by Virna DePaul
By the end of the short ceremony, there hadn’t been a dry eye in the audience. Everyone was thrilled for them—Heath, Kyle, Camille, Arabella, Ruby’s family, and of course, Carolyn, Alec’s mother had driven down from Charleston to see the special moment come to life.
The memories all crashed inside her mind, as Ruby held her son. Her son—she had a son. She could barely believe it, even with the baby asleep in her arms. She’d never known she could love someone as much as she loved Daniel and Alec, and to think that last year at this time, she thought she’d be alone for the rest of her life.
How quickly things changed.
“You need to get some sleep,” Alec murmured. “Let me put him back to bed.”
Ruby almost told him no, but then she yawned. “Okay.”
Alec took the baby, turning to Ruby, saying, “Check it out, Red. Football hold.”
Ruby laughed. Too hard and it would hurt her body. She had to admit she loved seeing the big football player holding a tiny newborn. The contrast was startling, and yet, Alec held his son like he was the most precious being in the entire world. Ruby couldn’t stop the tears from brimming. She’d been a total watering pot for months now. Stupid hormones.
After he put the baby down, Alec got onto the hospital bed with her. He didn’t really fit, but she’d missed his warmth next to her. “Thank you,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “For our son.”
She smiled sleepily. “You’re welcome.”
As he murmured words of love in her ear, she fell asleep in his arms.
Ruby looked up from her laptop and smiled, while Alec stumbled into their bedroom and flopped face down onto their bed.
“Finally get him down?” she asked, moving a hand off of her keyboard to run her fingers through his tousled hair. Poor thing hadn’t slept much for the last four months since Daniel had come into this world. The little sucker wanted to take everything in, always staring around the room, as Ruby or Alec carried him, sang to him, even begged him to please go to sleep.
“I think he’s going to be a coach,” Alec said. “Because God knows, he owns me. Tells me what to do like a little bitch.”
Ruby giggled and slapped his arm. “Don’t say that about the baby. Just last week, you swore he was going to be a wide tight end, like his daddy. And the week before that it was a kicker,” Ruby said with a laugh.
Alec lifted his head from the bed. “Well, that’s before I heard the lungs on him. Good Lord. As if I don’t hear enough screaming from Coach.”
Ruby caressed her husband’s cheek, and he leaned into her touch.
“Knowing us,” she said, “he won’t end up in football at all. He’ll insist on doing his own thing entirely.”
“And I’ll support him one hundred and fifty-nine percent.”
Alec gave Ruby’s hand a sweet kiss.
“Oh.” She grinned. “Well, then I’ll have to give him one hundred and sixty percent.”
“Such a competitive woman.” He grabbed her legs and slid her along the bed, then lifted her into his arms as she shrieked. “All right, lady, time to get ready. We have guests coming in twenty minutes.”
Ah, yes, the barbecue. Alec had been wanting to have one ever since the baby was born, but she’d wanted to wait a while until she was up to it. Now that it was chilly outside, and the Savannah humidity had burned away, now was the perfect time.
“What should I wear?” Ruby asked, getting up and opening her closet.
“Nothing. Go naked, please. Except for some shoulder pads and knee socks.” He winked at her, and she stuck her butt out at him. She loved the way they played, loved that Alec had brought out that sassy, playful side in her, loved that she could feel like herself around him.
“I don’t think the guests would appreciate it,” she said.
“Oh, yes, they will. Well, the guys will, anyway.”
Once they’d gotten dressed, brought all the food outside, including the cooler, and set up to watch a football game since it wasn’t their week to play, they began opening the door, one time after another, letting in their friends and family. After only an hour, Daniel woke up and screamed through the speaker until Ruby went and fetched him, bringing him to the backyard, bundled in a blanket for everyone to say hello.
“Here he is!” Ruby brandished the baby like he was the main dish. Barbecue ribs, be damned. Nothing was more yummy than her little munchkin.
“Oh, he’s so beautiful!” Arabella, Kyle’s girlfriend screeched. “Doesn’t it make you want to have a baby, Kyle?”
“Yeah, Kyle, don’t you want to have a baby?” Heath chided him, clapping a hand on his shoulder as he walked past to grab a beer from the cooler.
“Duchess, we just got married,” Kyle said.
“So? You know that as a princess of Salasia, heirs are very important.”
“We’ll get there. Right now, I’m enjoying having you to myself. Hell, I already have to share you with a whole country.”
“And you’re doing it marvelously, sweetheart,” Arabella said, blowing Kyle an air kiss before cooing at Daniel.
Ruby patted Kyle’s shoulder and went on to find Camille sitting in one of their rocking chairs.
Camille was about six months pregnant, her baby bump round and adorable. She and Heath had found out they were having a boy and had already picked out a name—Peyton Andrew. Emma could barely contain her excitement at having a baby brother and had wholeheartedly approved of the name, saying it definitely belonged to a future football player.
Ruby looked forward to meeting Peyton and was sure he and Daniel would play in the backyard together while Ruby and Camille watched their husbands play on TV.
Camille, Arabella, and Ruby all fawned over Daniel’s cute smile while Heath, Kyle, and Alec all watched, beers in their hands, cracking manly jokes but really, amazed at the families they’d started.
Ruby overheard Heath say, “I can’t complain, man. Life is fucking amazing, you know? Every time I see Camille and Emma, Camille pregnant with my baby…” He couldn’t finish his thought. “It’s just awesome.”
Alec nodded and stared at Ruby with a smile. “Yep. I know what you mean.”
“Me, too,” Kyle said, his gaze on his princess. Then he blinked and shook his head. “Stop making me look bad, though. I’ll be the happiest man alive when Bella gets pregnant but that can wait a year or two.”
Heath and Alec just grinned.
“Sometimes you have to take your blessings as they come,” Alec said. “Can’t plan for everything, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Alec winked at her.
He had embraced fatherhood without hesitation. The moment Daniel had come into his world, he’d fallen head over heels in love with his son, and even more for Ruby.
His career was flourishing too. The Sports Armour ads had been filmed and would air at the start of the new season, plus a new ad campaign was being laid out by Sports Armour, along with new offers from Nike and Reebok. Alec’s image had undergone a complete transformation. Their marriage hadn’t stayed a secret for long—despite his and Ruby’s best efforts—but when the cat had gotten out of the bag, Ruby had told him they’d be better off using it to their advantage.
She became his full-time, freelance publicist.
Her father hadn’t liked it at first, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The public ate up his love story, and when they’d discovered he and Ruby were having a baby? Suddenly, he’d been on every magazine cover, and photos of them together appeared on Instagram every day. It had worried Alec at first, the intrusion on their privacy, and she understood his worry that some might view the publicity as some kind of sign that he valued his career more than family. But day by day, she’d been allaying his fears, assuring him that so long as it didn’t cross certain lines, it was okay to share their lives, their happiness, with the public. He didn’t have to worry that Ruby would ever interpret his actions as duty or showboating or manipulative ever again—she knew h
er husband for what he was. A good man.
The best man. The hottest, sexiest, most-fatherly man on Earth.
“Does it ever not feel so…overwhelming?” Kyle asked no one in particular. Ruby glanced over at him and saw his gaze was on Arabella again. Lord, the man was smitten. “Like everything’s just too perfect? Don’t you feel like it’s unfair to have it so good?”
Heath shrugged. “Maybe a little, but it will just get better and we get to enjoy that. Cheers, dude.” He clinked beer bottles with Kyle and with Alec. “To life.”
“To our unbelievably amazing lives,” Alec corrected, staring at Ruby.
The friends enjoyed their evening together before Camille and Heath needed to leave to pick up Emma from her father’s. Kyle and Arabella left soon after, leaving Alec and Ruby to themselves and the baby.
Cradled in his father’s arms by the fireplace, Daniel was an adorable, sweet, sleepy bundle. Ruby was pretty sure he’d be huge in no time with the way he drank milk and was filling out fast. Sitting in their living room, listening to music, while Ruby worked on her laptop, nobody had to say anything. Every so often, Alec would lean over and kiss Ruby’s hair, neck, and cheek.
She’d close her eyes and wonder how she got so lucky.
“You know, I’m glad you decided to break the rules for once,” he said after some moments of silence. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting here tonight.”
She smiled at him. “And I’m glad you decided to listen to me and play by the rules, otherwise we definitely wouldn’t be here tonight.”
Daniel’s eyelashes fluttered, and when he opened them, his face screwed up like he was going to start crying. Ruby took him into her arms and rocked him, her voice soft and soothing. Daniel finally fell back asleep. “Let’s get to bed. Our talking is keeping him up.”
“Let’s get to bed so I can rock your world.”
“You are so smooth. Not.” Ruby laughed and led her husband into Daniel’s amazing, zoo animal nursery. But yes, slipping under the covers with her husband would be so good right now. Maybe they could even have sex for hours like they used to do before Daniel came.
Together, they put their son to bed and watched as Daniel squirmed around then finally settled into a comfortable position. They each kissed his little forehead and cheeks before Ruby pulled up the side of the crib, covering him with a light blanket. “Good night, my little football player,” she said.
“Good night, my little freelance publicist.”
Ruby scoffed and elbowed Alec. “Good night, our huge game-changer.”
“Truer words were never before spoken.” Alec picked up his wife and carried her into their bedroom, while Ruby laughed into his neck. Climbing into bed together, her husband wrapped his arms around her, as they stretched and yawned for the third time in five minutes.
“Wow. We may need to postpone that world-rocking session until the morning.” She laughed, cuddling against his chest. Making love in the morning before the baby awoke was her favorite thing to do anyway.
“Fine by me…” Alec kissed her forehead. And before he’d finished his thought, he was fast asleep, his large chest rising and falling in tune to his breaths.
Ruby slipped out of his arms, turned off the light, and snuggled back against her husband. “Good night, Alec. I love you.” Only the sound of his snoring replied. But she knew he loved her, too. He’d told her. And then he’d never, not once, stopped showing her.
Thank you for reading Deep Inside.
If you enjoyed these characters, be sure to check out Book 1, Down Deep, Book 2, Royally Deep, and Virna’s other sexy contemporary romances!
Here’s a sneak peek of Book 1 in the Kiss Talent Agents Series, Lip Service, about sports agent Hunter Kiss and Dani Chase, a woman determined to protect her little brother.
LIP SERVICE Excerpt:
Chapter One
Hunter
“Hunter, baby, you up? Breakfast is almost ready.”
Shit, I think as my eyes flash open.
I stare up at the ceiling and listen to the sounds coming from my kitchen. Female humming. Cabinets opening and closing. Dishes rattling. To my left, sunlight peeks through the shades. I fumble for my phone, check the time, then mentally curse again. Viciously. Not only because I overslept, but because I’m pissed as hell at myself.
“Hunter?”
“Yeah,” I finally call out. “Coming.”
I throw back the covers, get out of bed, pull on a pair of sweats, then splash cold water on my face. Arms braced on the counter, I stare at my reflection in the mirror and curl my lip in disgust.
“You stupid bastard,” I mutter.
Exhausted from a string of eighty-hour work weeks and too much to drink, I’d apparently done something I haven’t done in ten years—fallen asleep immediately after having sex with a woman.
The same woman who was now frying bacon by the smell of things.
The same woman whose name I can’t seem to remember.
I’d met her at Gatsby’s last night and taken her home with me, another rarity. Usually I prefer going to a woman’s place so I can make an easy escape, but she’d been visiting from out of town and had been curious about where I lived. Getting a hotel room had seemed like too much trouble and before I knew it, here we were. She’d been good with her hands at the club, even better in bed. Wild and crazy in the sheets.
But I still can’t remember her name.
When I walk into the kitchen, the pretty blonde looks up and offers me a warm, beautiful smile. If I was anyone else, if I wasn’t Hunter fucking Kiss, the smile would probably melt my heart.
But I am Hunter Kiss and I don’t have time for this shit.
I notice she’s wearing my grey cashmere robe, the one that normally hangs on the back of my bathroom door. That annoys me. When I see my laptop where I left it on the kitchen counter, however—with the screensaver activated, telling me she’d tried to access my files—any notion I had of politely eating breakfast with her before nudging her out the door vanishes.
“Good morning,” she purrs. “You hungry? I thought we could eat and then spend the day together.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
She frowns. “Sorry?”
“My screensaver is still on.” I raise my brows, but I don’t lay into her as much as I should. Yeah, she was nosey, but it wasn’t her fault I’d fallen asleep even after I’d made it clear last night I wasn’t looking for anything more than mutual gratification. Talk about giving a lady mixed signals. Still, I want her gone. “Listen, last night was great, but I’ve got to get to work. The café next door has amazing pancakes.”
Her mouth open and closes. Her face turns red. Finally, her eyes narrow. “You’re a dick.”
I contemplate her words and shrug. I’m not trying to be even more of an ass; she just happens to be right. “Which is why you really wouldn’t want to spend more time with me than you have to,” I say softly.
“Fuck you,” she scoffs as she rounds the counter and passes by me to stalk into the bedroom.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to apologize, but I force myself to remain silent. Ten minutes later, she blows out of my apartment. For a few seconds, I feel guilty. She was a nice woman, for the most part, and great at giving head. But mostly I feel relief. And determined not to make the mistake of actually falling asleep with another woman again.
I make coffee and pick up my phone to call Trisha, my personal assistant. She informs me she already rescheduled my morning meetings.
“Have I ever told you how much I love you?”
“Yes, you’ve told me a million times, Hunter. I love you too, and before the sound of those words makes you shriek in horror and run away, you know I mean that in a brotherly way.”
“Right,” I chuckle. “How’s Gwendolyn?”
“Let’s say it’s complicated and leave it at that.”
“Women are so damn difficult.” I take a sip of coffee, immediately regretting the decision as it�
��s still too hot to drink and singes my lips. “Honestly, I don’t know why you don’t just switch teams. I happen to know a handsome guy who would be just your type.”
“Is he a little over six feet tall with an athletic build? Brown hair and hazel eyes?”
“Yeah, I think we’re talking about the same guy.”
“Yeah, I know that guy, and he’s only my type because he’s even more afraid of commitment than I am. Plus, he’s like my brother, too, and assuming I was ever strictly dickly, I’m not into anything taboo.”
“Everyone’s into something crazy behind closed doors.” I grin widely then ask, “Have you confirmed tomorrow’s meeting with Cross?”
“Actually no. When I called him, he hemmed and hawed a bit. Literally.”
“Yeah, well, he’s a good old Southern boy. But he’s also the best upcoming quarterback in the country, and what do you mean he hemmed and hawed? He was damn excited about the prospect of signing with me and going pro last we talked.”
“Apparently that was before his sister got to him. He let slip she has concerns.”
“Is this the same sister who left twenty-five messages the past week?”
“That’s the one. She’s not your biggest fan.”
I snort. “I’m not afraid of his sister.”
“Seeing as I’m the only one who’s actually spoken to her, I can say in all seriousness: You should be.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re being ridiculous. Signing Cross is basically a done deal.”
“Yeah, well done deal or not, he mentioned he might want to include the sister in the meeting.”
I blow out a breath. “Fuck. But fine. By the time I’m done with him and his sister, they’re going to be drooling with dollar signs in their eyes.”
“I hope you’re right. Anyway, will you be gracing us with your presence soon?”
“I’ll be there within the hour.”