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Everett’s face lit up with a grin. “Seth’s fast. No doubt about it. But in short bursts. From one base to another, or even all the way around the diamond, but he’s gassed after that. This,” he waved at the outfield where the soccer field was set up, “is a totally different kind of cardio.”

Everyone except Wes and Rhett were puffing air. They were the only two following the Tangerines up and down the field, play after play, without getting winded. “I take it Wes and Rhett have different training methods?”

“Wes is a runner and he’s good at pacing himself. Catchers have to be smart like that. And this is Rhett’s world right here. This is centerfield. He runs the whole length of this day in and day out. Plus his girlfriend is a professional cyclist and I think she’s changed up some of his training.”

“Looks like Ryan is changing up Seth’s training as we speak,” Mei chuckled. “I haven’t seen her this excited…ever.”

And Seth seemed to be wavering between frustration and challenge. Probably a good mindset for him, all things considered.

“Ev?”

Everett froze and his eyes went wide at the sound of the soft, feminine voice. We all turned around to find a petite woman with long, wavy brown hair and bright eyes looking expectantly at Everett. Her long skirt billowed around her ankles from the air conditioning pumping air.

“Willa! What are you doing here?” He ran over and scooped her up. They laughed and she patted him on the back.

“I told you Seth invited me.”

He shook his head. “I thought one day down the line, not today. How are you?”

She glanced past him at us. “Hi! I’m Willa Cooper.”

He shoved his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “Oh shit. Yeah. This is Mei,” he waved his hand toward Mei, then at me, “and this is Kate James, who also happens to be Isaac’s girlfriend.”

One eyebrow arched up in surprise and curiosity. “Really? That’s amazing! I’m so glad to meet you.” She rushed forward and shook my hand enthusiastically. “I’m so happy he’s found someone. I love him and he deserves it.”

Whoever Willa was, she certainly knew the Anson brothers well. And Seth, if he invited her here. Was she a girlfriend? An ex? I wanted to ask a million questions but before I could, a bunch of shouts turned us back around in time to see Isaac shock Jeri by dribbling the ball deftly around her and kicking a goal.

I clapped and cheered for my boyfriend. “See? I told you he’d swim.”

Once Jeri picked her jaw up off the artificial turf she cheered too, clapped Isaac on the back and slung one arm over his shoulder, talking to him like he was an old friend.

Meanwhile Ryan still had Seth twisted in knots, which was pretty fun to see. Her handling of the frustrated left fielder continued for the rest of the combined practice. She matched him at base running—which pissed him off—and picked up batting very quickly. Seth, the home run king of the team, didn’t hit a single one and ended up whiffing several.

By the end he seemed to have accepted that it wasn’t his day. But it wasn’t resignation. No, instead I would call it a challenge. And Seth was excited about that.

Isaac endeared himself to all my friends and each gave him a big hug before leaving, making him promise he wouldn’t miss dinner tonight.

Jeri stopped to hug me. “Why don’t you bring his brother, too? And Seth? It would be fun to watch him torment Ryan some more.”

“Torment Ryan? I thought it was the other way around.”

She shrugged. “It’s fun either way. Bring whoever. The more the merrier.” She laid a kiss on Mei’s cheek. “See you tonight!”

In the end I brought a small contingent to Jeri’s. Rhett came with his girlfriend, Hope. Everett, Seth, and Willa joined too. Seth and Willa were definitely not dating. Aside from Jeri, Ryan, Nan, and Phoebe, there was another familiar face I hadn’t expected.

“Hey June!” The trainer raised her wine glass in greeting.

“Come meet my husband. Roman, this is Kate.”

He shook my hand firmly. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Welcome to the family.”

I, in turn, introduced Isaac, but that turned out to be unnecessary because they already knew each other. “Roman’s an agent now. He reps a lot of our guys and I’m guessing some of the girls here, too.” Roman nodded. “And back in the day we clashed on a few fields.”

“A lifetime ago, my friend.” Roman was a hottie. Clearly a former athlete, dark hair and eyes, great clothes.

“Cheers to that,” Isaac said, clinking his beer against Roman’s.

The party was pretty informal. Food was laid out all over the kitchen, music played in the background, and people sat in clusters eating and talking. Isaac made Jeri laugh then got pulled into a conversation with Mei and Phoebe.