Earning a Ring (More Than a Game Series Book 4)

by Kristina Mathews

  There was a reason she had a rule against getting involved with players. Besides being unprofessional, it was just asking for trouble.

  At least his game had improved tonight. He drew a walk his first at bat. Later, he moved the runner from second to third on a sacrifice fly. And his defense was back on track. He’d made a spectacular dive in the fourth inning, saving what would have been two runs had it gotten through the infield.

  She was able to breathe. And to continue to do her job. She interviewed fans around the ballpark. The eighty-seven-year-old fan who was celebrating her birthday as she’d done every year since the Goliaths had come to San Francisco. The bride-to-be who had converted her betrothed from a die-hard L.A. fan into seeing the light and pledging his eternal allegiance to the Goliaths for as long as they both shall live.

  And she’d met a half dozen babies attending their very first Goliaths game. They wouldn’t remember the day, but the certificate would be proudly displayed in the nursery or placed in their baby books. Her heart warmed at the pride that the parents of these sweet little babies held at sharing their passion with the next generation. But some of them were so tiny. She marveled at the itty-bitty Goliaths headbands, onesies, and miniature jerseys. It was all she could do not to burst into tears when she was handed a tiny infant wearing a pint-sized Bryce Baxter jersey.

  He came up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The score was tied. She watched with a flutter in her stomach that had nothing to do with morning sickness. A hit or walk would score the possible winning run. She and forty thousand others silently willed Bryce to get a hit.

  The first two pitches caught the outside part of the plate. Bryce took the first for a ball, then swung and missed the second. With the count 1-1, the pitcher came inside. Bryce flinched as the ball hit him square on the arm. He dropped the bat and grimaced as he hustled down to first base.

  A run scored, giving the Goliaths the lead. The way things had been going lately, they’d take a run any way they could get it. The next batter, Marco Santiago, flied out to deep right and the inning was over. The score held up, and the losing streak ended.

  Rachel interviewed the closer, Diego Garcia, after the game. He was usually a good interview: confident, cocky, and always entertaining. He gave the sound bite, offered Rachel a fist bump, and retreated to the clubhouse.

  She was just about to wrap it up when Bryce approached her. He flashed his million-dollar grin and she hated the fact that her heart did a little flutter. Damn that man. He was too sexy for his own good. And entirely too sexy for her own good.

  “Way to take one for the team.” She tried to sound objective but she worried she was transparent when it came to her feelings for this man. “How’s the arm?”

  “Fine. Worth it to get the win.” Bryce continued to grin as if he had the whole world at his feet. “I’ve had a rough go of it these last few weeks. But one thing that’s gotten me through these painful losses and tough wins was knowing I’d see your pretty face after the game.”

  Rachel felt heat flash across her skin. Her stomach rolled. She was on camera, so she simply smiled, even though she had a horrible feeling he was going to do something outrageous.

  Bryce reached into his back pocket, where he usually kept his batting gloves, and pulled out a small velvet-covered box. He dropped to one dirt-covered knee.

  “Rachel Parker, will you marry me?”

  Her jaw dropped open. She felt the earth tilt on its axis. She happened to glance up at the scoreboard. They had broadcast Bryce’s proposal, right there on the big screen for everyone to see.

  “Please, Rachel. Say you’ll be my wife.” Bryce looked up at her with his big blue eyes. His irresistible smile. And that little something that rendered her completely powerless to deny the man anything, whether it was an invitation to his bed or a preposterous proposal. The only thing she could keep from him was her heart.

  “Yes.” She barely got the word out before the tears sprang forth and she dropped her microphone. The crowd cheered. Many of the forty thousand people in attendance were still on hand to witness the most exciting, the most humiliating moment of her life.

  Bryce slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her, bringing her to her knees and the crowd to a collective “Awww.”

  Her cameraman shut off the live feed. But there were still plenty of fans nearby. She had to continue the façade. They loved Bryce, and couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t be thrilled to marry the sexiest shortstop in baseball.

  As soon as she caught her breath, Rachel tried to gather herself together. She unclipped her earpiece, the large diamond ring weighing heavy on her hand.

  Bryce stood there at the top of the dugout steps, grinning like a kid at Christmas. What could he possibly be thinking? She didn’t want to get married. And there was no way he actually wanted to get married.

  She checked with her producer, making sure she was finished for the day. Hopefully she wasn’t finished for her career.

  “Hey, I got this.” Carl assured her. “You two go celebrate. And congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” Rachel felt heat creep across her cheeks. She’d been trained to always go along with the story. Only this time she’d become the story.

  “We need to talk.” She followed Bryce into the clubhouse where they were greeted by applause, whistles, and catcalls.

  “I’m in trouble already.” Bryce grabbed her hand and if they didn’t have so many witnesses, she would have pulled it away. Instead, she had to put on her best glowing-bride-to-be smile.

  They found an empty training room and she pushed the door shut, keeping her hands on the frame while she took a calming breath. She turned to face him, and saw his cat that ate the canary grin.

  Calmness was overrated.

  “Of all the arrogant, irresponsible— Are you totally out of your mind?”

  “I thought it was romantic.” Bryce’s eyes twinkled with merriment.

  “Romantic?” She was not going to fall for his charm. Not this time. “Maybe if you actually wanted to marry me. But Bryce, you can’t be serious.”

  “Oh, I can be serious.” He closed the distance between them. Standing so close she could almost feel his heartbeat, he leaned into her space. “I can be very serious.”

  He placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head so he could look into her eyes.

  “Please, Rachel, won’t you take a chance on me?” He rested his forehead against hers. The heat from his body radiated through her. He hadn’t showered yet and he smelled of sweat, glove leather, and that scent that was uniquely his. “Take a chance on us.”

  “You make it sound so simple. I almost want to believe you.”

  “So why don’t you?”

  “Because I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t want you to resent our child.” She could barely get the words out past the lump in her throat.

  “Never.” He shook his head. “How can you even suggest that?”

  “I know how you feel about your ex-wife. I’ve heard you say it enough times.”

  “That’s totally different.” He backed up, folded his arms across his chest.

  “No, Bryce, it’s not. You only married her because she was pregnant. You wouldn’t have proposed to me if I wasn’t pregnant.”

  “Ah, hell.” He fisted his hands, clenched his jaw, and exhaled. “There’s one crucial difference here.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I like you.” He shrugged, his lips twitching with amusement.

  “You like me?” Hope bloomed in her chest. But it was overrun by disbelief.

  “Well, yeah. I do.” He reached for her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her palm. “I like you a lot.”

  She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So she did both.

  “Rachel, look at me.” This was a side of Bryce she’d never seen. Serious. Sincere. And very dangerous where her heart was concerned. “I know it seems kind of sudden, maybe a little bit crazy
. But I just know that when I’m with you, everything feels right. You’re good for me. You’re good for my game.”

  “Your game?” She knew it was too good to be true. “You want to marry me because you think it will help your game?”

  “No. That’s not it.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “All I know is that everything I accomplished last season was so much better because you were there with me. We can be great together. Let’s take a swing at it.”

  She knew the odds were against them. They didn’t have a solid relationship, and bringing a baby into the world would be hard enough without the added pressure of the spotlight given to the reigning World Series MVP and his Emmy-award-winning fiancée.

  “I can’t marry you, Bryce.” She wanted to believe in him, but even he couldn’t pull this off. “It just would never work.”

  “But you already said yes.” He sounded a little surprised; it was the first time she’d ever turned him down.

  “I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of the camera.”

  “So what do we do? Break up after the next home stand?” Now he sounded angry. “Should we have a fight in front of the camera? How will that protect your job?”

  “I don’t know.” This whole thing was out of her control. “I just know that getting married isn’t the answer. And now that the whole world knows about our relationship, I doubt my career is going to go anywhere. Just this afternoon, my boss warned me to stay away from you. Then you go and propose live in front of everyone.”

  Rachel didn’t know how to stay strong, but she just knew she had to. She wasn’t sure why she’d said yes. Part of it was the lights, the crowd, the romanticism of the gesture. Part of it was wanting to believe he really did want her. That he wasn’t just trying to deflect the spotlight away from his game.

  “What do you want me to do?” He sounded bewildered. It wasn’t an emotion she ever expected from him. “Do you want me to take it back? To go on camera and say the proposal was a joke? I didn’t mean it?”

  “You didn’t mean it,” she said softly. “I know you don’t want to marry me. You don’t even want to date me. You just wanted to sleep with me whenever you had a good game. I was like your champagne.”

  He looked as if she’d just slapped him. But then he recovered and he moved in with that slow, sexy grin. “I do want to marry you.”

  “No. You don’t.” She knew in her heart that he couldn’t. “But don’t worry. I’ll think of something. You just concentrate on your game. I’ll figure out how to fix this.”

  “So that’s it?” His smile faded.

  She nodded, unable to say anything more. After taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Bryce followed her into the clubhouse. Someone handed her a glass of champagne and offered another to Bryce.

  “Congratulations to the happy couple.” Marco Santiago lifted his own glass.

  “Congratulations!”

  “Cheers!”

  Rachel knew everyone was watching her, expecting her to take a sip. Her hands shook both from having everyone watching her, and from wondering if one sip would hurt the baby. But if she didn’t take a drink, it would only raise further questions about their sudden, if fake engagement.

  She brought the glass to her lips, the lights of the clubhouse reflecting off the ridiculously large diamond on her finger.

  * * * *

  Bryce could tell Rachel was stressed about drinking the champagne. She couldn’t because of the baby, but not participating in a celebratory toast would raise questions neither of them was ready to answer right now.

  He leaned over, and whispered into her ear. “Pretend I’m saying something so funny you can’t help but spit champagne all over the place.”

  Like a trooper, she sputtered her drink and spilled what was left in her glass.

  “We appreciate your support,” Bryce told his teammates. “But we’d really like to celebrate in private.”

  He placed his hand on her lower back and escorted her out of the clubhouse.

  “Thank you for that.” She sounded genuinely grateful for his rescue.

  “Hey, we’re in this together.” Despite the fact that she was getting cold feet. But in a way he couldn’t blame her. This wasn’t exactly the scenario little girls dreamed of. He certainly hoped his daughter didn’t pretend to meet some guy at a bar, get knocked up, married, and divorced within a year like her mother had done. “Come to my place tonight.”

  She shook him off.

  “Look, you said yes on camera, so publicly, we are engaged. We’re going to act like we’re going through with the wedding.”

  “I really don’t think—”

  “You said yes. So here’s the deal.” He raked his hands through his hair. “We give it to the All-Star break. If I’m still in this slump, no one will blame you for dumping me.”

  “Oh, sure. That will make me look great. I dump you because you don’t make the All-Star team? That’s really professional. Especially since I’ll be showing by then.” Her lower lip quivered. He couldn’t handle it if she cried.

  He did the only thing he could think of, covered her trembling lips with his own.

  She hesitated at first, then opened up for the kiss. God, he’d missed the taste of her. Pulling her close, he savored her sweetness. He was just about to deepen the kiss when she pushed him away.

  “I’m not going to sleep with you.” She tried to smooth her jacket, but he could tell she was flustered. Her body and her mind were in opposition. He had a bad feeling her mind was going to win this time.

  “Fine. I’ll take the couch.” He knew he had to be patient with her. Just like he needed to be more patient at the plate.

  “I’m not going to marry you either.” She was lying. Maybe just to herself.

  “Look, we don’t have to rush into anything.” Maybe if he played it cool, she’d come around. “It’s not like we have to be married before the baby comes. Being engaged will probably satisfy most people. I’m sure you’ll get a few crazies who will brand you as immoral.”

  She snorted.

  “I’m constantly being told I’m going to Hell.” He shrugged. “But the ride has sure been fun.”

  “You’re impossible.” She shook her head, but at least she was smiling.

  “Impossible to resist, I know.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to his car.

  “Not entirely.” Rachel held her back stiff, but at least she didn’t pull away. “I’ll go along with the fake engagement for now. But as soon as I figure out how to keep my job, keep the fans from feeling betrayed, and come up with a good reason to break off our engagement, I’ll give you back the ring.”

  Part of him wanted to tell her to give it back now, but that wouldn’t help either of them. They were both in the public eye, and he was well aware of the double standard that he could get away with a lot more than she could. She would need a very good reason to dump his ass even though she was pregnant with his child. His game couldn’t get that bad, that she’d be justified. He’d need to do something really stupid. Like get caught with another woman. Or steroids. But he was done with the first, and wouldn’t ever go with the second.

  He’d just have to come up with a way to convince her to marry him.

  * * * *

  Bryce had been good as his word. He took the couch while Rachel spent a restless night sleeping in his bed, alone, except for his scent fueling vivid and erotic dreams. She still wanted him, but she had to be stronger than ever to resist. The sexy dreams were only mildly frustrating in that she couldn’t act on them. Even more disturbing was the dream that they were getting married at home plate, with the stands full of thousands of women. Instead of rice or birdseed, the newlywed couple was pelted with panties after their nuptial kiss.

  And she was no closer to figuring out how to get out of this engagement without making herself or Bryce look bad. But she couldn’t have said no on camera, in front of everyone. That was her problem. She just couldn’t say no to the man.
>
  After breakfast, he took her to get her car at the ballpark. She drove home, changed, and headed back into San Francisco for the day game. Before she could get to the field, her producer pulled her aside.

  “I hear congratulations are in order.” Steve seemed sincere.

  “Thank you.” She felt a warm blush heat her cheeks. “Sorry about not staying away from Baxter. But don’t worry, I won’t let our relationship affect my work.”

  “See, that’s the thing,” Steve said. “The fans loved it. They love Bryce Baxter, and they really want to root for him. With his poor performance lately, they haven’t had much to cheer about. Haven’t had much to watch. But the ratings were through the roof on the post-game last night. The replays of the proposal got more hits than any regular season show.”

  “Well, it was unexpected.” She felt like there were a thousand seagulls diving for garlic fries in her stomach right now.

  “I’m telling you, they loved it. They want more.”

  “I don’t think any of the other players are going to propose.” Did she just say that?

  “No. They want more of you and Bryce.” He grinned. “In fact, I was thinking of doing a regular segment. Follow the two of you as you make your wedding plans. You know, testing cakes, interviewing caterers.”

  “We haven’t even set a date. It would have to be some time in November.” But the baby was due in mid-December. The last thing she wanted was to have Carl filming her while she tried on wedding dresses that would accommodate an enormous belly. Did they even make maternity wedding dresses?

  “When you do, we’d love to go along for the ride,” he said. “I mean, the viewers would love to come along for the ride. I knew there was some kind of magic between you two.”

  “Yeah. Magic.” Not to mention the little miracle growing inside her. But did she really want to turn her life into a reality show? No. Especially when the truth was not what her producer or the fans would want to see.

  “So run it by your fiancé, see if he’s up for doing a regular check-in on your wedding plans.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll let you know.” She was screwed. Rachel wasn’t sure what would be worse. Getting fired or getting her own reality show. Had it come down to this? Did fans want to see Bryce Baxter picking out china instead of picking off runners on a double play? Were thread counts nearly as important as pitch counts? She almost wanted to return to the days when box scores were all you needed to know about a player.