Chapter 1
Lainey Rowan
I grew up around this sport.
I loved it.
My dad was the Jack Rowan.
The Kings’ famous shortstop.
He’d been retired for years now, but anytime something involving the Kings came up, Dad was there.
Legacy events.
Opening Days.
Charity events.
If the Kings called, Jack Rowan showed up.
Usually, I didn’t.
I hadn’t been back in North Haven in years.
I’d been in Chicago, building a life of my own.
I had a good job working for a corporate lawyer.
I enjoyed my job.
I enjoyed Chicago.
I enjoyed the fact that nobody there gave a shit who my dad was.
Then I made the incredibly intelligent decision to date someone I worked with.
Actually.
My boss.
Yeah.
Not my smartest move.
We were together for a few months.
It didn’t end well.
At all.
And working ten feet away from the man after it ended?
That went even worse.
So, I left.
The job.
Chicago.
Pretty much the entire life I’d spent the last few years building.
And came home.
Dad, thankfully, owned a rental property that wasn’t being used, and he’d offered to let me stay there while I figured out what the hell I was doing with my life.
I’d been back less than two weeks when he called.
The Kings were holding some massive Legacy event before spring training started.
And apparently, I was going.
“You know I’m twenty-five, right?” I asked, staring at Dad from across his kitchen.
He took a drink of coffee.
“Yep.”
“Which means you can’t make me go places with you anymore.”
“Didn’t say I could.”
“You told me to be ready at five.”
“Asked.”
“You said, ‘Be ready at five, Lainey.’”
He shrugged. “Sounded like a question in my head.”
I stared at him.
He smiled.
Asshole.
I got my attitude from him.
Unfortunately.
“I’m not going.”
“Your mom already picked out your dress.”
My eyes narrowed.
Traitor.
“Why does Mom care what I wear?”
Dad’s smile widened.
“It’s a nice event.”
“I have nice clothes.”
“She doesn’t trust you.”
“Why?”
His eyes dropped to the oversized sweatshirt I was wearing.
Then the leggings.
Then my fuzzy socks.
I looked down.
“This is different.”
“Sure.”
“Dad.”
He laughed.
And damn it.
I smiled.
Because I’d missed this.
I’d missed him.
I’d missed Mom.
I’d even missed North Haven more than I wanted to admit.
Coming home wasn’t supposed to be permanent.
It was a reset.
A few months.
Long enough to figure out what came next.
That was it.
And I certainly wasn’t looking for another relationship.
I’d learned that lesson the hard way.
I sighed and headed toward my bedroom.
Mom had, in fact, left a dress laid out for me.
Of course she had.
“Be ready at five, Lainey Bug,” Dad called from somewhere behind me.
“Yes, sir,” I groaned.
I stepped into my bedroom and glanced at myself in the mirror.
Jesus.
My blonde hair was piled on top of my head and looked like I hadn’t brushed it in at least two days.
Which, honestly, I wasn’t completely sure I had.
My face needed some serious attention.
A face mask.
Plenty of product.
Maybe a fucking miracle.
I glanced at the clock.
Two-thirty.
Jesus.
Guess I better get to work.
I picked up the dress Mom had left on my bed.
Black.
Simple.
Fitted.
At least she knew me well enough not to leave something covered in sequins.
I held it against myself and looked in the mirror.
Okay.
Maybe she knew what she was doing.
I tossed it back onto the bed and headed for the bathroom.
Two hours later, I barely recognized the woman staring back at me.
My hair was down now, straight and falling over my shoulders.
Makeup done.
The black dress hugged me in all the right places without making me look like I was trying too hard.
Which I wasn’t.
I wasn’t trying at all.
This was a baseball event.
I’d been to hundreds of them growing up.
There was absolutely no one there I needed to impress.
“Lainey!”
“I’m coming!”
“You said that ten minutes ago!”
I grabbed my purse.
“I’m a woman, Dad!”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything!”
I heard him laugh from downstairs.
I slipped on my heels and took one last look at myself.
Not bad.
Actually, pretty damn good.
Too bad I was wasting it on a room full of baseball players.
I grabbed my coat and headed downstairs.
Dad was waiting by the door.
He looked up.
Then smiled.
“There’s my girl.”
Something in my chest squeezed.
“Don’t get emotional on me.”
“I’m not.”
“You look emotional.”
“I said you look nice.”
“You didn’t, actually.”
He frowned.
Then pointed at me.
“You look nice.”
I laughed.
“Thanks, Dad.”
He opened the door.
“Come on, Lainey Bug.”
And for the first time since I’d come home, I was actually excited about something.
I was going back to the place where I’d spent half my childhood.
Back to the Kings.
Back to baseball.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into the stadium.
The event was being held in one of the huge ballrooms inside.
I’d spent most of my childhood here.
But the stadium was different now.
They’d remodeled it a few years back and expanded quite a bit.
The North Haven Kings were popular.
Then again, pretty much any sport around here was.
Just look at the Aurora Blades.
They had a long history of winning Stanley Cups.
Last season had been different.
They’d been rebuilding.
At least, that was what everyone had expected.
Then one of their legends, Knox Callahan, had taken over as head coach and somehow dragged them all the way to the finals.
They’d almost won the damn Cup.
This year, everyone was watching to see if they could do it again.
The Kings weren’t much different.
North Haven loved its baseball.
Always had.
Probably always would.
And my dad?
He was part of the reason why.
The second we stepped through the doors, someone called his name.
“Jack fucking Rowan!”
Dad laughed.
I shook my head.
Here we go.
A man I vaguely recognized from my childhood crossed the room and pulled Dad into a hug.
Then another came over.
And another.
Within five minutes, I’d lost him to a group of former players.
Typical.
I grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray.
If I was going to spend the next few hours being abandoned by my father while he relived his glory days, I was at least going to drink.
“Lainey?”
I turned.
An older woman stared at me for a second before her entire face lit up.
“Oh my God. Lainey Rowan?”
I smiled.
“Hi.”
“You probably don’t remember me.”
I did.
Barely.
But I did.
And just like that, something warm settled in my chest.
Maybe coming back wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
It was Mrs. Whitmore.
The general manager’s wife.
“Hey, Gail. It’s nice to see you.”
She pulled me into a hug.
“Gosh, honey. You’ve become such a beautiful young lady.”
I smiled as she pulled back.
“Thank you.”
“Maisie is around here somewhere.”
I laughed. “How is she doing?”
“Good. She’s coming to work for us, actually.”
I nodded. “That’s awesome.”
“It is.” She grinned.
“Mrs. Whitmore.”
A deep voice sounded behind me.
I turned.
And stilled.
Fuck.
He was gorgeous.
Tall.
Dark hair, cut short but slightly messy on top.
Light scruff covered his jaw.
And his eyes.
Jesus.
Green.
Really fucking green.
He wore a black button-down with the sleeves pushed up his forearms and dark slacks.
No tie.
Thank God.
I wasn’t sure why that mattered, but apparently it did.
His eyes landed on Gail first.
Then they moved to me.
And stopped.
Interesting.
“Cam,” Gail said warmly. “There you are.”
Cam.
I knew that name.
I just couldn’t immediately place it.
Probably because my brain had apparently stopped working.
He stepped closer.
“I was looking for Mr. Whitmore.”
“He’s around here somewhere.” Gail glanced toward the growing crowd. “You know how these events go.”
He laughed.
It was deep, too.
Of course it fucking was.
Then his attention came back to me.
“Sorry. I don’t think we’ve met.”
“We haven’t.”
His mouth tipped up slightly.
Fuck.
That smile was dangerous.
Gail looked between us.
“Lainey, this is Cam.”
She paused.
I waited for the last name.
Instead, someone called her name from across the room.
Gail glanced over her shoulder.
“Oh, excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
And then she left.
Just fucking left.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
“Well,” he said.
“Well.”
His smile grew.
“You always this talkative?”
I lifted my champagne glass. “Usually more after one of these.”
He laughed.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
His eyes moved over my face.
Not my body.
My face.
For some reason, I noticed that.
“So, Lainey.”
“So, Cam.”
“You from North Haven?”
I smiled.
“Something like that.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“That sounds mysterious.”
“Maybe I am.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Probably.”
He grinned.
And damn it.
I liked him.
Already.
Which was stupid considering I’d known him for approximately forty-five seconds.
“What brings you to a Kings Legacy event?” he asked.
“Family.”
“Your family involved with the organization?”
I took another sip of champagne.
“You could say that.”
Before he could ask anything else, a familiar voice came from behind him.
“Lainey Bug.”
Oh, shit.
Cam glanced over his shoulder.
Dad walked toward us.
His eyes immediately went to Cam.
Then me.
Then back to Cam.
“Cam.”
“Mr. Rowan.”
And there it was.
The name clicked into place.
Cam.
Cam fucking Rhodes.
North Haven Kings.
Baseball player.
Of course he was.
Because apparently the universe fucking hated me.
Dad reached us and put his arm around my shoulders.
“Didn’t know you’d met my daughter.”
Cam went completely still.
His eyes came back to mine.
“Your daughter?”
I smiled sweetly.
“Surprise.”
Dad looked between us.
“You two know each other?”
“Just met,” Cam said.
His eyes stayed on me.
And something about the way he said it made my stomach flip.
I ignored that.
Because now I knew exactly who he was.
Cam Rhodes.
Professional baseball player.
Which made this incredibly simple.
He could be gorgeous.
He could have those ridiculous green eyes.
He could smile at me all he wanted.
It didn’t matter.
I had one rule.
I didn’t date baseball players.
Ever.
