Home Run Baby: A Sports Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

you.”
    “Global warming?” I quip.
    “My engagement.”
    “No.” I shake my head, really not wanting to go there right now. “Rose, I’m happy for you. I am.”
    “Then, what’s the deal? Every time I bring it up, you roll your eyes.”
    “No, I don’t.”
    She points at my face. “There! See? You just did!”
    “I just think you guys are moving too fast,” I spit. “You’ve known the guy less than a year, Rose. How do you know this is the right guy for you anyway?”
    “When you know, you know. I can’t explain it — but don’t even blame the timing on this, Daisy. I know you and there’s something else bothering you.”
    I look forward as the pitcher launches a curve ball. Home Run Hunter doesn’t fall for it and lets it sail right into the catcher’s mitt. I try to focus on the game instead of Rose’s stare burning my skin but she elbows my ribs again.
    “Ouch!” I flinch.
    “What’s wrong with you?”
    “You mean the pain in my side or the one in my ass?”
    She heaves an impatient sigh. “Fine. Be a bitch.”
    “Okay, fine .” I twist in my seat to stare her down. “I’m pissed off you’re getting married. I’m pissed off that you’re out there at the perfect school with the perfect job and the perfect guy that’s just perfect for you. There. Are you happy? I admit it. You’re the fucking golden child and this engagement just gives Mom yet another thing to gloat to her friends about you while I sit out here and be forgotten about.”
    Rose blinks. “What are you talking about?”
    “Nothing,” I say, turning forward. “I made it all up. Watch the game.”
    “No, Daisy—”
    The crowd screams, voices crying out around us. All eyes look upward, trailing a ball flying straight towards our section.
    “Home Run Hunter! Home Run Hunter!”
    A man a few rows down throws his gloved hand up into the air, preparing to catch it. The ball skims the edge of his mitt and slides free… angled straight towards my head.
    “Ow…”
    I wince and slide out of my seat onto the rock solid concrete.
    “Daisy!”
    Rose cries out my name. Black pain takes over my senses and the sun dims from my vision as I pass out at her feet.
    Ugh. Just perfect.

 
    Chapter 6
    Hunter
     
    “Wow…” the nurse says again. “It’s not every day we get guys like you in here!”
    I flash her a smile as we board the elevator. “Guys like who?”
    “Oh, you know…” Her young cheeks turn a bright red. “Real pro athletes.”
    “I’m nothing special,” I say, waving a hand.
    “That’s not what my husband would say!” she says. “He’s a big fan.”
    The elevator opens on the second floor and we step off into the busy hospital hallway.
    “Well, you be sure to tell him I said hi,” I smile.
    She blushes again. “Oh, I will! And thank you for coming out here today. I’m sure she’ll really get a kick out of it.”
    “It’s my pleasure.”
    It’s also not my choice. Not that I wouldn’t have stopped by in the first place but, generally speaking, when a fan gets knocked out by your home run, you go visit them in the hospital to make sure they’re okay. That’s just good manners and good press, as the team manager was quick to point out.
    The nurse pauses by a room and points inside. “This is it!”
    “Thank you,” I tell her. “You wouldn’t happen to know her name, would you?”
    “Daisy,” she answers.
    I pause. “ Daisy? Really?”
    “Yep. I remember because it sounded so pretty.”
    “Yeah, it does…”
    “Have fun…” she giggles, “Home Run Hunter!”
    I chuckle as she walks off but my feet refuse to move inside. Quick flashes of memory pop into my head. Blonde hair, blue eyes hidden behind long lashes. Tongue as seductive and wild as a snake. I haven’t been back to this city since that night.
    But there’s no way that this is the same Daisy.
    I take a few steps in and those small details of her come roaring back as I see her face. She lies asleep with a large, white