Second Thoughts: A Hot Baseball Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

profile.
    Well, Jamie wasn’t going to be part of his life. He’d done his best to drive her away seven years ago, and she was way too smart a woman to come back now. Too smart to come back ever.
    He might as well drill the truth into his own Neanderthal skull by seeing what TrueLove had to say. He skimmed past his own profile on his way to reading the response to his posting.
    I’m an equal opportunity sort of guy—whatever food they’re serving (as long as it isn’t Rocky Mountain Oysters), whatever music they’re playing (as long as it isn’t opera), whatever movie’s showing (as long as it isn’t one of those jerky old silent films).
    I don’t believe a lot of “what everyone knows”—absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder, nothing’s fair in love and war, and apples have absolutely nothing to do with whether you see the doctor or not. But a job worth doing is worth doing well.
    My job takes me on the road a lot, but when I’m home, I’m deeply rooted. I prefer eating in to eating out, reading a good book to shutting down a dance club, and talking to you more than any of that other stuff. You know, where talking is a euphemism for all sorts of things.
    You’re brave enough to answer this profile, generous enough to give me the benefit of the doubt, and smart enough to know emailing isn’t the end of the road.
    Jesus. He was a pretentious asshole, wasn’t he? “Euphemism”? Who the hell put “euphemism” in a dating profile? But his word choice hadn’t stopped someone from finally responding. He clicked on “Shygirl6” to read what she had to say.
    “Hey there,” her message began. “I know I’m supposed to be witty and entertaining as I write this post, but my bottle of Seduction Cologne is fresh out. Your profile caught my eye. So what do we do from here?”
    He grinned. She sounded about as ambivalent as he felt. The line about Seduction Cologne was exactly the sort of awkward joke he’d make. Without really planning to, he typed back, “How about answering the Five Live Questions of the day?”
    Five Live . What a gimmick. But the TrueLove folks weren’t going to let real romance fade away, just for a few awkward pauses in electronic conversation. Every day, the site posted Five Live Questions, a quick set of short-answer queries to keep the dating ball rolling. He pulled up the current Five and typed his answers without letting himself think.
    Favorite pet: Stuffed animal (see profile: I’m on the road a lot)
    Favorite wine: Glenlivet. (That counts, right?)
    Favorite movie: Citizen Kane . Or The Hangover, Part VII . No, make that Citizen Kane , for sure.
    Favorite body part: Yours or mine? They should make these questions clearer.
    Favorite sexual position: Not that clear.
    He skimmed over his answers and considered deleting the entire thing. But what the hell? If Shygirl6 wanted to respond to his stupid attempts at being sociable, who was he to argue?
    He hit Send and leaned back on the couch. Five minutes later, when he caught himself checking his inbox for the third time, he turned off the computer, pulled on his running shoes, and headed over to the stadium for a serious workout.
    It was that, or fold the laundry. And he wasn’t totally desperate. Yet.
    ~~~
    “Oh my God, Lauren!” Jamie exclaimed into her phone, pausing in her attempt to collect her camera equipment and get out the door. “Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine,” Olivia’s babysitter said. “My car is totaled, though. And my neck is sore.”
    Jamie shook her head. “Don’t mess around with that. There are all sorts of soft tissue injuries that get worse—a lot worse—if you ignore them. Go see your doctor this afternoon.”
    “I’ll be fine,” the other woman said. “I can take a cab to Olivia’s school and pick her up. We can go home and play there.”
    “Don’t worry about Olivia at all. I’ll pick her up.”
    “And do what? I know you’re working this afternoon.” Lauren sounded