Line of Scrimmage: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (Pass To Win Book 2)

by Roxy Sinclaire

  It wasn’t until I hit the brake that we all became aware of Kayla’s building standing tall before us. As Mia had been too tired from the trip, we had decided to drop her off at the apartment with the neighbor next door who agreed to babysit for us. And plus the sweet girl was afraid of hospitals, so we didn’t want to bother her.

  “Bye!” She waved to us as we stood before the apartment door.

  “Take care for yourself, sweetheart. We’ll be back shortly,” Kayla said and kissed her while I took her to her room.

  Before closing the door, I winked at her, patting the pocket of my jacket and she giggled in her most adorable way. That girl was driving me mad from cuteness.

  In no time, Kayla and I were back in the car again and in the hospital parking lot. I thumped my fingers against the steering wheel struggling to decide what to do. Damn. I’ve never been in a situation like this. A part of me wanted to go out and finally be done with everything and the other was scared of the results.

  “You ready?” Kayla asked me in a shaky voice. She, too, was beyond nervous. I’d never seen her like that. Oh, my dear babe.

  “I am. Come on!” I opened the door and stepped on the asphalt. She followed, grabbing my hand and clutching it tight. We were doing this together. Come hell or high water, we were in this together. Team Sean and Kayla for the win!

  Hand in hand, we entered the massive hospital building and headed for the reception. The nurse sent us to the waiting room on the second floor and there we were stuck waiting again. Waiting like our lives depended on it. And they truly did.

  “I’m scared, Sean. I… I never thought that things would go this far. Damn me. This is all my fault.” Kayla was twisting her fingers and wouldn’t look at me. Her words shattered my heart in a thousand pieces. Her fault? Stupid destiny. It was our fault, our mistakes and decisions that led us to this bloody moment.

  “No, babe. Don’t think that. You’re not guilty of anything. We did this together. All the good and bad stuff are on the both of us. I’m scared, too, but also I want to find out the truth. I mean, I just love the two of you more than you can imagine. I planned my whole life with you in it,” I admitted, wiping sweat from my forehead. My arms and legs were shaking. It was finally time.

  “Kayla… I should’ve done this a long, long time ago. I should’ve never let you go.” I went on my knees and locked my eyes with hers. I pulled out the toy ring, Mia had given me earlier, from my pocket and showed it to her. “I want you to know that I’m committed to you regardless of the results and everything else. Will you let me right all the wrongs now and make me the happiest man alive? Will you marry me, Kayla?” I couldn’t believe what I was saying! Woohoo! Sean Coleman did it! Yeah, baby!

  Still on my knees, I saw Kayla’s eyes getting teary and her whole face bearing the sweetest expression. Regret, joy and love mingled all in one. Aww!

  She sniffled a few times and then resolutely threw herself in my arms. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  “I love you!” I managed to whisper before our lips met in a soft kiss that turned into a rather wild and passionate one in seconds. Kayla slipped her tongue into my mouth and I pressed her closer to me. I’ll never let her escape again. Oh, no, siree. Kayla was mine now. My soul and my life. Gosh, I really loved her!

  “I promise… You’ll get a real ring…” I said between kisses and she chuckled.

  “I like this one more.”

  We kissed even harder, when we heard our names. Someone was calling us. Awkward.

  “Sean Coleman and Kayla Vaughn! You can enter now!” It was our doctor. Great.

  Smiling to each other we followed him into the office. My heart reached its climax going wild inside my chest. Like it would go out in any minute.

  The doctor coughed, taking a sheet of paper out of the drawer. A moment. Two. And a wide smile appeared on his face. Like really, his features brightened.

  “I have good news. Congratulations! Sean, you are Mia’s biological father.” He dropped the bombshell and I thought I’d go crazy.

  What the fuck? Oh my freaking God! The realization hit me all at once. I was a father! I was a father!

  “I’m a father!” I voiced my thoughts and Kayla squeezed my shoulder, crying.

  “You are. We’re Mia’s parents!” she confirmed as I gathered her in my embrace.

  Despite myself, I sensed something wet dripping down my cheek. It ended in Kayla’s hair. A tear. I was indeed the father of the most amazing girl in the whole wide world and I wanted to scream and cry all at once.

  For the doctor’s sake, we calmed down a little and took the results. With trembling hands, I read the sentences again and thanked the doctor for everything. I sure as hell wanted to get out of that office and run home. To my family.

  By the time, Kayla and I got in the car and I started the engine, everything seemed like a wonderful dream that I never wanted to wake up from. But the plastic ring on Kayla’s finger was enough proof that this was my life now. I had a small family and I was getting married.

  “I can’t believe it, honey. It’s like I’m reborn. You’re Mia’s dad. Thank God and all the angels!” Kayla said and clapped her hands.

  “I know, right? I can’t believe it myself. My adorable daughter. She… She has my blood and my hair and my soul. Babe… This is truly a miracle. I love you!” I threw everything in all at once. Like I knew what I was talking about. This was better than every touchdown in my career.

  “Let’s go home, now! Mia will surely be ecstatic!” Kayla told me excitedly. And she was damn right.

  “I can’t wait to tell her,” I said driving out of the lot and down the streets as fast as I could.

  I truly didn’t know how, but we reached our apartment (it was ours and not Kayla’s apartment now) in a few minutes. Without caring about how I looked, I sprinted up the stairs with Kayla following me.

  She turned the key in the lock and we finally entered our home. Lucky me. I had a real home!

  I basically ran to Mia’s room, only to find her sleeping with her teddy bear clutched in her little arms. My sweet angel.

  All emotional, I sat on the side of the bed and gently caressed her hair. Like she was some fragile, glass object that could break at my touch. I swallowed as hard as I could to keep from crying again.

  “Mia, darling. We’re back.” Kayla’s sweet voice spoke from next to me. She was slowly shaking our daughter’s shoulders.

  Mia didn’t react at first, but then her beautiful eyes opened a little. At the sight of the both of us sitting together, she jumped straight up. The bear was still against her chest. I couldn’t resist her cute curious blinking.

  “And?” she asked in her tiny voice.

  “And what?” her mom teased her and she smiled.

  “Do you want to tell me something?” Mia asked again looking from her mom to me and back. As I said, she was truly a clever girl.

  “Honey, from now on Sean will stay with us here. He’ll be with us every day.” Kayla began explaining.

  I don’t know what the hell happened to me. I just sat there like a dummy, tongue-tied and unable to utter even a single word. I was speechless before my daughter.

  “You’ll live here? With me?” Mia addressed me, her eyes glittering with joy. Oh, I could eat that girl.

  “Y-yes, dear. I will. I… I’m your…” I mumbled.

  “Dad!” Mia squealed, jumping in my embrace. Her small body was against my chest, as we breathed in sync. A father and his lovely daughter. I finally got what I’d always desired. A win for me! A huge, huge win!

  Kayla sniffled from beside me, hugging the both of us.

  “I’m your daddy, Mia. My sweet child! I love you more than anything, my dear!” I whispered in the girl’s ears, her soft hair tickling my face. I liked that. And I loved the three of us, cuddled like that on the bed.

  “I love you, too, daddy! Daddy?” Mia slightly separated from me and I helped her sit on my knee. I was a real mess.

  “Yes, dear?”<
br />
  “Will you take me to the park and the movies like all other dads?” Mia asked me. She was full of questions. And that was completely understandable. After all, I had just appeared in her life and things must have seemed very strange to her little mind.

  “I’ll take you everywhere, my princess. Anywhere you want!” I swallowed the tears again, planting a kiss on the top of Mia’s head. Kayla squeezed my upper arm in reassurance. Her presence meant to me more than she knew. My thoughtful girls. They were my all.

  “We’re a family now, Mia. Look, your dad gave me your ring. And I accepted to marry him,” Kayla said and Mia clapped happily.

  “Really, daddy? Yay!” she shouted and I hugged her.

  “Really, really! We’re going to have the biggest wedding and dance all day and night, okay?” I was beyond excited. At this point everything ceased to exist. World? Other people? What was that? I cared about no one and nothing else.

  “And wear the best dresses! I can’t wait!” Mia exclaimed and Kayla and I laughed. Oh, how little people needed in order to be happy.

  I kissed the both of them and we remained sitting together and exchanging silly things with each other until night fell outside. We’d never separate again. I’d never let them go no matter what it cost me. It was the three of us against the world now.

  Epilogue

  Kayla

  I was chopping the potatoes and putting them in the pan when I heard the front door open. I smiled. My husband was home.

  Adding some spices as I had seen on the TV as well as other ingredients, the dinner was almost done.

  “Honey, I’m home!” Sean’s voice came from the other room. I heard him taking off his shoes and hanging up his coat. As usual, he would go to kiss Mia hello and then he would come to me.

  Today it was different.

  As I started the stove, the door to the kitchen opened slowly. The hinges were a bit creaky, but my husband would fix that. He always did. I chuckled to myself at the thought.

  His arms engulfed me. “How’s my wifey today, hmm?” His lips were close to my ears, making every hair on my body stand on end.

  “Awesome. And how’s my hubby? Still playing football like a teenager,” I replied, laughing.

  “It’s a part of the job, babe,” he replied, his lips still on my ear. I felt goosebumps all down my spine.

  Then a bouquet of flowers appeared before my eyes.

  “Oh!” I jumped in surprise and turned to look at him. His hair was dark and a bit wet from running. “What’s this for?”

  “Shame on you, Mrs. Coleman. You forgot what today is!” he giggled.

  I remembered and kissed him passionately on the lips. Just like I always did. “Babe, with work and everything I completely forgot. You proposed to me today! Of course I would never forget that moment,” I said and kissed him back. “Sorry for not buying you anything.”

  “Even after a year, you apologize for everything. Don’t worry. I have everything. I have you and Mia.” He kissed me back with his hands bringing me towards him.

  “Mia’s in the room. She might see us,” I replied, giggling.

  That didn’t stop him from kissing me all over my face and my neck. “I love you like I did on the first day that I met you and more.”

  “You can’t imagine how much I love you as well.” My hands wandered in his hair, ruffling it, playing with it as my lips didn’t disconnect from his.

  “And what smells so good? Oh, you’re killing me,” Sean said through laughter.

  “You’ll see. It’s a surprise. Go see Mia and then you can help me with setting up the table.”

  “Done, Your Highness.” He kissed my hand and went out of the door.

  “Babe?” I called after him.

  His head returned and popped into the room again. His smile was from ear to ear.

  “Thank you for this. For all of it.”

  He winked at me and headed towards Mia’s room. I resumed cooking.

  I still couldn’t believe it. One year had passed since he had proposed to me in that hospital corridor. Everything had seemed to go in the fast forward mode. Like when watching a movie. The engagement, the wedding preparations, the actual wedding, the honeymoon… Everything was carefully embedded into my memory. Never to disappear.

  A tear trickled down my cheek. And yes. This past year I had gotten pretty emotional as a person. Anything could make me cry. Even a sad ending to a book or a movie which I knew was just fiction.

  “Dinner’s ready,” I finally shouted.

  Quickly after that, the three of us surrounded the dining table, each knowing where to sit.

  “So how was your day at the law firm? Do they listen to their sexy boss?” Sean teased me. After I had quit working at the law firm, I had been desperately searching for a new place that would be a good fit for me. However, I couldn’t find one. But thanks to Sean’s encouragement I had started my own law firm and was now my own boss.

  We ended up giving a call to that jerk James Clarke to let him know he wasn’t the father. I’m glad he’s out of our lives. We decided to let it go and not file any charges as we didn’t want to deal with him anymore.

  “Everything’s going smoothly. We just finished the first phase of the domestic abuse project. So, yeah. I’m slowly establishing my name and making it a brand,” I replied.

  “Perfect, babe. Glad to hear that,” Sean said through chewing. “What about my princess Mia?”

  “Same as usual, daddy. Science gives me a little more trouble, but I’ll manage somehow.” I fondled Mia’s cheek. She was so modest and kind-hearted.

  “Well, a football player can’t help you much, right?”

  The three of us burst into a warm laughter, our voices mixing with each other.

  “As a matter of fact, you didn’t say how your day went. It’s a new team. How are you coping with the transfer,” I told him, putting a small piece of beef into my mouth. After we had married, Sean decided to move to my city so that we would live together here. That was why he had to switch teams.

  “We’re preparing for the championship. A little tough, I guess. But you must come. I won’t win without the two of you,” he said and grabbed our hands.

  “Of course,” Mia and I spoke at the same time which made us giggle.

  The rest of the dinner we chitchatted, talking about our everyday situations and problems, having a laugh and offering solutions. I was grateful for having this. For having a sanctuary that I could go to at the end of the day. For having two wonderful people to always hear me out and always be there for me. It was more than I could ever wish for. We were the happiest family in the whole wide world.

  Then all three of us cleaned the table and washed the dishes. It became our custom to watch some TV after we had dinner. And this night like every other, we planned to stay true to it.

  “What are we watching?” I asked.

  “Well, we have some romance, some action slash adventure slash thriller and some science fiction. Choose, girls,” Sean replied, looking at each of the DVDs in his hands.

  In the end we went for the action type. We loved action movies, so it wasn’t actually hard to choose.

  The three of us were cuddled on the couch, Mia in the middle holding the bowl of popcorn. Our eyes were glued to the screen. It was getting intense. Some serious shit. The guy was going to rescue his wife and kids. Come on, buddy! Always with you.

  Then it stopped.

  “What?” Sean and I screamed at the same time. Mia had pressed the pause button.

  “I have to tell you something, mom and dad,” she said in a serious tone.

  “Yeah, baby,” I said, putting a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

  “I want a brother. Like seriously. All my friends at school have a brother or a sister. And even in this movie, this guy is rescuing his daughter AND son.”

  Even halfway through I understood where this was heading. I looked at Sean who grinned.

  “I’m sorry, babe. But you see, mo
mmy is a bit busy with her firm and everything. These things need patience and focus. So you might have to wait for a while,” he said, kissing the top of her head and staring at my eyes. His were smiling. I knew that he wanted more kids. He had told me that he would wait for me. When I was ready. And I thanked him for that. Sean belonged to the rare group of men who would wait for their women to decide. After all, he was well aware that I was the one that would carry that kid for nine whole months and then deliver it. Duh!

  Suddenly I wished to intervene. “Well, who knows? It might happen sooner than you would expect,” I said with a smile on my face.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Sean spoke, his face just like the one of the happy emoji.

  “Hmm… Do I look like it?” I said and ran my hand across my belly.

  “OMG! That’s amazing.” Sean stood up and came to kiss me.

  “Mommy, is it true? Will I have a brother?” Mia exclaimed jumping and laughing. She hugged me tight, not letting me go.

  “Well, I can’t promise you a brother. It may be a sister,” I told her. She just grinned.

  And then we laughed with all of our hearts. I gazed into Sean’s eyes that told me everything. They were all teary. He kissed me on the lips again, our tears colliding. Tears of joy.

  I couldn’t remember when I had ever been this happy. I had everything right here next to me. The joy ruled in the room triggered by the news of a fourth member in the family.

  In that moment I thanked God for everything that I had been through, for it made me who I was today. A proud mother and a wife and a lover.

  “I love you,” Sean whispered and locked his lips with mine.

  “I love you and always will,” I replied.

  Thank You

  Roxy Sinclaire writes steamy, suspenseful romantic stories as the main genre, and this includes a variety of different topics. Some of these include dark romances, action packed romances, mafia romances, and many more. She currently works in customer relations in New York City, but is trying to fulfill her passion in writing and eventually have her dream job become a reality