Earning A Ring. Kristina Mathews

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СКАЧАТЬ 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.

      But in this era of social media, twenty-four-seven sports coverage, and all-access celebrity gossip, those days were as long gone as a ten-cent hot dog.

      Rachel did her job, stopping to chat with fans around the ballpark. Many of them congratulated her on the engagement, and it seemed like they were genuinely happy for her.

      The game remained scoreless into the eighth inning. As it got closer to the end of the game, Rachel started to get nervous about seeing Bryce after the final out. She hoped to interview him, because that would mean he’d contributed to the win and she’d have something to talk to him about besides the idea of planning their wedding on camera.

      With a runner on third, Bryce stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning. He fouled off five pitches before launching one into the left field bleachers. The Goliaths hung on to the two-run lead and sure enough, Rachel interviewed him after the game.

      “That was quite a shot.” Her heart leaped at his success. “You looked like the Bryce Baxter we all know and love.”

      His lips СКАЧАТЬ