The Heat Is On Read Online Free Page B

to him.
    Crap
. It was just like that day years ago when she felt him looking at her in college. She was coming out of the library, buried in books, when his eyes seared into hers and he gave her that megawatt grin. The books promptly hit the grass, and she’d cringed in embarrassment as he stooped to help her pick them up.
    What was it about this man, that his smoldering glance still made her weak in the knees?
    She was still feeling it, that same crazy attraction, and she fanned her face with a napkin as the singer struck the high notes. When she got to the part about the bombs bursting in air, she had to hide a smile. It described perfectly what was going on inside her.
    And that was just from asking for an autograph.
What would she do if she were in his arms?
    The ache in the pit of her stomach returned as she reminded herself that he’d left her once before. Baseball had taken him away, had been more important. Even though she’d understood, the loss was like a gaping hole in her heart that nothing could fill, and certainly not something she’d like to experience again…
    When the song was finished, Tracy took her seat, grateful for the few moments to pull herself together.
Nothing is going to happen,
she told herself firmly. Too many things had changed, too much time had passed. And if she needed any further convincing, all she had to do was look at the four little heads beside her.
    Four little heads she hadn’t mentioned to him
.
    Guilt consumed her and she tried to rationalize. There hadn’t been time, she really didn’t want to explain all that in the few minutes it took to get the autograph. Yet she could have easily said that Mason was her son when he asked her directly.
    Instead, she’d flirted with him…
    What was wrong with her? She shook her head in disgust. She was acting like a teenager all over again. And although she didn’t want to remember, as she fingered the gold heart necklace she still wore beneath her T-shirt, she couldn’t help the images that flooded through her mind:
    Snuggling in bed with Connor as he explained the game and his strategy.
    Watching him play, going to his games, and cheering her heart out.
    Making love to him in the backseat of his Chevy, shattering beneath him as he expertly brought her over the edge…
    “Mommy, I have to go to the bafroom.”
    She grinned. “Okay, let’s go.” She reached for Mason’s hand, and led him and Chloe to the family restroom.
    So much for romance.
    —
    A thunderous cheer broke out as she helped Chloe wash her hands. “Hurry up!” She tried to usher the kids along. “Something good is happening.”
    “Come on, Chloe!” Mason tried to rush his sister along, but she was determinedly rubbing her hands together under the dryer. The ragged
Frozen
princess costume got wet, and that had to be dried as well.
    “Chloe!” Mason stamped his foot impatiently.
    “All wight!” She rolled her eyes in resignation, and then wiped her hands on his pants.
    “Hey!” Mason rounded on her, but Tracy stepped between them and deftly picked up her daughter, escorting them both back to their seats.
    “You missed it,” her father said, taking Chloe and indicating the field. “Jake threw a bullet to first base for a double play.”
    The crowd was still cheering. Distributing her plastic snack bags, she got the children settled and was able to once more focus on the game.
    Connor squatted and signaled for a curveball. Chase sent the pitch over the outside corner of the plate, but the batter nailed it over the left field fence for a home run.
    The next pitch was a slider, and Chase got the third out. But the crowd was merciless, and let the Sonics know in no uncertain terms that they were not thrilled to see a run posted by the hated Yankees.
    “Tough break,” her father commented, shaking his head. “It was a decent pitch. Too bad the guy nailed it.”
    Tracy and the kids lasted until the seventh inning. By then they had exhausted all of the