Maid For Beckett Catching The Baseball Legend’s Heart novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

-Andi-

019

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Siobhan and I tried to continue our girly date like nothing had happened. I forced myself to smile, to laugh at Siobhan’s jokes, to pretend my heart wasn’t bruised and pulsing in my chest, like Carter hadn’t just ruined our perfect date and cracked open memories I’d cemented shut.

We wandered around the mall, bags in hand–mostly her stuff, one tiny thrifted blouse for me. I clutched my little paper bag a bit too tightly, grounding myself with the scratchy edge digging into my palm. Somehow, Siobhan managed to talk me into sitting down for coffee.

“This is nice, right?” She said, stirring her iced latte with an unnecessary enthusiasm that only she could pull off.

“Yeah,” I smiled, even if it trembled at the edges. “It is.”

And it really was. For once, I wasn’t working. I wasn’t worrying about Mom’s meds or Caleb’s food or survival. I was… being a girl, going on a girl date, laughing, existing, and being seen by another human being outside my family.

I tried to shove Carter’s face to the back of my mind. Tried to erase the words he’d said. Tried to forget the way my body reacted stupidly soft before my brain screamed at me to stop. My fingers tapped against my cup, anything to stay anchored.

Siobhan kept talking about everything: clothes, about clients, about work, and I nodded along, grateful for every second she filled the space for me.

“Earth to Andi.” She snapped her fingers in front of me. This was the second time since we sat down.

I blinked, cheeks heating up. “Sorry, what was it again?”

She sighed and straightened her spine. “Look. You can’t let Carter ruin your day… our day.”

Guilt clutched my throat tightly. She was right. I shouldn’t let Carter ruin my day. I was having a day off for the first time. A real freaking day off, where I didn’t have to worry about whether I still had work tomorrow.

“Uhm, since we’re talking about our day… why are you out on a date with me?” I asked, finally stepping back into the present. “Don’t you have work at the office?”

It was Wednesday, a work week, and Siobhan had been with me since lunchtime. It’s already late afternoon now.

Siobhan visibly released a knot in the back of her neck. Whether it was from me being mentally absent again or from my question, I wasn’t sure. “Because, Andi…” she took a sip of her drink, “you are not the only one who didn’t have a life outside

of work.”

Her revelation took me by surprise.

“In my line of work, it’s hard to find anyone who genuinely sees me,” she added. “Like really, really see me as a human being, and not someone they use to meet some celebrity players”

And here I was, zoning out. Again. Guilt squeezed my chest so tightly I let out a huge breath. I’m not so good at this, Siobhan. I’m sorry for letting Carter ruin our day”

“What?!” she blurted out. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. Well–kind of–but I didn’t mean for you to feel bad. Stupid exes could ruin any good day for sure.”

I giggled at her rambling. I doubted any man would be stupid enough to let someone like Siobhan slip out of their grasp, Should I ask about her love life? Was that too personal? I wasn’t sure. A debate took over my brain, and that’s when her

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Chapter 21

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phone started pinging. Not once. Not twice. A barrage. Ping. Ping. Ping. It was rapid, shrill, urgent.

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Siobhan froze. Her earthy eyes widened, her whole body tensing as if she’d seen a ghost and couldn’t move. Her phone hovered halfway to her face. Her lips parted slowly.

Then-

‘Oh, my God.”

My stomach dipped. “Why? What happened?”

She didn’t answer at first. She just turned the screen toward me with shaking fingers.

I couldn’t read the tiny caption from where I sat, but I didn’t need to. My stomach fell straight through the floor.

would recognize myself anywhere–even turned sideways, blurred out, or caught from behind. I snatched her phone and tared at the image vigorously, breath trapped in my lungs.

t was me. And Carter.

The photo was taken from outside the thrift store–us standing inside, facing each other. Frozen at the exact moment he ifted his hand. I remembered stepping back before he could touch me, but in this picture? It looked like I was leaning into him. Like I wanted the hug.

It looked bad. Really bad.

And the caption was even worse.

Mystery Girl spotted with Rising Baseball Superstar Carter Benette.

The blood drained from my body so fast I felt lightheaded. I gripped the table because the world tilted dangerously to the side.

‘No… no, no, no.” My voice cracked. “Siobhan–no.”

I tried to breathe, but the air got stuck somewhere in my ribs. My vision blurred around the edges. My skin prickled cold.

This couldn’t be happening. My face might not have been clear in that picture, but I knew how social media trolls worked. They would find me one way or another. It was merely a matter of when.

I dropped Siobhan’s phone on the table. It made a loud clack, I might have broken it, but that was the least of my concerns.

This was a disaster.

Siobhan picked up her phone again, scrolling. Her eyes darted across the screen, widening with every swipe. She bit her lower lip until it turned pale.

Siobhan always had something to say. Always, but now? She just stared. A lot of staring. Too much.

“Is it that bad?” I pried, even though the dread had already made a home in my bones.

She hesitated. Those brown eyes couldn’t lie to me. She tried, but she couldn’t hide how massive a mess this was.

“I want to know. Tell me,” I urged, even though a part of me wanted her to lie and say it wasn’t that bad.

She started reading the comments aloud. And with every word that crossed her lips, I wanted to curl under the table.

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Chapter 21

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They weren’t all bad. You didn’t need them to be all bad. Just a few were enough to slice me open.

“Homewrecker.“”

“She looks cheap enough to cheat with.“”

“Sarah is too classy for him – no wonder he’s slumming.”

“Mystery Girl? More like desperate fangirl.”

My throat closed. Tears stung my eyes, but didn’t fall. My whole body felt like it was cracking open.

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No matter how much I ran. No matter how much I hid. No matter how hard I tried to build a new life, Carter always had a way of poisoning it.

This was my worst fear coming to life.

My life. My tiny, fragile life was about to flip upside down again.

“All those things they’re saying…” I whispered. “They think I’m-”

“They’re wrong,” Siobhan snapped, fury flashing in her eyes. Fierce, fast, protective. That was the Siobhan I knew. She recovered faster than a bullet train. “They are so wrong.”

But even her voice sounded like it was underwater, drifting just out of reach.

“They’re going after me,” I choked out. “I can feel it, Siobhan.”

Her hand shot across the table, warm and grounding as she squeezed mine.

“We’re going to handle this,” she said, steady, fierce. “I will have my team take down this post. Right now.”

“But… but I don’t have enough money to pay for your services.” My voice wobbled. Panic rushed in like a tidal wave, crashing into every fragile part of me–a long list of ‘Ifs‘ landing punches into my chest.

If this reached the estate…

If this reached Beckett….

If Sarah saw this…..

If Carter twisted this….

If the media kept digging…

If my NDA got dragged into this….

One thing was clear: My life wouldn’t just turn upside down.

It would be ruined, and all because of Carter.

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