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

but it hadn’t stuck. He could, however, tell the difference between a zucchini and a squash, so that was something.
    JP followed her inside and let out a soft whistle. It was a pretty slick setup she had, and the décor was fun and simple. He knocked into an oversized wooden giraffe by the door and a grey hat fell to the floor. While bending down to pick it up he scoped a look at Sonny’s ass and felt the warmth of arousal start to heat his blood. The woman had about the shapeliest butt he’d ever had the pleasure of seeing.
    Straightening, he placed the mobster-style hat back on the giraffe and tilted it over one eye for effect. Give the thing a zoot suit and Thompson machine gun and it had a real chance at showbiz. He said as much to Sonny and she laughed.
    Her laughter was infectious and he was so damn proud of himself for making her do it that he found himself grinning back at her like a fool. He would prostrate himself on the altar of her dignity anytime if it made her do that again. Hell, he’d dress up in a zoot suit himself, because when she laughed the whole world seemed lighter.
    JP LOOKED AWFULLY proud of himself, Sonny thought as she pulled some fresh milk from the fridge. Still grinning over his comment, she handed him the old-fashioned glass jug. “This is from early this morning. I’m actually not supposed to sell raw unpasteurized goat milk for human consumption per FDA regulations, and my license doesn’t include it, so you can just have it.”
    He reached out and took the jug, his fingertips brushing against her hand and leaving a trail of tingling nerves in their wake. His brows pulled low and he seemed uncertain. “Are you sure?”
    Absolutely. Some rules she just didn’t break. “Yep. It’s all yours.”
    “Thanks.”
    His eyes locked on hers, the gorgeous warm honey of them making her knees weak. That single-minded focus of his was as disconcerting as it was intoxicating. And it made her wonder what it would be like to have that focus on her in another way. A naked way. He had the kind of bedroom eyes that promised heaven could be found with him, should she be tempted. It ought to be illegal for a man to possess eyes like his.
    Against her better judgment, Sonny discovered she was tempted. Heat pooled low in her belly and she could feel herself getting wet. It’d been so long for her that she’d almost been swept away by the sensation before she’d recognized it. And when her gaze dropped to his mouth, she heard his deep intake of breath and quickly looked away.
    What was she doing being tempted by JP? She blamed Janie for this. Her best friend’s words echoed in her head. Kissing. You should be doing a whole lotta kissing. The not-so-subliminal message was playing in her head like a song stuck on repeat.
    Suddenly the room closed in and his large, toned frame took up the entire space. All she could see were broad shoulders, sculpted arms, hard pecs, and flat abs. She was afraid to look any lower. The way she was feeling right now, if she saw that he had an erection she might be inclined to do something with it.
    And that would be about as stupid as dirt, because he was off limits. Besides, everybody and their dog knew that she was an idiot when it came to men. As soon as she’d been naked with one, all her issues and insecurities rose to the surface and she became all kinds of dysfunctional crazy—pushing them away and creating roadblock after roadblock.
    Which was why she hadn’t been with a man in over five years. Charlie had been just a preschooler the one and only time she’d ventured into relationship territory. She’d thought it was love and he’d proved different. The end result had been so bad that she’d swore it would never happen again.
    Because truth was she couldn’t be trusted.
    All the therapy in Colorado wouldn’t change that fact. Some things were just in people’s natures. Being relationship-challenged was in hers.
    Good thing for her that JP was a famous