The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangement

What Would Be The Point?

She was going to the game, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it. When Ritchie cruised up in an expensive SUV, she thought typical. One luxury car wasn't enough, she supposed, remembering the sleek sports car with leather seats as soft as butter he'd used to take her to dinner. She felt herself blush as she recalled the little fantasy she'd had about making out with him on those soft seats.

"So how many cars do you have?" she asked as she climbed in the passenger side.

Ritchie grinned. "This is the one I use most of the time. The other one is just to impress girls."

"Right." She turned and looked out the window so he wouldn't see her smile.

Joey climbed into the back, looking young and really excited, and she felt a twinge of guilt. She should have been taking him to Marlins games herself, but it just wasn't something she ever thought of. And she really couldn't afford it anyway, not as long as she was saving every penny so they could move to a bigger place. But Joey had been so excited when Ritchie called and invited them that she just couldn't say no. Even if it meant she had to sit through another lecture about the challenges facing single mothers and the importance of having a male influence for a kid Joey's age.

So she'd said yes, mostly because he was right that it was good for Joey to spend some time with a man he could look up to. Someone like Ritchie who, she conceded, was successful, honest, generous and, from all indications, close to his family. The only thing she didn't like about him was his assumption that keeping Joey out of trouble was more than she could handle on her own. It was as if he thought single mothers were the root cause of juvenile delinquency. It was an insult to the way her own mother had struggled, and the courage she'd showed when she'd found herself pregnant and unmarried at eighteen. When he talked about Joey needing a male influence and more structure, all she heard was Maria, you just aren't good enough.

But it was just a baseball game. At least, with Joey along, she wouldn't be tempted to embarrass herself again by kissing a man who was so completely unsuitable for her.

Despite her intentions otherwise, Maria found herself really enjoying the game. It was certainly a different experience watching from the butlered suite, helping themselves to the spread of food Ritchie had ordered. He'd explained that his firm bought the suite mostly to entertain other lawyers who referred cases to them, but neither of his partners were using it tonight so they had it all to themselves. She wondered if it would be terribly gauche to wrap up some of the leftover hotdogs and hamburgers and salad and donate it to the soup kitchen – they probably just threw it all away.

Ritchie apparently noticed her glancing at all the unused food, because he leaned over and said, "I ordered extra because I didn't know what you guys would like. Besides, we donate whatever's left to St. Theresa's."

Okay, Ritchie was a really nice guy. Maria tried to remind herself of all the reasons why starting any kind of relationship with him was a bad idea.

* * *

Ritchie was surprised what a good time he was having hanging out with Joey. His own nieces and nephews were too young to appreciate the finer points of baseball, but Joey absorbed statistics and sports strategy like a sponge.

"You play baseball at all, Joey?"

"Nah," he said, while he chomped his way through his third hot dog. "I don't really play sports. I like video games mostly. But this is cool."

"I played a little baseball in college," Ritchie said. When he was Joey's age, baseball had been the focus of his life. It had probably been responsible for keeping him out of trouble too, while he dreamed of a future in the big leagues. By college, those dreams had shifted into more realistic goals. But he still remembered the feeling of being out there on the field, the sun at his back, crowds in the stands.