Free Starting From Scratch by Georgia Beers Page B

wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
    “Eight of them.”
    “Jesus Christ, Maddie.”
    e fact that I didn’t tell her to go to hell was all the
    encouragement she needed and she grabbed on with both
    hands. “Just look. at’s all I’m asking. ere are a couple
    you’ll definitely cringe at, but there are also a couple that
    you might find…appealing.”
    It didn’t make me happy to realize that she’d piqued
    my curiosity, so I sat quietly for several long moments,
    staring at the crimson-purple beauty of the wine in my
    glass as I turned it slowly, my fingers on the base. “And
    how long has my profile been up?”
    Maddie threw me a grin of self-satisfaction. “Less
    than twenty-four hours.”
    Eight responses in less than twenty-four hours? at
    was good, wasn’t it? I had no way of knowing. Maybe it
    was a spectacular failure. But eight interested parties
    seemed like a lot to me. Eight lesbians who wanted to get
    71
    Georgia Beers
    to know more about me? To explore the idea of dating me?
    To say that didn’t appeal to my ego would have been a lie,
    but at the same time I didn’t want to let Maddie off the
    hook quite that easily.
    I began my tirade. “You were so out of line.”
    “I know. I’m sorry.”
    “I don’t even have the right adjectives to describe how
    out of line you were.”
    Maddie nodded soberly. “I know. J.T. told me. But in
    my defense—”
    I cut her off with an upheld hand. “No. No, you don’t
    get a defense here. Next time, listen to your wife. I don’t
    care how bored you were. You had no right. You’re not my
    pimp.”
    She winced at my choice of words, but didn’t object.
    “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
    “You should be.”
    We sat in silence for long moments, sipping our wine
    and not looking at one another. Maddie spoke first.
    “So, when do you want to look at the responses?”
    “How about after the game tomorrow?”
    “Cool.”
    Behind me at the sink, I was certain I heard J.T. snort.
    72

CHAPTER EIGHT
    I thought it would be kind of weird to have Maddie at
    the game, since she’s used to coaching and I was a little
    insecure about the job I’d been doing, but it was actually
    good. She gave me some pointers as she crutched around,
    suggested ways to help me get the kids to focus a bit more
    on the ins and outs of the game, and was incredibly
    encouraging for the players. ey warmed right up to her
    and I think Gabriel developed an immediate crush,
    carrying things for her and picking items up off the ground
    that she couldn’t reach.
    “J.T.’s going to be so jealous,” I muttered to her at one
    point as he took his turn at bat, tossing a happy glance in
    Maddie’s direction to make sure she was watching.
    “Maybe. But I think he could take her,” she responded
    with a grin.
    Also hoping to show off his prowess at the plate for
    somebody was Max. I was disappointed that Elena was
    nowhere to be found and instead, Cindy was in the
    bleachers. As usual, she was engrossed in her electronic
    device, alternately punching buttons with her thumbs and
    then smiling as an apparent response showed up. I don’t
    know how many times she actually looked up to watch her
    son, but judging by the disenchanted expression on his face
    Georgia Beers
    and his inability to make much contact at all with the ball,
    I guessed the answer was not many.
    He plopped down on the bench next to me with a
    frustrated sigh and I ruffled his dark hair.
    “Don’t worry, buddy. You’ll get it.”
    He shrugged, telling me he didn’t believe me.
    “Hey, where’s your other mom?” I tamped down the
    little voice that scolded me for pumping a six-year-old for
    information on my eye candy.
    “She had to work.”
    “Well, maybe she’ll come to the next game.”
    He shrugged again and added a pout.
    We only played five innings; that was about all the
    kids’ attention span would allow. Despite the fact that we
    didn’t officially keep score, I knew we lost by about