He had returned to being disarming and noble, but for the first time Amanda felt like it was contrived.

“Those sound like wonderfully romantic intentions,” she said.

“Most women would think they are.”

“Then why do I suddenly feel like we’re in the middle of a showdown?”

“Because stubborn is your middle name,” he grumbled, looking away and asking himself when exactly coward had become his.

Amanda felt his tension. It had to be hard for him, being shot down in such a fashion, especially when he was offering her something that would appear to be the ultimate in spoiling to anyone else. She approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her forehead on his chest until he returned the embrace and relaxed.

“It’s moving too fast,” she told him honestly.

Chase wanted to yell that her excuse was lame, they had been moving at a snail’s pace since they met. He wanted to bellow until the walls came down how dare she refuse him and the real reason he made the offer was because she was too genteel to give him what he wanted, and it seemed like the only viable solution. He wanted to follow that up by forcefully taking it, with her kicking and screaming until she submitted to him. He wished he had the strength to go and seek what she withheld from another avenue. But he was caught within her web of beauty and desire. He took her head in his hands and tilted it up toward his, praying that none of his thoughts was conveyed through his eyes.

“I understand,” he told her before lowering his lips to hers and taking her right there on his couch, without bothering to remove her clothes.

He left for Arizona the next day without her and embarked on the worst play of his baseball career. He made several errors, lost all focus and timing at the plate. The ball seemed to be in the catcher’s mitt before he even started to swing. His all-star average started dropping rapidly and there was a real danger of losing his spot in the batting order.

It didn’t take long before the conundrum began overshadowing his every waking thought. Overcautious soon turned into temperamental. There was nowhere for him to find release. He didn’t want to blame her, so instead became moody whenever they were alone. He was aggressive and demanding when they made love. Amada felt guilty although she wasn’t sure why. There was something wrong between them that she could reach out and touch, but he wouldn’t let her in or share it.

After two weeks of his increasing alienation and an agonizing Tuesday night of watching him struggle at the plate, Amanda had had enough. They went back to his apartment and his sulking continued.

“Chase, I’m tired of playing this game. Trying to figure out what’s wrong with you. You’ve been checked out for, like, a week now. Your strained politeness is starting to get on my nerves. If I’ve done something wrong, just tell me.”

The only thing she had done wrong was become his obsession. And she had just caught him obsessing how because of her, his life was now out of control.

“I’m not always in front of a camera, Amanda. I don’t always have to be on, do I? I’m in a slump; it puts me in a bad mood.” Slump. Shit. He said it. It had just slipped out. He wasn’t ready to give voice to it yet. Once he acknowledged it, it was free to run roughshod over him until he confronted what it was that caused it. But if he had that confrontation and it played out wrong, he could end up losing it all. He didn’t want to confront it, even though it was standing right in front of him. But stripping it naked and making love to it wasn’t going to solve the problem, either. He wanted to share his deepest, darkest secrets with her, but he had waited too long to take the risk. He was so far beyond that now. He needed her, ached for her above all else. And he didn’t want to tell her like this, with hostility the motivating undercurrent.

“Funny how you used the word slump there,” she said, tuning right into his superstition.

His voice took on more of an edge. “It’s a baseball term, for times when a player isn’t hitting the ball.”

“Yes, I know. Ever have one before?”

“Not that I can remember,” he grumbled irritably.

“Didn’t you once tell me that slumps often occur with major changes?”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you have a girlfriend. That’s pretty major. I think I heard someone call me Jessica Simpson the other day. That just won’t do, I’d have to stop wearing her line. Maybe we should cut back on some of the time we spend together?”

She didn’t really want to be without him. The thought alone was a depressing one. But maybe he was ready for a change and didn’t know how to tell her. She could test him with the opportunity and see if he made any move toward it; then all she’d have to make was a heartbreaking decision. She had no intention of being his hometown stadium girl as he coasted from city to city. And if all he needed was some alone time to get him back on his game, she was willing to make the sacrifice. Anything would be better than the cloud of surly that now followed them around.

“Out of the question,” he instantly rebuffed, more like a bark, as if she were daft for making the suggestion.

“Thanks for giving it consideration,” she replied with a touch of sarcasm.

“I don’t need to consider it,” Chase continued heatedly. “It’s not going to make things better. If you were really concerned about helping me out, you’d start packing your bags.”

He wasn’t talking about breaking up with her. And she really was flattered that he wanted her so close. “I worked really hard to build up the Cold Creek,” she said, trying to let him down easy and keep him from getting further agitated. It was the first time he’d mentioned it since he brought it up the first time.

“I know you did,” he admitted, trying not to convey the built-up resentment. “I’m not insisting on it, am I? You asked me what’s wrong, I’m telling you.”

“Insisting?” Amanda blinked indignantly. “When did I give you that sort of license?”

“You didn’t,” he quickly clarified angrily. “I just couldn’t think of a better word. Don’t read into it.”

“So the alternative is I get to deal with your bad mood till you spank one out of the park?”

Spank. One out of the park. When one of the guys on SportsCenter said it, it didn’t have the same effect. But she had introduced it into conversation and so casually. The one word he’d been thinking all night. The word he imagined he heard coming from her lips on a daily basis. But she was being rational and capable. She wasn’t saying it to turn him on. She wasn’t trying to antagonize him, either. He knew he was acting off. Why didn’t he just come out and tell her? Because he needed to believe he was bigger than his secret. He couldn’t bear the thought of her reaction if she wasn’t into it. The look of distaste or, worse yet, revulsion as her opinion of him diminished right before his eyes. Or the capper being she indulged him and then cut him loose after labeling him a pervert. For the first time in his adult life, he questioned his ability to make the right decision.

“It’s probably best if I take you home,” he said abruptly, rising from the couch where they’d been sitting to retrieve his keys. “I don’t think either of us is having a good time.”

“Chase, I don’t work for you. You’re not allowed to dismiss me when you don’t like what I have to say.”

“I’m not dismissing you I’m trying to spare us the aggravation of a useless argument, and give us both a chance to cool off.”

“But I’m not mad,” Amanda said slowly and deliberately, feeling as though she had pieced together a puzzle. “This is about me not willing to follow you around, isn’t it? You’re mad because you’re not getting what you want. What would you have me do, Chase? Show up at the Cold Creek tomorrow and tell thirty people they’re out of work because their boss decided to close the place and follow around her favorite baseball player? I realize that they’re not as important as you, but their families think they’re pretty special and are depending on them. And while I’m not an important cog in the world dynamic either, if I don’t show up, the place can’t stay open.”

She was completely right and he knew it, and it only irritated him further. His alternate excuse for being distracted wasn’t sounding much better than his real one.

“I’m trying to be a gentleman here,” he growled. “But I’m warning you, if you push this, you’re going to find yourself someplace you don’t want to be.”

“I’m already someplace I don’t want to be. You know that place where you always want me around only to shut me out, all with your cool courteousness? This certainly makes me want to give up my career and be at your beck and call, although I don’t know what Jack will do with all the free time now that he won’t be spying on me anymore.”

Chase had positioned his most trusted security at the restaurant in response to some threatening jeers from the stands referencing why his head wasn’t in the game. He knew Jack wasn’t exactly inconspicuous or personable, but the last thing he needed was her questioning him on it, given she inadvertently was the cause.

“He’s not spying on you.” Chase could feel his teeth starting to grind. “He’s there to protect you when I can’t be there.”

“I never knew I needed protecting until I met you.”

“Don’t be childish, Amanda. There are people out there who are truly crazy, take it all too seriously, and know exactly where to find you. Why do you think I have them?”

Childish? Amanda thought, enraged. If anyone was acting like a spoiled child it was him, only he was hiding behind all his gallantry and nebulous attempts to scare her. “I have an idea,” Amanda said with overzealous sarcasm as she rose in agreement to call it a night. “Why don’t you blame your slump on me? Looks like you’re doing it anyway. Tell your coach you’re not getting enough rest because I’m not there to suck your dick when you’re on the road, and it’s throwing your timing off.”

Amanda knew she struck a nerve when his face immediately fell in response to the shock of her crudeness. “What did you just say to me?”

Sparked by her own gumption and charged by his reaction, Amanda switched course. Spitting out the obscenity felt good; so did watching the drastic and sudden change in his disposition. It was one moment where he looked dark and primal and about to lose control, then successfully reeled it back in. Clearly he wasn’t used to being spoken to like that, probably by anybody. There was an exhilaration that came with seeing him go from considerate and polite to as frustrated as she was. If they were going to have their first fight, they might as well have it. Finally, she was getting a glimpse of what in all probability was his flaw and could begin to view their relationship from a level playing field. And that flaw was he expected her to agree and go along with whatever he thought was important. Apparently, he also expected her to saddle the blame when his rose-colored glasses got fogged up. How he acted when he didn’t get his way and she called him on it spoke volumes. If he thought he was going to manipulate her with great sex and an abundance of cash, she was going to set him straight here and now. Closing the distance between them, Amanda stood confrontationally in front of him. With her hands planted on her hips, she recklessly continued. “You heard me. You can tell everyone at your next press conference that you’re not making your numbers because your latest fling is fucking all the power out of you with her voodoo pussy.”

And just like that, she triggered him. Her vulgarity was not only deplorable but completely unexpected and he instinctively reacted to it. With well-honed reflexes, Chase grabbed her upper arm and spun her halfway around. Seconds later, she felt the stinging slap of his free hand connecting smartly with the right side of her behind.

“OH!” Amanda squealed with surprise and indignation, trying to pull herself out of his grip.

His hand swung again and her left side received the same stinging treatment. Then, with her arm still solidly in his grasp, Chase began to march her in the direction of his bedroom. She planted her heels into the hardwood floor in protest, her bare feet sticking on the thick shine and acting as a momentary stopper against his momentum. Further determined, he effortlessly hoisted her over his shoulder, applying another well-placed swat. He bore her the rest of the way down the hall, with Amanda pounding his broad back and swearing at him with every step. He slammed the bedroom door shut with a backward kick. When in his room, he set her down briefly.