me.”
I wished I was too. Oh, how I wished I was there and not here. Anywhere but here really.
“Me too.”
“Come see me!”
“Well, that’s kinda why I was calling,” I admitted, feeling my heart already begin to lighten.
“Is everything okay?”
I took a deep breath, fighting off the tears working hard to escape. Whitney was the only one who truly knew how hard my relationship was with my father. She’d been around my house growing up and had witnessed my father’s temper. After my mom passed away, she watched his rage turn towards me.
My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard before answering. “I just need outta here.”
“Today or tomorrow?”
I peeked in the oven and tried to estimate how much time I’d need to finish. “Tomorrow. I’m finishing up a cake for Mrs. Maples but can have Hannah deliver it in the morning, so any time will be fine.”
“Okay, let me take care of everything. I’ll send the info as soon as I have it.”
“Thank you, Whitney.”
I hung up the phone and felt a ton of weight lift from my shoulders. I would finish this cake, and start packing, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Hannah came through the back door just as I was finishing up the last fondant ribbon, her arms laden with our father’s dinner. “Oh, Holly, it’s beautiful!”
It was. I was proud of my creation. I was certainly getting better.
“You need to open up your own place,” she insisted. It was a suggestion I’d heard many times before and thought about nearly every day. I smiled but didn’t feel the need to get into a full discussion about what I felt was a pipe dream at this point. I was broke, or at least pretty damn close to it, and opening up a bakery took money, lots of it.
My phone beeped, and I picked it up, pleased to see the message was from Whitney. I was booked on a flight leaving at noon the next day.
“Can you deliver this in the morning?” I asked Hannah after sending Whit a quick thank you.
She cocked one of her ridiculously perfect brows at me. “Yes, but why?”
“I’m going back to New York for a while.”
“To see Ace?” she teased, those perfect brows now bobbing up and down.
“No. Whitney, thank you very much.”
She rolled her eyes and smirked a little at my response. I knew she didn’t believe me. Hell, I didn’t believe me either. I knew I wanted to see him.
“Hannah!”
We met each other’s eyes as Dad’s voice echoed through the house. She sighed and picked up the Styrofoam box, rushing it to the living room before he had time to call her name twice.
While she was gone, I texted Ace to see if he wanted to hook up while I was in town, then began boxing up the cake. I was writing down the address where it was to be delivered when Hannah came back in.
“Crisis averted,” she muttered.
Stopping what I was doing, I gave her a serious look. “You sure you’ll be okay with me gone?”
We both knew she would. For some reason, I was the only one with a target on my back. “Don’t worry about anything, just have some fun.” She smiled at me warmly.
“Thanks, I will.”
She gave me a hug and headed toward her room.
My phone dinged. It was Ace, telling me to let him know the dates.
No time like the present.
While Dad was busy consuming his baked potato and steak tips, I sneaked through the living room and out onto the front porch. I tapped his name on my phone and watched the screen bring up his face.
He answered, but didn’t speak. Instead, a woman said, “Oops, sorry,” through a flurry of giggles.
Jealousy struck me like a wave, but I pushed it back. No, not jealousy exactly, more like an intense desire to be the one with him, not the giggler whose soft laugh was still coming through the phone. I wanted to be the one carefree and laughing. Because I always felt that way when I was with Ace.
I was about to hang up when his long sexy drawl came over the line. “Hey, darlin’.” He sounded winded, confirming what I already suspected.
“Hey. It sounds like I caught you at a bad time. Want to call me back?” I was proud of how light my voice appeared.
“Uh, yeah. No. It’s all good. What’s up?”
“I’m headed to New York in the morning and thought you’d like to see me,” I teased, settling solidly into my role as fuck buddy.
He loved when I used the same cockiness he did. I knew it was a huge turn on for him and probably why he still even had my number stored in his phone.
“Of course,” he chuckled. It was obvious he found my humor amusing. “How long are you staying?”
“Not sure yet. Nothing set in stone.” I lowered my voice, making it sexy and deep. “Call me when you’re ready for me to rock your world.”
I didn’t give him a chance to respond, just ended the call.
Damn, that man had my panties wet just from thinking about a night with him. He was a freaking machine in bed.
That reminded me of the giggler. Okay, so maybe the thought of him with another woman struck a nerve, but not enough that I’d give up my turn at bat with the bad boy of baseball. I loved the way he played the game and not just the one on the field. He was smooth, charming and, oh so very hot. I couldn’t wait to be in his arms again.
I entered the living room and tried to get past my dad before he spat any of his toxins towards me, but no such luck. “Where the fuck do ya think you’re going?”
Shit. Why didn’t I go out the back?
“To New York,” I replied calmly.
He laughed, and some of the beef tip gravy dribbled down his chin. He was mean, drunk, and disgusting. “Oh yeah, ya gonna see your Ace man?”