Stealing His Heart (Kingston Heat, #1)

by Jade, Ella

  “You’re right,” she said. “I didn’t plan on waiting six weeks to tell him.”

  “I know you don’t want to do it over the phone. You’re scared to take a chance, but you may have to ask him to come home. You need to be the one to tell him.”

  “I’ll think about the things you said.” Soph wanted to believe that Pax didn’t cheat on her. “I’ve been emotional and hormonal. Everything happened so fast. The fight, the World Series, and the pregnancy. When Kenny told me that stuff that day I was upset and I believed him without giving Pax the benefit of the doubt. But he left, Mags. He told me I was a distraction and a complication.” If she had been a complication before what would he consider her now that she was pregnant?

  “He didn’t mean that. He was nervous. So many were depending on him.”

  “Maybe once we were apart he realized he wasn’t ready for a relationship. His career is his life. Maybe once he asked for his space he saw that the pressure of a personal life was too hard. He may have decided things would be better for his career if her didn’t have a girlfriend.”

  “You’ll never know if you don’t ask him.”

  “What if I’m too much of a wuss to hear the answers?”

  “You’re one of the strongest women I know, and I’ll support you no matter what.” She put her arm around her. “I want to make sure you don’t make a mistake you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”

  “I’ll get in touch with him.” They headed in the direction of the cashier. “Can we eat now?”

  “Sure, I don’t want Baby Bean to starve.” She laughed. “That kid can eat.”

  SOPHIA PUT ON HER BLACK, thigh length wool coat and headed out the doors of the school. The crisp December air brushed her face and stung her cheeks. Winter break was finally here. She looked forward to the much needed down time. Her back ached all the time and standing on her feet most of the day wasn’t helping her swollen ankles.

  “Pax?”

  She nearly lost her breath when she saw him leaning against the lamp post. She hadn’t seen him in almost two months. His hair was longer and he looked like he needed a shave, but he was still the sexiest man she’d ever seen.

  She pulled her coat closed, buttoning it up before she walked over to him.

  “Hey.” He straightened up and watched as she came toward him.

  With each step her heart beat faster. Her throat was suddenly dry and her stomach nauseous. Why hadn’t she contacted him? Why had she put it off? Now she had no choice but to tell him.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He moved closer to her, but stopped and shoved his hands in his jeans pocket. “I went to the cottage, and your dad told me you’d gotten an apartment near the school. He told me you’d probably still be here.”

  “Did he tell you anything else?”

  “Just that I should come and find you. We talked baseball for a few minutes.” He shrugged. “Why did you move out?”

  “It was time.”

  “I came in from Texas.”

  “You haven’t been back since the series. What are you doing here now?”

  “I do have a house here.” He shifted back and forth on his heels. She hadn’t remembered him being so jittery. He looked as nervous as she felt. “I...um, well, I wanted to see you.”

  “Why?” She hadn’t meant to be so defensive but seeing him brought it all back. Every wonderful memory, all the way up until that nasty fight—the fight that ended things so abruptly. She’d played it in her head over and over. She thought she’d meant something to him, but he walked away and didn’t look back.

  “Two months is a long time.” He reached out and took her hand. “I hate the way we left things.”

  It would be so easy to fall back into his arms and forget that the past two months had happened. But they had. He had moved on. It didn’t take him long either. Was she supposed to forget that?

  “I don’t know what you want from me.” She pulled out of his grasp because all she wanted was for him to hold her.

  “I want to know what happened. Why did it all end so fast?”

  “Are you serious?” He was there that night in the locker room. He said he needed space, so she gave it to him. The ball was in his court. He didn’t come back.

  “I’m trying to be.” He exhaled in frustration. “You didn’t answer any of my texts or phone calls. I left messages.”

  “I haven’t listened to any of them.”

  “Why not?”

  She didn’t want to hear lies. She had to protect her heart. He’d gone away with another woman and he had the nerve to call her when he got back.

  “I was harsh that night in the locker room, but I was under a tremendous amount of stress. I don’t excuse what I said. I know I hurt you. You hurt me too, but we could have moved past it.”

  “You moved pretty fast.”

  “What are you talking about?” He shook his head as if he had no idea. “You walked away. After the text you sent to congratulate me on winning the series that was it. You never responded to me again. I called Maggie a few weeks ago and she practically told me to fuck off.”

  “At least she didn’t tell you I’d moved on.”

  “What? Did you?” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Have you? Is that why you’re ignoring me?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Why are you being so defensive?”

  “Because you...” Her head pounded, and despite the cold December air, her face was flush. She swayed forward, but before she could lose her balance he gripped her arm and held her steady.

  “Sophie, baby.” He held her against him. “Are you okay?”

  “Don’t.” She tried to pull out of his hold. “Don’t you dare be nice to me.”

  “Why?” he whispered but wouldn’t let go of her. “Why won’t you let me help you? Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”

  “You went to Belize with Miss Texas.” She pushed the windblown hair from her face. “You got over us real quick, so don’t come back here asking me why I’m so defensive.”

  “Belize? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I know where you’ve been.”

  “Obviously you’ve read some tabloid or something but you couldn’t be more wrong about where I’ve been or what I’ve been doing.”

  She wanted to believe he hadn’t been with some gorgeous beauty contestant, but given his reputation how could she be wrong? Everything added up in her mind.

  “Don’t bother with a story. I came to your house the day after the parade because I didn’t like the way we ended things.”

  “I wasn’t there the day after the parade. I hopped on a plane the night before. I needed to be someplace.”

  “Yeah, I know. Kenny told me.”

  “Kenny? He didn’t tell me you stopped by.”

  “You were busy in Belize with Miss Texas.”

  “He told you that?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.”

  “I sure as hell do.” He gritted his teeth. “I’m gonna kill that mother fuc...” He took a deep breath. “You haven’t returned my calls because you think I ran off with a model?”

  “A beauty contestant.”

  “Whatever.” He shook his head. “That’s why you cut me off?”

  “We weren’t even broken up two weeks. I gave you space to get through the most important game of your life because you asked me to.” She pulled out of his hold. “After all we were to one another. After everything you promised. I don’t understand how you could move on so fast. I didn’t return your calls because I’m not stupid.”

  With each word, her stomach twisted. If she didn’t get out of there she would end up puking all over his boots. “I have to go.”

  “No, not until you hear what I have to say.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Stop saying that. It does matter. Everything matters when it comes to you.” He tucked her hair behind her ear but she didn’t have the res
olve to fight him. She wanted him to touch her, to make everything all better. “I didn’t go to Belize. I went back to Texas. I had to have emergency surgery on my shoulder. If you would have listened to my voicemails you would have known where I was.”

  “What?” His shoulder. How would he pitch?

  “It had been bothering me all season but I didn’t want to admit it. It wasn’t affecting my pitching. I had to finish the season and bring us all the way. That’s what I was hired to do.”

  “Pax, are you okay?” She hadn’t heard anything about this. “How come no one knew?”

  “There were speculations in the press, but we tried to keep it out of the media. It wasn’t a big deal, and I didn’t want the buzz and joy of winning to be overshadowed by my injury. Now that I’m back I’ll have to give a press conference to discuss my prognosis.”

  “How are you now?” She hadn’t been following any of the reports on him because she didn’t want to hear about his personal life.

  “The surgery was a success. I’m going through some intensive physical therapy. I’ve been staying with my mom. I still have a long road ahead of me. I probably won’t make it in time for spring training, but I’ll get there. Doc is optimistic that I’ll be in at some point next season.”

  “Why would Kenny... Why didn’t he tell me?” The reasons she had shut Pax out and didn’t reach out to him were invalid now. She had ignored his phone calls and messages. He had been injured and she wasn’t with him.

  “I was torn up over what had happened between us. I went numb and pushed it aside so I could pitch those last games. I guess in his screwed up mind he thought he was doing me a favor. He was wrong, and I won’t let him get away with hurting you like that. He had no right to say those things. He saw how messed up I was when you wouldn’t return my calls. He should have told me what he had done.”

  “I should have been there for you.” Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. “I shouldn’t have believed him. You needed to know about...” Would he understand why she had kept her secret? “Oh God.”

  “Sophie, you don’t look so good. Are you sick?”

  “We need to talk. I need to tell you something.” She hadn’t wanted to do it over the phone but now that they were face to face she wished she’d had.

  “What do you want to tell me?”

  “My apartment is a block away. Can we go there?” She couldn’t tell him she was having a baby in the middle of the street.

  “Sure.” He extended his hand, but she hesitated. “Please.”

  “It’s this way.” She placed her hand in his and led him in the direction of her apartment. “We can walk.”

  Chapter 22

  THE WALK TO HER APARTMENT was quiet. Pax had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but he didn’t care. As long as they were together and she was willing to open the lines of communication, that was enough for him.

  “It’s this one.” She pointed to the brick pathway they led to a quaint, two-story home. “I’m on the first floor.”

  “It’s close to the school.”

  “Yeah, my car finally gave out, so this is convenient.” She let go of his hand and reached into her bag to dig out her keys. “Come in.”

  He followed her into the small entryway that opened to the living room. The place smelled of fresh paint and new carpets. The tones were warm and inviting. He imagined her cuddled up on the sofa in front of her brightly decorated Christmas tree. He hated knowing he wasn’t with her. They should be spending their first holiday season together.

  “Why don’t you have a seat?”

  “This place is really nice.” He sat down on the loveseat, hoping she’d join him, but she paced the small space between them.

  “The whole apartment would fit in your foyer.” She looked around, toying with the buttons on her coat. “I would have contacted you sooner if I had known you had surgery. I wish you would have told me before you left.”

  “I wanted to, but I was in so much pain I almost didn’t make the parade, but I knew if I didn’t show up there would be too much media speculation. I contacted you as soon as I could.”

  “It must have been difficult for you.” She fidgeted with her hands. “I could have been there.”

  “You didn’t know. Kenny shouldn’t have told you what he did. I don’t blame you for being upset, but I wish you would have asked me. Maybe trusted me when I said I wouldn’t hurt you like that.” He didn’t want to turn this into an argument, but for weeks he had wondered what went wrong. “I’m sorry for the things I said that last night.”

  “You were under a lot of pressure.”

  “I thought something had happened to you when you didn’t show up. I lost focus and almost blew that game. I freaked out, and if I had to do it again, I would’ve handled things differently, especially now that I know it cost me two months with you.”

  “I know you didn’t mean the things you said.” She continued to walk back and forth. “That’s why I left you alone during the last series. I didn’t want to screw anything up for you. I came to you after the parade because I missed us. I wanted to congratulate you and celebrate your win.”

  “I wish I had been there.” He patted the spot next to him. “Sit with me.”

  She hesitated, and that worried him. He hadn’t expected things to fall back into place right away, but now that they were together and admitting they let miscommunication and misunderstandings get in the way he had hoped they could work things out.

  “Sophie.” He stood and made his way to her. “I’m sorry. I’m not too proud to admit that I screwed up. I told you I wasn’t used to having anyone to answer to. I never let myself fall for anyone, because the game was all that ever mattered to me. That all changed with you. I need to learn how to balance things better. I can do it. I want you in my life. I need you.”

  “Pax, you...well, we...”

  “Shh.” He wiped her tears away. “Don’t cry. I shouldn’t have been such an ass. I was under so much pressure. My shoulder wasn’t right. I was so worried that my career was ending. I didn’t know how to cope with the stress. I felt like winning that series was all on me.”

  “You did what you had to do.”

  “We can fix this. I’ll do whatever I can to make this right. Please let me make this up to you.”

  Why hadn’t he told her this sooner? He should have been more persistent, but his pride got in the way. If she gave him another shot at this he wouldn’t be so stupid.

  “No,” she cried. “It might be too late.”

  “Don’t say that.” He held her face between his hands. “I love you. I’ve never stopped.” He didn’t care if men weren’t supposed to beg. He’d wear his heart on his sleeve to prove to her how much he wanted this, how much he needed her. “I about went insane without you. I practically drove my mamma nuts. She was the one who told me to come here and get you back.”

  “She did?” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

  “Yeah. I told her all about you. As soon as I was cleared from the extensive physical therapy I got on a plane and came straight to you. Doc is setting things up for me here. I would have come sooner, but I couldn’t fly for a few weeks after the surgery and I had little mobility for a while.”

  “You’re staying?” She reached for a tissue from the box on the coffee table.

  “I didn’t plan on leaving until I had convinced you we were meant to be. Even then, I wouldn’t leave. I’m here to fight for you. For us.” He stared into her mesmerizing eyes. “Don’t you see how hard I’m trying? I’ll do whatever you want.”

  Why is she still crying?

  “This isn’t the way... I don’t know how to...”

  “Sophie?” He looked her over. “Let’s get you out of this.” He reached for the buttons of her coat. “You must be hot. You look so pale. You’re not making any sense.”

  “Wait!” She stepped back.

  “What is it?”

  “There’s something you need to know. I tried to tel
l you...well, I meant to tell you the day I went to your house. When Kenny told me you’d left with another woman, I was angry, hurt, devastated. I made a hasty decision. One I really regret.”

  “I’m sorry about the time we spent apart.” How could he repair these feelings for her? “I wish with all of my heart that didn’t happen to us. I should have reached out sooner, but I was in a lot of pain after the surgery and not in my right frame of mind. I did so much thinking. No matter how hard I tried to justify what I did that night I told you I needed space, I couldn’t make it right.”

  “I should have trusted what we had, but in the moment I wasn’t rational and I kept something from you. I was wrong.” She slipped her coat from her arms. “I...you need to see.”

  She was as perfect as he’d remembered. He allowed his gaze to travel down, admiring the gray sweater dress that wrapped around her now curvier figure. What the hell? Her breasts were fuller and her stomach had a tiny but prominent bulge.

  No way.

  “You’re...” He backed up, bumping into the couch behind him. “But...” He sat down as he continued to stare at her. “Why didn’t you... When did you...” He couldn’t form a coherent thought. “Soph?”

  What the fuck?

  “I found out the day of the parade.”

  “That was six weeks ago. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “I thought you moved on. I didn’t think you would want to know.”

  “Were you even going to tell me if I hadn’t shown up here?”

  “Yes, of course I was.”

  “When?”

  “Soon, this week, maybe. I was going to tell you.”

  “That would be kind of hard since you wouldn’t return my phone calls. Fuck, you wouldn’t even listen to what I had to say.”

  He tried to calm down. He had gone over all the scenarios in his head on the flight there as to how things could go between them. He’d been prepared to fight hard for her trust and love. He wouldn’t give up on them. Never in any of his thoughts did he see the possibility of a baby.

  She removed her coat and draped it over the chair in the corner of the room. As she walked over to him, he couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked. Her hair was even longer than the last time he had seen her. It wasn’t her usual sleek style. It had more layers and curled at the ends as it flowed down her shoulders, stopping at the middle of her back. Her body was still toned and muscular, but her hips were wider and her breasts more prominent. He couldn’t take his gaze away from her stomach. There was a baby in there. His baby...