Читать книгу Earning A Ring - Kristina Mathews - Страница 10

Somewhere around midnight, the minister at the Biggest Little Wedding Chapel pronounced Bryce and Rachel husband and wife. She made a mental note to check the exact time, in case their marriage did last a full year, she should know if her anniversary would be April 30th or May 1st.

“You may kiss your bride.” The minister nodded to Bryce who turned to Rachel with a look she hadn’t seen on his face in some time. Pure, absolute confidence. He reached his hand behind her neck, pulling her close to him, and lowered his mouth to hers, brushing her lips lightly before diving in for a deeper kiss. If a marriage could work based on nothing more than chemistry and sexual attraction, they had nothing to worry about.

Rachel forgot where she was, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. She loved and hated his long hair. He’d earned the nickname Midas late last season when everything about him was golden. Golden touch, golden hair. And now he had a gold band on his left ring finger.

Their sole witness, Johnny Scottsdale, cleared his throat and finally, Bryce let her go.

“Congratulations.” Johnny shook her hand and offered a sincere smile. “I always had a feeling about you two.”

“Thank you.” Rachel had a feeling, too, but it wasn’t the kind of optimism expected of a bride on her wedding night.

“Why don’t you two stop by our place in the morning?” Johnny gave Bryce a sly look. “Alice and I would love to help you celebrate. We can have a reception brunch.”

Rachel was a little surprised by the invitation, considering she was the one who’d figured out Alice’s teenage son could have been Johnny’s and not her late husband’s child. But he and Bryce had formed a close friendship, and since Johnny’s retirement after the World Series, Bryce had been missing his friend. The fact that Johnny had left his wife and baby girl at home to attend their midnight wedding was a testament to the bond between the two men.

“We’ll definitely stop by.” Bryce put his arm around her waist and grinned like a real groom. As if this were a real wedding. “Not too early, of course.”

He slid his hand down her hip, making her quiver in anticipation of their wedding night. If she could keep her eyes open long enough to strip out of her wedding dress. She’d chosen a simple little sheath in a pale green that was as close to white as she could find on such short notice.

Bryce on the other hand, looked like something out of GQ. He wore a silvery-blue dress shirt, black pants, and a tie with blues and greens that almost matched her dress. His hair was slicked back off his face, falling in neat waves down to his shoulders. His two-day stubble glistened like gold against his tanned skin.

She’d never been a fan of long hair on men. But on Bryce it worked. He was six feet two inches of solid muscle. Broad shoulders, square jaw, chiseled abs. The hair toned down his raw masculinity, added to his boyish charm. And it was fun to play with in the right circumstances.

She couldn’t wait to run her fingers through his hair. She hated to admit it, but he was a fantastic lover. He made love with the same kind of enthusiasm he played the game with. And while they were in bed together, he made her feel like the only woman in the world.

She wondered how long she’d be the only woman in his bed. She glanced down at her still flat tummy. Would he still want her when she looked like she was trying to smuggle a beach ball into the ballpark? She’d better enjoy him while she could.

They said goodbye to Johnny, and Bryce helped her into the front seat of his Corvette. She tried to picture him driving a minivan, and giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Just thinking of trying to fit a baby seat in this car.”

“I guess I should trade it in for something more family friendly.” He didn’t sound amused.

“Don’t you dare.” She leaned back against the seat. “You worked hard for this car. You earned it.”

“It’s not very practical.”

“No. But it is something for you to be proud of. Don’t get rid of the car.”

“I guess we could get some sort of SUV to drive the kid around in.”

“We don’t need to worry about that just yet.” Because that would just make the situation seem all too real. They weren’t heading to a hotel to get it on after another one of Bryce’s milestones. The night they celebrated his contract extension had been one of their crazier nights together. Crazy and intense. And that was before she realized she had conceived.

“I guess we should start thinking about finding a bigger place. Look into school districts, should we go public or private?”

“Whoa, slow down.” Rachel wasn’t ready to think about maternity clothes, let alone school uniforms. “Can we just get to the hotel and enjoy our wedding night? We don’t have to plan for college just yet.”

“It’s never too early to start thinking about those things. You know I’m not going to be making this kind of money forever.”

“Bryce. Stop. Please. I can’t think about all of this right now.” Although if she’d been smart, she would have thought about at least some of it before she’d said I do.

“Okay. Sorry. You’re right. We should be celebrating.” He turned toward her, flashing his most seductive grin. “Tonight is going to be very special.”

He stuck the key into the ignition, started the engine, and then drove them to the hotel.

“Do you mind if I take a quick shower?” Bryce asked once they settled into their room. “You could join me?”

“You go ahead. I’ll just slip into something more comfortable.” Rachel felt shy all of a sudden. They’d torn each other’s clothes off enough times over the last year or so, she shouldn’t need to take a minute to wonder if he was going to find her desirable.

But everything had changed. She couldn’t keep telling herself that this would be the last time. That it was just sex and it didn’t matter if things didn’t work out.

Because now it mattered.

* * * *

Bryce took a longer shower than he’d planned. He was nervous. It wasn’t like it was the first time he’d had sex. Not even the first time with Rachel. Yet, the pressure was on. And it was a hell of a lot more pressure than just living up to his contract. He was going to have a kid. And he wanted to prove to Rachel that he could step up to the plate.

He toweled off, combed his hair, and swished some mouthwash for good measure. He wanted tonight to be special. Different from all their other hookups. This was their wedding night, so it had to be spectacular. He splashed a little bit of cologne on, and contemplated shaving, but he knew what he could do with a few days’ worth of stubble.

He ran his fingers through his hair one more time and walked into the bedroom ready to make this a night neither of them would ever forget.

Too bad Rachel was sound asleep.

She had slipped into a slinky little nightgown. Arranged the pillows behind her so she was propped up and ready for him. But the late hour had caught up with her. And maybe the whole growing a human being thing. He supposed that took up a lot of energy.

He was torn between wanting to wake her up, remind her how good they could be together, and watching her sleep. God, she was beautiful. Even with her mouth open and soft snores escaping her perfect lips. She’d worn her auburn hair up for the wedding, but had taken it down and the red and gold and copper-colored strands framed her sweet face. Her left arm was flung overhead and her right hand rested protectively on her lower abdomen. Her chest heaved with each breath.

His own chest felt like it was shrinking, his ribcage growing smaller by the minute. He couldn’t breathe. Rachel was his. Officially. He had the ring on his finger and the piece of paper to prove it.

Now he just had to make sure he didn’t screw it up.

* * * *

Rachel woke to sunlight streaming into an empty room. She’d fallen asleep on Bryce. On their wedding night. Instead of two or three rounds of hot, sweaty, mind-blowing sex, she hadn’t even made it to a goodnight kiss.

She was just stepping out of the shower when she heard Bryce’s keycard in the lock. Rachel dried off, wrapped her hair in a towel, and slipped into a robe. She stepped out of the bathroom.

He was carrying a paper cup from Starbucks and she waited for her stomach to recoil at the smell of coffee. But there was no smell.

“I started to get you a cup of coffee but then I remembered pregnant women shouldn’t have too much caffeine.” Bryce offered her a sweet smile along with the familiar green and white cup. “So I got hot chocolate. I also thought you might need a little something to tide you over until we get to Johnny and Alice’s. I hope you like those little mini scones.”

“Thank you.” She took the hot cocoa and the bag of scones over to the table by the window. They had a great view of the city and the mountains surrounding it. She took a tentative sip, hoping it wasn’t too hot.

“I finished my coffee downstairs. In case the smell of it bothers you.” He stood as she pulled a vanilla frosted scone out of the paper sack. “Does the smell bother you?”

“Sometimes.” She took a tiny bite, not trusting her stomach much these days. When the first bite seemed to pass the test, she took another. “But I miss it, too.”

“If you have to give up coffee, I will, too.” Bryce continued to stand there, hovering. “We’re in this together.”

“Stop. Please.” She took a sip of hot cocoa to soothe the stinging in the back of her throat. Tears welled in her eyes. She hated being so damn emotional all of a sudden. “And please, sit down. I can’t stand this overprotective thing you’ve got going.”

“I’m not overprotective.” He sat carefully on the edge of the bed. “I just want to take care of you. And the baby.”

“It’s too much.” She shoved the cocoa and the rest of the scones away from her. “You finish your coffee downstairs so I don’t have to smell it. You bring me scones and hot chocolate and stare at me while I eat. It’s like you’re waiting for me to fall apart.”

“I’m not waiting for you to fall apart.” Bryce rested his forearms on his knees. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Yeah. Well, I don’t need your help.” Now she sounded ungrateful. “I don’t need your understanding. Or you sacrificing your morning coffee for me.”

“Okay.” He said the word as if he thought she was overreacting. Maybe she was. But this wasn’t them. They weren’t a couple. They’d never even shared a meal together. Not even late night room service.

“Maybe I’m being a little…” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I guess I just don’t want you to throw up in my car. It was bad enough you threw up on my car.”

He looked up at her and grinned. That stupid, adorable, impossible-to-resist grin.

Her heart did a crazy little lurch, and she knew she was going to end up in bed with him once again. Of course she was. They were married.

She stood up, walked over to the bed, and placed both hands on his shoulders. She shoved him down and started kissing him. He tasted like coffee and vanilla and Bryce. She pressed her breasts against his chest and wove her hands into his hair.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and she could feel his erection pressing against her belly. He felt his way underneath her robe, and grabbed her ass. She wriggled, moving her hips to give him better access. This was more like it. This was what they did together better than anything.

“Do you have a condom?” She stopped kissing him long enough to ask the question she’d asked him dozens of times.

“You’re pregnant,” he said with a look of surprise.

“Yes. Even more reason to be careful.” She didn’t want to imply that she didn’t trust him, but… “Unless you can tell me you haven’t been with anyone since the last time we were together.”

Before he could confirm or deny her suspicions, her phone on the nightstand buzzed. She knew by the ringtone she couldn’t ignore it.

“Shit.” Rachel rolled off him. “I’ve got to get that.”

“Really? Now?” Bryce sounded irritated. Of course he was.

“Believe me, it’s better to get it over with.” Rachel scrambled off the bed and grabbed the phone.

“Hi, Mom. What a nice surprise.” She sat on the edge of the bed with her back to Bryce and smoothed her robe down around her thighs. She felt the bed shake as he got up, and she tried not to cry when she heard his footsteps cross the room.

“Speaking of surprises.” Her mother’s tone was all too predictable. “I was watching the news last night, and before they even got to the sports highlights, there was my sweet baby girl onscreen, accepting a marriage proposal from one of the Goliaths’ players. Please tell me it was a joke. Or a publicity stunt. Please tell me you’re not engaged.”

“I’m not engaged.” She gripped the phone, digging her nails into the shockproof cover. “I’m married. Bryce and I are in Reno, and actually, we don’t have a lot of time left on our honeymoon, so—”

“Married? I see.” Her mother sounded like a woman who had just learned her daughter had run away and joined the circus. “I suppose informing your own mother of your intention to get married just sort of slipped your mind.”

“Look, Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t call you, I didn’t have time. It all happened so fast. We had an off day and decided to take advantage of it while we could.”

“You just up and decided to marry this guy on a whim?”

“It wasn’t a whim. It was…” She rubbed the back of her neck. “We decided it would be better to make the wedding small. Stay out of the spotlight.”

“I don’t understand. I’ve never even met this man.” Mom sounded more hurt than offended, now. “Never even heard you mention him. I talked to your sister. She said the only thing you ever said about him was that he drives you crazy.”

“He does drive me crazy.” Rachel sighed. She turned to see if Bryce was listening, but he’d left the room. “But he also makes me laugh. And I don’t expect you to understand, but I do hope you’ll support me. Support us.”

“It would be easier to support you if I wasn’t so blindsided. I didn’t even know you were seeing someone.” Rachel supposed it would be a shock. “I mean, you were with Carter for three years. You brought him to Megan’s wedding. We were all expecting you two to be next.”

“Well, Carter wasn’t the man for me.” She was glad Bryce wasn’t in the room. She didn’t want him to overhear her defending her choice to dump a man who had charmed her family so convincingly. “He cheated on me, for one. And he didn’t take my career seriously.”

“He cheated on you?” Mom sounded genuinely shocked. “I’m so sorry.”

“He wanted me to quit my job.” That still stung even more than his infidelity. “Thought I’d be content to simply be Mrs. Bigshot Attorney.”

She flopped down on the bed just as Bryce came out of the bathroom. He saw that she was still on the phone and started to back away. She smiled at him, motioning for him to stay.

“Look, Mom. I’m sorry you didn’t get to come to the wedding. But I’ve got to go. We need to head back to San Francisco. We both have to work tomorrow.”

She glanced over at Bryce, and a warm feeling bloomed in her chest. Part of the reason they were here in Reno was so she could keep her job. Hopefully. But the fact that Bryce recognized how important her career was made him a hero in her heart.

* * * *

She didn’t trust him. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it still hurt. She wanted him to wear a condom. Because she knew he’d slept with other women. Not as many as he could have, but more than he should have. The question he had to ask himself was why? To prove he was hot stuff? He was Bryce Freaking Baxter. World Series Champion. MVP. The highest paid player on the Goliaths. He made even more than Marco Santiago. But Marco was set for life. He’d married the Goliaths’ former owner. She’d basically traded her interest in the team for Marco. Not to mention a large sum of money.

Bryce had done everything he could not to let anyone get close to him. He knew his time at the top was only temporary. He wasn’t going to be the man forever. He didn’t want to set someone up for disappointment.

It had worked for him just fine until he met Rachel. He’d thought she was just using him for a story. Not a big deal. He’d been used for most of his life. From the minute his talent had become a little more than average, his dad, coaches, and yes, girls had all jumped on the Bryce Baxter bandwagon. He didn’t mind. Too much.

But when he’d gone back to Rachel to plead Johnny Scottsdale’s case, to ask her to keep the story to herself, she’d agreed. And he’d been totally screwed.