“Who’s patronizing? Del creamed that ball. If you hadn’t caught it, we’d be behind a couple more runs. We held them off.” He gave her a brotherly punch on the shoulder.

“It was a good catch.” She nodded in satisfaction. Maybe baseball didn’t suck after all.

It sucked again when they lost seven to four, but she had the satisfaction of knowing her fielding hadn’t been crap.

“You did good out there.” Del tossed her a canned soft drink. “Two singles and an RBI. Plus you robbed me of a potential two-run homer.”

“You shouldn’t have said my fielding was crap.”

“It usually is.” He flicked the bill of her cap, in the same sort of brotherly gesture as Jack’s arm punch. Laurel tossed the cap aside, grabbed a handful of Del’s shirt.

“I think you’re forgetting something.”

She yanked him down for a good strong kiss, amused when the gesture brought on a smattering of applause by those who’d dropped down on the blanket or chairs.

“No, I remembered that.” Del linked his arms casually around her waist. “But thanks for the heads-up.”

“Well, well, isn’t this a surprise.” Hillary Babcock, one of Mrs. Grady’s friends, beamed at Del and Laurel. “I had no idea this was going on! Maureen, you don’t tell me anything!”

“What I don’t tell you, you find out.”

“But this is big. I’ve always thought of the two of you as the next thing to brother and sister, and here you are, getting all romantic.”

“Laurel fielded a long fly.” Del shifted to drape his arm around Laurel’s shoulders. His hand rubbed lightly at her biceps as if to soothe away a mild irritation. “She gets a reward.”

Hillary laughed. “Next time, sign me up! But really, how long has this been going on? Look at all of you.” She beamed the smile again, and her eyes got a little teary. “It seems like five minutes ago you four girls and Del were all running around this park with the rest of the kids, now you’re all grown-up. All paired up, too! Oh, Maureen, you should talk these girls into a triple wedding.Wouldn’t that be something special?”

“Hilly, the boy just kissed the girl. That doesn’t mean they’re picking out the china pattern. Why don’t you get the potato salad out of the cooler over there.”

“Why, sure. Kay, this must be your boy Malcolm. All grown-up, too! And you’re with Parker. Isn’t that nice?”

Mal watched Parker’s face as he answered. “She pulled her weight on line drives and pop flies, but I haven’t even kissed the girl. Yet.”

“Mal’s not actually with—”

One searing stare from his sister in Del’s direction stopped his explanation. Deliberately, Parker stepped forward.Aware they were directly in Del’s eyeline, she pressed her body to Mal’s, linked her arms behind his neck, and fixed her mouth to his in a long, slow, sumptuous kiss.

She pulled back, rubbed her lips together. “That ought to do it.” Mal caged her hips in his hands. “I think we should play a doubleheader.”

She spared Mal the slightest smile, flicked a cool glance at Del, then stepped over to help unpack a hamper.

“What was that?” Del demanded as he crouched down beside her. “What the hell was that?”

“What? Oh, that? Just trying to keep things nice and balanced. Wasn’t that the idea, big brother?”

“For God’s sake, Parker, I just ... He’s a friend of mine, so why not ask him along? Plus you said how you were the only one without a date.”

“And it was so nice of you to arrange one for me, without even asking if I’d like you to.” She jabbed him with her finger as he started to speak. “You’d better back out of my personal business, or I’ll sleep with him just to make your life hell.”

He paled, visibly. “You would not.”

“Don’t test me, Delaney.” She jabbed him again. “Don’t test me.”

“Time for a walk.” Laurel reached down to tug on Del’s arm. “No. Really time for a walk. Some things even you can’t talk your way out of,” she muttered to him as she dragged him away.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s pissed at you, of course. I told you she would be.”

He skirted the path of a flying Frisbee, then stopped. “She wouldn’t be if you hadn’t told her. Why did you do that?”

“Because she’s my friend, and I was pissed at you before she was. I’d have told her even if I hadn’t been pissed at you, but that was a secondary factor. You can’t pull a date for her out of your hat without telling her, Del, or I have to.”

“Another rule. Maybe she should send me a damn memo.” She gave the hand she held an impatient shake. “You should know better.”

“I should know better? She’s the one who grabbed him and kissed him like that, in front of everybody.”

“Yes, she should’ve dragged him off to the bushes and done it in private, but you know Parker. She’s brazen.”

“You think it’s funny?” He stopped, stared her down. “She made a move on him in public, she’s really steamed at me, plus now I have to talk to Mal. It’s not funny.”

“No. No, you don’t have to talk to Mal. Leave it alone, Mr. Fix-It.They’re grown-ups.”

“You have your rules, I have mine.”

“Sometimes I could just ...” She turned away, turned back. “How many guys did you ‘talk to’ and/or warn off when it was me?”

He slid his hands into his pockets. “The past is the past.”

“You should probably have a talk with yourself.”

“Believe me, I have been. It doesn’t seem to do any good. I’ve got a taste for you now.”

“A taste for me?”

“Yeah. You know about tastes, and how some of them are just irresistible. That’s you.”

She let out a half sigh, then framed his face with her hands. “Semi-redeemed. Let’s walk the long way around. We’ll work up an appetite.”

WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES, LAUREL DECIDED THAT BETWEEN THE two of them they knew too many people.A simple walk around the park became a meet-and-greet, with the added slightly sticky layer of curiosity from those seeing them as a couple for the first time. She felt the speculation buzzing around her ears like mosquitoes.