Playing the Field: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel by Jennifer Seasons

relationships were more than sex. Oh, it was a big part of them and he wanted it with Sonny in the worst way. No doubt about that.
    But he also wanted something real.
    That’s probably part of the reason why he was so attracted to Sonny. Everything about her was real.
    And that’s why he was there at her place, planning on buying milk that he didn’t need so that she’d get used to him being around. He’d even contemplated a dairy allergy as his excuse, but decided against it. Lying to her didn’t seem right.
    Instead, he was going to stick with the premise that her milk might be better on his body, and since he was a jock, his body being in peak performance was essential. All of that was true. But it didn’t mean he was actually going to drink the stuff. Goat milk had a funky taste.
    That was the part he was going to omit.
    He reached the women and stopped, giving them a grin. “Hey.” Taking off his shades, he stretched out a hand toward Sonny’s friend. “I’m JP.”
    She fumbled a little with the toddler until a hand was free and smiled wide. “Nice to meet you. I’m Janie, and this is Kelly.”
    JP saw the girl stare shyly at him while her head rested on her mom’s shoulder. “Cute kid.”
    “Thanks.”
    He watched as Janie turned to Sonny and said, “I’ve got to run, lady. Thanks again for the tray. I’ll call you tomorrow and give you the rundown on how things went.”
    With that she grabbed a silver tray from Sonny and she and the toddler hustled off, leaving JP all alone with his dream woman.
    He thought of something. “Where’s Charlie?”
    Sonny stared at Janie’s retreating back over his shoulder, her expression a little desperate. “He’s at a play date with his best friend Sam.”
    Meaning: they were completely and utterly alone.
    A big part of him—the part with a case of the hot and horny, according to Drake—wanted to take advantage of the alone time to press her. But he wasn’t ruled by his dick, and he had a few brain cells, so he threw that idea out the window real quick.
    Hoping to put her at ease, he hooked his thumbs in the front pocket of his jeans and said, “How’s that work with his diabetes?” He actually did want to know.
    She probably didn’t even realize it, but her eyes dropped to where his thumbs were—right smack on the front of his pants. On second thought, the way color rushed to her face, he’d have to guess that she did know it. And he liked that she knew it. It meant that Sonny wasn’t immune to him.
    Quickly averting her gaze, she cleared her throat and replied, “It’s not a big deal. Cheryl, Sam’s mom, knows how to handle his shots and how to check his blood sugar. But really, Charlie’s super responsible with it. I think the fear of what could happen to him if he doesn’t take care of himself scares the pee out of him. Because of that he’s incredibly vigilant. It’s been months since I’ve even had to nag him to check his glucose before it was time to eat.”
    JP was impressed. “That’s sounds awful grown-up for a ten year old.”
    Talking about her son put a smile on her face and softened her features. Sonny really was a beautiful woman. “Tell me about it. Now if I can only get him to empty his pockets before he throws his pants in the wash.”
    Half the time JP forgot to do that too. “Good luck with that one, sunshine. Us guys love to forget that we shoved a ton of crap in them.”
    “I’m sure. He’s going to be bummed he missed you, by the way. But he’ll see you tomorrow at the game.” She gestured over her shoulder at the small brick building behind her. “The milk is in my workspace here.”
    Her workspace had some sort of dark purple flower growing all over it. If he was a chick he’d have thought it was beautiful and gone on about the aesthetics of it. Since he was a guy he settled for “nice.”
    His mom, the gardening guru, would be sadly disappointed at his lack of botanical knowledge. She’d tried to teach him,