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

by Kristina Mathews

  He drank her in as if she was a long, cool drink of water on a hot day. He needed her. And the way she pressed against him, running her fingers through his hair and taking him in, she needed him too.

  “Let’s go to bed,” he whispered.

  “Have you had dinner?” Rachel tossed her head back as he nibbled on her ear.

  “No. Dinner can wait.” He flicked his tongue on that delicate spot on her neck. Her skin was the only thing he wanted to taste. “I can’t. I want you now. I need you. Now.”

  “Mmm.” She moaned as he continued to taste her neck.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes. Let’s go to bed.” She tugged his hand and led him to their bedroom.

  Chapter 17

  The next morning Rachel stepped into the shower, with Bryce not far behind her. He ran his hands over her belly, her suddenly rounded belly. She’d swear not two days ago, she couldn’t tell she was pregnant, at least not from the waist down. Sure, her boobs had gotten bigger and she’d already gained five pounds, but she didn’t look pregnant. Until now.

  “I guess I should think about making the announcement, soon.” She leaned back against Bryce’s hard, damp chest.

  “You want to make an announcement that you want to have sex? A simple yes is fine.” Encouraged, Bryce dipped his hands lower.

  “Twice last night wasn’t enough?” She couldn’t help but laugh at his eagerness. Besides, she might as well enjoy it while she still could.

  “Nope. I’ve got seven nights to make up for.” He started kissing her neck, flipping her damp hair out of his way. “So I need five more times before we’re even.”

  “Are you really that insatiable?”

  “Yes.” His hand slipped between her thighs. “And you are, too.”

  She moaned as he found just the right spot. Seconds later, her legs went weak as he brought her to climax with just his fingers. She turned around and pushed him down on the marble bench seat at the back of the shower. A bottle of body wash clattered to the floor as she straddled him. He groaned as she slid down on top of him. Gripping her hips, he thrust upward. Slowly building like the steam of the shower, he moved deep inside her. After another earth-shattering climax, Rachel collapsed against him.

  “Now what was I saying?” She stood so she could get back to washing her hair and getting ready for work. “Oh, right. I’m thinking we might need to make the announcement about the baby soon.”

  The minute she mentioned the baby, Bryce’s hands moved from her hips to her abdomen. Then he placed a gentle kiss just below her navel.

  “Yeah, I guess we should.” He grinned. “Do you want to go big? Make a huge announcement? Or make it simple, like a quick tweet about a player to be named later?”

  “Well, I need to tell my boss first.”

  “Yeah. And probably our families.”

  “I kind of already told my mom and my sister. Well, they guessed.”

  “I guess I should let my dad know.” He got a worried look on his face. “And I’d like to tell Hailey myself before it becomes public.”

  His daughter. Rachel nodded and then turned to grab the shampoo.

  Bryce got out of the shower a little bit before her. He was already in the kitchen making breakfast by the time she found a pair of jeans that fit. The maternity jeans she’d ordered were too big, and most of her old clothes were too small. She could wear a skirt, but the nights at the ballpark could be a little too chilly, even in May.

  “She’s already at school.” Bryce sounded disappointed he hadn’t been able to speak to his daughter. “I asked Jillian to have Hailey call when she gets home, but she made up some excuse about having some club after school. The woman has no trouble dialing my number whenever she needs something, but I want to have a five-minute conversation with my daughter and she acts like it would be a major disruption.”

  “I’m sorry you have such a hard time with your ex.” What else could she say? At some point, she would have to deal with the woman herself.

  “I know part of it’s my own damn fault.” He stirred the eggs. “But it’s been almost ten years. I guess she’ll never really forgive me, but it’d be nice to think at some point she can move past the joke that was our marriage.”

  “What is it that she can never forgive you for?”

  He turned off the stove, scooped the eggs onto two plates, and stared at the wall.

  “I never gave our marriage a chance. I wasn’t there for her or for Hailey.” He turned around and crossed his arms over his chest. “I always got the feeling all she really wanted was my money, so that’s all I gave her. I knew we weren’t in love or anything.”

  Rachel just swallowed the hard lump in her throat. Was their marriage much different? She knew Bryce didn’t love her. And even though she didn’t want his money, that was all he was able to give. That and great sex.

  “She’s just so angry.” Bryce sounded as if he felt like it was his fault. “I mean she was angry when she told me she was pregnant. Angry when I proposed. And when Hailey was born… I just couldn’t make her happy.”

  “Maybe your job wasn’t to make her happy. Maybe your job was to just be there.” The words came out so softly, Rachel wasn’t sure she’d said them out loud.

  “I swear. I’ll be there for you.” He was at her side, holding her. Holding on as if his life depended on it. “I want to do everything I can to make you happy.”

  “You can’t make me happy.” He flinched at her words. “What I mean is, you can only try to be happy with me.”

  “I am happy with you.” He relaxed a bit, but still held her. “Really. Happier than I ever thought I could be.”

  A tear slid down her cheek. It was a happy tear. Sort of. Her heart ached for what he had to go through with his ex. But the thought that she made him happy warmed her heart.

  “Let’s eat.” Bryce broke away and clapped his hands together. “We worked up quite an appetite, huh?”

  In other words, he was done talking.

  * * * *

  Bryce ate quickly and got a jump on the cleanup. He loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the counters while Rachel did her hair and makeup. She would be going to work today. And she’d most likely tell her boss she was pregnant.

  He wasn’t sure if he was ready for everything that came with the announcement. But ready or not the baby was coming.

  Could he get it right this time? Or would it all go to hell again? Rachel had just admitted he didn’t make her happy. He’d made her come, but he hadn’t made her happy.

  Maybe he wasn’t capable of making a woman happy.

  Screw that. How many times had he been told he couldn’t do something, only to prove them all wrong? He’d been too immature, too fidgety, too out of control to make it as a student. Too small, too wild, too inconsistent to be a good ballplayer. But he’d settled down. Learned how to sit still long enough to get through class so he could make it to the ballpark where he worked longer, harder, and with more determination than the rest of his teammates.

  He’d made it through school. So he didn’t go to college, but when he was drafted out of high school, he didn’t see a need. And he’d worked his tail off to make it through the minors into the major league. He’d played his heart out in Pittsburgh. Made a few All-Star teams and earned his shot at free agency. And he’d been able to sign with the Goliaths at exactly the right time. When they’d been on the unstoppable path to the World Series Championship.

  He’d been a big part of that winning team.

  Rachel had, too. She’d been there through the highest of the highs. And his lows seemed to come about when she hadn’t been around.

  So what would it take to make her happy? What was important to her?

  Her job. She took her job seriously. And she would soon have to inform her boss that she was expecting. That couldn’t be easy, especially in such a public job. But then again, it might be seen as a good thing. The fans loved her. She was a friendly link to the players. They would be
happy for her.

  Maybe he could find a way to make her job easier. Would she want him to give his version of what had happened—or not happened—in Philly? He could offer the name of the police officer who’d interviewed him. He hesitated at offering up Ryan Fletcher’s version of the story. The kid deserved to have some privacy in the matter. But if she asked, he supposed he had to give her the information. Or at least offer to have Ryan talk to her and give his side of things.

  He found her in the bathroom, finishing up on her hair and makeup. Her hair was perfect. Almost the color of the crushed brick infield, only shinier. He laughed to himself, realizing no woman would want her hair compared to dirt. But he loved that dirt. It was home to him. Rachel was home, too.

  Watching her put on lipstick, he wondered why she even wore makeup. Oh, he knew it was for television, but she really didn’t need it. She was beautiful without it. She had great skin, especially when her cheeks were flushed with arousal or satisfaction. Her hazel eyes changed color sometimes depending on what she was wearing. And her mouth. Good lord, how he loved her mouth.

  He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He wanted to kiss her but was afraid he’d get in trouble for messing up her lipstick. Besides, if he took her to bed for the fourth time in the last twenty-four hours he might not make it to the ballpark.

  When she closed her eyes and leaned against him, a soft moan escaping her lips, he considered giving it a go. But he needed to find ways to make her happy with their clothes on.

  “So, I thought you might want the contact info for the cop who talked to me in Philly.” He pulled a card out of his wallet. “In case you need to do a story on it or something.”

  Rachel gave the card a cursory glance before tossing it on the bathroom counter. “Thanks. I hope I won’t need it.”

  “Me, too. But I thought if I can do anything to help…” He hated the whole situation. Especially the media’s tendency to run with a story before they even had a story. Well, some members of the media. They weren’t all bad. Rachel would never sell him, or any of the Goliaths players, out without getting the facts first.

  She picked up the card and tucked it in her back pocket.

  “It’s not exactly the kind of story I would be assigned.” She gave him a small smile. “I’m more of the feel-good girl.” Her cheeks turned a deep pink at her statement. “You know what I mean.”

  Bryce answered with a quick kiss on that delicate spot behind her ear. “You feel pretty good to me.”

  She moved away from his touch, busying herself with cleaning up her makeup and beauty supplies. “I tend to report on the fluff.”

  “I like your fluff.” He moved toward her, unable to keep his hands off her.

  She swatted his hand away.

  “Bryce.” She tried to sound offended, but couldn’t quite pull it off. “Please, I have to get ready for work. And it’s not always easy to pretend like everything is sunshine and rainbows.”

  “Well, then maybe you should make the big announcement. I mean, what’s more sunshiny and rainbowish than a baby on the way?”

  “Rainbowish?”

  He shrugged. “You want good news? I can’t think of anything better.”

  “What about your daughter?” Her voiced softened, as if she understood how hard it was for him to be so damned far away and at the mercy of his ex-wife’s whims.

  “I’ll try to call before we leave for the ballpark, but if I wait until Jillian is ready to let me break the news, the baby will be able to drive out there and do it for me.”

  Rachel’s face twisted into a frown. Was she worried that Jillian would cause trouble? Or did she think he was being childish and bitter?

  “Will she be able to spend time with us when she’s out of school?”

  “I usually just go there, during the offseason. But yeah, I’d like to have her come spend some time in San Francisco.” He wondered, not for the first time, if maybe he should have pushed harder for more time with his daughter. He’d mistakenly believed that if he gave his ex-wife everything she’d wanted, she would be more accommodating when he asked for time with Hailey. “I just don’t know what I’d do with her while I’m working. I can’t exactly have her in the clubhouse.”

  “How old is she?”

  “Nine. She’s a great kid. Smart. Funny.” Bryce felt his chest constrict just thinking of his little girl, and how fast she’d grown. “She’s pretty independent, too. You’d like her.”

  “I’m sure I will.” Rachel’s smile was encouraging. He could picture her offering a similar smile to Hailey. Welcoming her to the family. “Maybe she could hang out with me. She could go around the ballpark with me when I do my fan interviews. And I’m sure Kip and Kurt would help keep an eye on her, too. The broadcast booth would be better for a young girl than a clubhouse full of half-naked men.”

  “Kip and Kurt don’t want kids running around while they’re doing the post-game wrap up.”

  “Are you kidding? They love kids. Kip’s a grandpa now, and Kurt’s counting the days until his kids get married and start having babies.”

  “That’s cool. But still, they don’t want to babysit.” It was hard enough to be a dad in this business, let alone a single dad. Although, he wasn’t single anymore. But his wife had her own career. And they’d have to deal with that in a few short months, not just for a week or so, but for the entire season.

  “We’re like family.” She must have been thinking along the same lines because her brows furrowed into a worried look. Her hand moved instinctively over the baby.

  “I guess we’ll need to get a nanny.”

  “How long do you think your daughter will stay with us?” Now she sounded a little hesitant. “Do you think your ex will give her up for the whole summer?”

  “She won’t even have her call me.” Bryce had the sinking feeling that an extended visit of any kind was nothing more than wishful thinking. “I mean when the baby comes, we’ll need to hire a nanny. Unless you want to conduct player interviews with an infant strapped to you. But if anyone could pull it off, you could.”

  “I guess we need to start making plans.” Both hands now rested on her lower abdomen. “I need to tell my boss. But the good news is that when the baby comes, it’ll be the offseason. So I’ll have a couple of months before I have to figure everything out.”

  “Yeah. The timing is good in that respect.” Bryce wrapped his arms around her. “Neither of us will miss any games in December.”

  “Nope, you should be finished by the end of October.”

  “A few weeks ago, I was feeling like I’d be out of the race by September.” If not sooner. “But I think we’ve got our groove back.”

  He just hoped the media attention surrounding the police inquiry wouldn’t be a distraction for the team.

  Chapter 18

  Rachel texted her producer to let him know she wanted to speak with him privately. She knew he’d probably think it was about the sexual assault rumors. In some ways, that would be an easier topic of conversation than informing her boss that she was expecting. Steve was in the studio, waiting for her. He was working on one of the computers when she arrived. Whatever it was, he didn’t seem too happy about it.

  “Someone sent me a link to a YouTube video.” Steve didn’t even look up when Rachel entered the room. “I think you should take a look. It’s from the hotel security camera in Philly where that woman was allegedly assaulted.”

  “Sure.” She wasn’t in a position to question her boss.

  He pulled up the feed, but paused before clicking the play button. “I’m going to grab some coffee, would you like a cup?”

  “No thanks. I’m good.” Here was an opportunity to casually mention the reason she couldn’t have coffee, but she chickened out. She wondered what he’d seen on the video that would make him so eager to leave the room.

  As soon as the door closed behind him, Rachel played the video.

  It was obviously inside an elevator. The doo
rs opened and a young man entered with a woman draped against him, she had one arm sprawled across his chest and her head leaning on his shoulder.

  It wasn’t Bryce. This man had shorter hair. Light brown or dark blond, it was hard to tell in the poor lighting of the elevator. The woman was a brunette, with long, glossy hair, expensive designer clothes, and very high heels. The woman was obviously very drunk, as she was having a hard time keeping her balance.

  All of a sudden, the woman dropped to her knees. The look of concern on the man’s face quickly turned to surprise as she undid his zipper. Her head blocked most of the view, but the man’s face was very clear. His eyes fluttered shut in pleasure as the woman continued to go down on him. At one point, he reached out against the wall of the elevator, as if he was grasping for something to hold on to.

  Rachel was trying to figure out which Goliath player he was. One of the rookies, Brian? No, it was Ryan. Ryan Fletcher. He was a backup infielder, just called up this season. She’d had one quick interview with the kid in spring training. He’d seemed kind of shy. Apparently he wasn’t that shy. At least not after a few drinks.

  The camera was still zoomed on his face when his features contorted into that intense look a man got when he was having an orgasm. Poor kid. This was not something he’d likely want to hit ESPN. A ballplayer wanted his first national TV exposure to be for making a great play on the field, not making out in a hotel elevator. Well, it was a little more than just making out.

  At least the video showed that the woman was in no way forced to go up to his room. If anything, it made it look as if she had been the aggressor. Of course, things might have changed once they got to the room. But from the looks of this, it was clearly consensual.

  Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered how this whole mess was going to play out and how it would affect her job. Would she be expected to interview Fletcher? Talk about an uncomfortable spot to put both of them in.

  Steve returned with a cup of coffee and a questioning look on his face.