Free Second Thoughts: A Hot Baseball Romance by Mindy Klasky Page B

was strictly necessary, Jamie settled on the living room couch, curling her feet beneath her. She picked up her computer from the edge of the coffee table. Maybe she’d play a few rounds of an online game, lull her brain to sleep with pure animated boredom.
    Her fingers moved of their own accord, though. The TrueLove site looked bright and cheerful. The “Welcome, Shygirl6!” message made her breath come faster, especially when she saw the pulsing heart icon over her inbox. She had one message. A quick glance confirmed it was from RoadWarrior.
    She thought about deleting it unread. Her rapid heartbeat was reason enough—she didn’t need to do this to herself, didn’t need to get her hopes up. She should just log out of the account, let it lapse at the end of the month, tell Ashley she’d tried, but TrueLove just wasn’t for her.
    She clicked on her inbox.
    “Sorry,” RoadWarrior had written. “Things got insane at the office. I got called out of town at the last minute, a command performance I couldn’t break away from.”
    She shook her head. It was stupid to get involved with a workaholic.
    But she had to be realistic. There were plenty of times she’d gotten wrapped up in her own job, let things slide for a weekend or even longer. Hell, when Olivia had one of her ear infections, Jamie could lose an entire week. The guy deserved a second chance.
    “How are you going to make it up to me?” She clicked Send before she could second-guess herself.
    Her computer chimed before she could open one of her games. “That depends. Flowers are too obvious. A greeting card isn’t personal. And I want to be personal, if you’ll give me half a chance.”
    Damn. The sudden pulse between her thighs told her she was willing to give him more than that. What was it about this guy? Maybe she was just turned on by the anonymity of TrueLove. She could type anything she wanted, and she didn’t have to be ashamed. The online forum was like an extension of the music clubs she’d loved in New York. There, she’d hidden herself behind leather and steel-studded belts, behind her camera. Here, she was protected by her keyboard.
    Taking a steadying breath, she typed, “You never did tell me your idea of a perfect first date.”
    There was a pause before another chime told her he’d responded. “There’s no such thing as a perfect first date. We’re always too aware of the potential. Too afraid we’ll fail.”
    “That’s a cop-out!”
    “Dinner,” he wrote, so quickly that she laughed out loud. He followed up with, “We’ll skip dessert and find a place with live music, not to dance, but to listen. And after listening…”
    He trailed off, but she had no problem completing the thought in her own mind. After listening, he’d ask her back to his place. She’d refuse, of course, because she had a babysitter waiting.
    She tried again. After listening, they’d head to his car, where they’d make out like a pair of hormone-crazed teenagers.
    Not a lot better. All right, then… After listening, she’d invite him back here.
    But Olivia would be here. Olivia, who’d never met one of the men she’d dated—not a huge sacrifice on Jamie’s part, because not one of those dates had progressed to a second or third or, God-forbid, fourth night out, but still…
    “How am I doing so far?” RoadWarrior wrote.
    She shook her head. She was going to lose him if she couldn’t even concentrate long enough to respond to his message. “Not bad,” she said. “Maybe we could start at a museum before dinner. Or an art gallery.”
    A pause, and she wondered if she’d blown it. He clearly was waiting for her to come up with some sexy after-dinner fun. Hell, she wanted to come up with some sexy after-dinner fun, even if she blushed just thinking about typing the words. He finally responded, “I don’t know anything about art. But you could teach me. And after listening…”
    She laughed. “You’re incorrigible!”
    “Pretty