Free Thrown by a Curve by Jaci Burton

grabbed her coat. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then. Thanks again for the pizza.”
    She was out the door like someone with superpowers, tossing him a wave over her head as she dashed to her car.
    He lingered at the door after she pulled out of the driveway, needing the cold blast of air to cool him down.
    Dumb move, Garrett.
The last thing he needed was to get involved with Alicia. Or even think about her in any way other than as his therapist.
    And now he was going to spend the weekend with her.
    Great.

SIX
    THIS WAS WHAT ALICIA GOT FOR OPENING HER MOUTH and butting in.
    If she hadn’t pushed Garrett about reconnecting with his friends, she could have had a weekend off. Instead, she was working this weekend. And not only was she working, she was heading to a strange city with someone she really didn’t know that well, to meet a bunch of other people she didn’t know at all.
    Sounded like fun. Then again, she’d always thrived on adventure, so she decided she was going to look on this as a new undertaking. Besides, she was supposed to be working every day on Garrett’s arm until he was able to take the mound, so he’d been right when he said she would have to start following him around wherever he went.
    No pressure there or anything. And to add to that, the other night in his kitchen he had looked at her in a way she was sure had crossed the line from professional into something dangerously personal. She could have sworn that he’d wanted to kiss her. And since she had looked at him the same way, had felt a sudden physical chemistry with him that had nothing to do with the business of therapy, she’d hightailed it out of there before she’d done something really stupid, like let him kiss her.
    That would have been disastrous.
    But it also likely would have been very, very good. She couldn’t help looking at his mouth. Garrett had an amazing, full bottom lip that just begged to be kissed. She wanted to tug at it with her teeth then rub her cheek against the stubble of beard that always seemed to pepper his lower jaw.
    She wondered how that slight beard would feel rubbing against her thighs.
    Heating at the thought, she spared a glance at him as he drove them down the turnpike. They’d been on the road for eight hours, she was tired, her butt was numb, and Garrett had been strangely quiet the entire time.
    Her fantasizing about his mouth—and that jaw of his—wasn’t helping matters any.
    “How’s the shoulder doing?” she asked, deciding to put her thoughts to more businesslike use.
    He glanced her way. “It’s fine, thanks.”
    “Do you need me to drive?”
    He snorted. “No. I think I’ve got this.”
    “You don’t have to get all manly on me. I’m perfectly capable of sharing the driving duties.”
    “And I’d be white knuckling it the whole time. I prefer to drive.”
    She arched a brow. “You’ve been in the car with me. I’m a very good driver.”
    “You drive like an old lady.”
    She gasped. “I do not.”
    He laughed. “Yes, you do. All careful, driving the speed limit, both hands on the wheel.”
    He was making fun of her. But he sure looked hot behind the wheel with his dark shades and his big body occupying the driver’s seat of his SUV. She was so used to her very ancient compact car, this was like being in some luxury tank with leather seats, a great sound system, and a navigation system. And since the scenery along the way was nice and Garrett was content to do the driving, she leaned back in the seat and enjoyed the view.
    Since they’d gotten up early and she hadn’t slept much the night before, she was sleepy and drifted off. When she woke, Garrett was pulling into a gas station. She stretched and climbed out of the car to use the restroom and grab something to drink. He followed her inside, got a drink for himself along with a few snacks.
    She peered into the bag he handed her after he paid for their stuff.
    “Chips and a candy bar?”
    “Road food,” he said as