by Megan Green
I paid Linda Hunter more money than she was worth, letting her know if I so much as heard about her being within fifty miles of Liv again, I’d make her regret it. That included any and all phone calls. Liv didn’t exist to her anymore. And our baby would never know the awful person his or her maternal grandmother truly was.
She’d balked at first, of course, asking how I intended to keep her away. But being a famous baseball player has its perks, other than the fame and money. I know people. People who know people. And, judging from her appearance, it sure as hell wouldn’t be hard to pin her with a drug charge. Add into it the years of basically whoring herself out, and her story didn’t take long to change.
I had no doubts that this would be the last we saw of Linda. Especially now that she finally got what she wanted.
Someone to pay her way.
I cringe when I realize I’ve gone against everything I think is right, but if it means peace of mind for Liv, I have absolutely no regrets. Money is money. I have shit-tons of it.
What I don’t have is Liv.
Not yet anyway.
I hope to change that as soon as possible.
Liv has a follow-up appointment with the doctor today, and she’s agreed to let me tag along. It’ll be the first time I get to see the baby, and to say I’m stoked is putting it mildly.
I can’t fucking wait.
And, if I can get the okay from the doc, I don’t plan on letting Liv out of my sight again.
She needs to get away from this place for a bit. I know she’s going to protest, but I can see it in her eyes. Charlie was only too quick to agree when I suggested she come to Seattle with me for our next round of home games.
Now, I just need to convince her.
I walk the few short blocks to my lake house, taking a quick shower and changing before hopping in my truck and heading to Liv’s for the appointment. She holds my hand as we drive, the smile never leaving her face. And damn if that doesn’t make me feel good. She doesn’t even know her mother is gone yet, but even that isn’t enough to prevent her happiness from the beautiful spring day, the breeze from the window blowing through her hair. From the thought of seeing her baby once again. And, hopefully, from the idea of being able to do it all with me.
Once we arrive, I give Liv some privacy as she changes, stepping out into the hallway. I get a few weird looks from some of the nurses, having told them I was the baby’s father when we arrived. But I want to make this as comfortable as possible for Liv. Even if that means I don’t get to see those luscious curves again until she’s ready.
When she opens the door, she smiles up at me in her ill-fitting hospital gown. The fabric is gray and drab, but the smile on her face eclipses it all, her beaming delight making her look absolutely stunning.
“You look beautiful,” I tell her.
She chuckles and playfully swats at me, rolling her eyes. “Oh, yes, I’ve got this hospital-chic look down pat.”
“You work it, girl. Own it.”
The corner of her lips tilts up in a crooked grin as she climbs up onto the examination table. “God, you’re such a cheeseball.”
I stride over and press a kiss to her forehead. “Gouda or feta?” I whisper in her ear, relishing in the feel of the shiver as it travels up her spine.
“Cheese Whiz. Now, go sit down,” she says with a laugh.
I take my seat just as the nurse comes in and takes her vitals, the doctor following close behind.
He does a brief exam before announcing he’d like to do another ultrasound, just to make sure everything is going as expected after the scare the other night. He explains that a tech normally does these things, but he’d like to see this one for himself.
His heightened concern scares me a little. I thought we were out of the woods, but now, I’m not so sure.
Is there a chance we still might lose the baby?
I voice my fear, and the doctor gives me a placating smile.
“With any pregnancy, there’s always a risk. But rest assured, this is all routine. I like to follow up with all my patients after an incident like the other night. If everything still looks good, we’ll go back to business as usual.”
I hear Liv let out a huge breath, and I wonder if she’s as nervous about this as I am.
That’s a stupid question, I admonish myself. Of course she is. This is her fucking body after all.
I slide up to the bed and grab her hand as the doctor starts the ultrasound.
I have no freaking clue what I’m looking at, but when Liv breathes out a huge sigh of relief, I do as well. Whatever she sees on the screen must be a good thing.
The doctor points out a few things on the screen, letting me know what I’m looking at. When he stops over the heart and that pulsing sound echoes throughout the room, it’s everything I can do to keep from bursting into tears.
Liv isn’t so lucky though. The second she hears our baby’s heartbeat, the floodgates open, and I cradle her head against my chest as she sobs into my shirt.
“Oh my God, Brandon. He’s still there. He’s still in there,” she says through her choked breaths. “Have you ever heard a more beautiful sound?”
I shake my head, leaning forward and pressing my lips against the top of her head. “Never.”
And it’s true. Not when I heard them announce my name in the draft. Not the crack of the bat when I hit my first home run in the major leagues. Not the sound of the thousands of fans cheering my name when I step up to the plate. Nothing—and I mean, nothing—compares to this. Hearing my baby’s heartbeat for the first time will forevermore be the most amazing sound in the entire world.
And seeing Liv’s face as she cries these giant tears will always be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I drop my face to hers, pressing my lips to each of her cheeks. “Thank you, Liv. Thank you for this.”
The doctor excuses himself to let us have our moment. We hold on to each other for several minutes, reveling in the feeling that’s developed in this room.
This is a turning point in our relationship. I can feel it.
Liv doesn’t ask me to leave the room when she undresses this time, and I help her remove the god-awful gown and pull back on the loose dress she put on this morning. When she’s decent, I open the door, and the doctor returns after just a few minutes.
Liv’s face is full of shock when I ask the doctor about her being able to travel to Seattle, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
“I think that would be just fine. There doesn’t seem to be any cause for concern. You should be okay to travel for the next few months, Mrs. Hunter.”
“Miss,” I hear her correct.
The doctor looks down at the chart in his hand, smiling sheepishly when his eyes meet Liv’s again. “Miss Hunter. Sorry about that. But I don’t see any reason for you not to go. Just be sure to call if any other complications arise. And, if there’s any more bleeding, don’t hesitate to go to the local hospital. You can never be too careful.”
We leave the doctor’s office in silence, Liv waiting until after I’ve helped her into my truck to go off on me.
“So, you think you can just make all my decisions for me now? Who says I want to go to Seattle, Brandon? I have way too much to do here. I can’t just skip town for a week.”
I look down at the steering wheel, not wanting to see the anger in her eyes. I knew she’d be pissed. But I also knew that, if I brought it up before clearing it with the doctor, she would’ve shot me down before we could even get the green light. At least now, she won’t be able to use that as an excuse not to go.
“I know, Liv. But hear me out. I talked to Charlie, and he said the last vacation you went on was never. In all the years you’ve been in Maple Lake, you’ve never once gone more than a few hours in either direction. You’ve been working your ass off for years. And I, for one, think it’s time for you to take a break. Charlie agrees with me. He thinks a week away from this town is just what you need.”
“You
talked to Charlie about this? Before talking to me?”
I shrug my shoulders up around my neck, giving her a toothy half-smile. “I wanted to surprise you?” The words come out as more of a question than an answer.
“Well, you’ve succeeded. I can say with absolute certainty that I was not expecting that after the moment we had, listening to our baby. Honestly, Brandon, it’s like you don’t even know me at all.”
I cringe at the truthfulness of her words but quickly shake it off. Because I do know her. And I know she’s going to love Seattle. If I can just get her stubborn ass there.
“Come on, Liv. Lexi will be there, and I know she’s excited as hell about having you in Seattle with her. She already has a list a mile long of all the places she’s going to take you while Tag and I are at practice.”
She deflates a little, her gaze focusing on something out the front windshield.
“If you really don’t want to go, I understand. I just wanted to do something nice for you. Wanted you to have a chance to relax and enjoy some time with your friend.” And with me, I add silently. But I think I’ve pushed her far enough for today.
She lets out a defeated breath. “Well, when you put it that way, how can I say no?”
I turn to look at her, the anger completely gone from her face as she grins at me. A huge smile breaks out over my own face.
“Yeah?”
She nods. “Yeah. Show me your hometown, Brandon.”
Liv hustles to the restroom the second the plane touches down at Seattle-Tacoma International. She refused to use the tiny excuse for a toilet on the plane, and I’m pretty sure she was ready to burst by the time I finally got her off the plane.
I laugh silently as I watch her dart through the throng of people and into the restroom. I step over to Baggage Claim, my gaze flicking from the carousel before me to the door behind me so that I can catch Liv when she exits.
I pull my phone out as I wait and power it back up, surprise rushing through me when it immediately buzzes in my hand.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: I miss you, B.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: This isn’t fair.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: So, now, you can’t even talk to me?
I have no clue whom the messages are from, but from the sound of them, it’s nobody good. I’m about to slide the phone back into my pocket when the screen lights up with an incoming call.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
I answer tentatively, unsure of who or what I’m going to find on the other end of the line. “Hello?”
“’Bout freaking time. Don’t ever ghost me like that again.”
Jayne.
I forgot I’d deleted her number after her last call. But I thought I’d made myself pretty clear…
“What do you want, Jayne?”
“You, baby,” she coos.
I roll my eyes. “I told you, that is over, Jayne. You can’t keep calling me like this.”
“Oh, right, because you’re dating someone.” The sarcasm drips from her words.
“Right. I am dating someone. So, do you care to tell me just what in the fuck you think you’re doing?”
She scoffs. “Oh, please. I know you, Brandon. It won’t last. I don’t even know why you’re bothering. And you know she can’t make you feel as good as I do.”
I turn to look at the restroom door, seeing Liv step out into the crowd of people. I wave her over to where I’m standing before turning my attention back to Jayne. I need to end this now.
“You’re right, Jayne. She doesn’t make me feel the same as I did when I was with you. She makes me feel so, so much more. She’s given me things I couldn’t even dream of having with you.”
“Like what?” she shrieks into the phone.
I turn and smile at Liv as she steps up beside me.
“Happiness,” I say and disconnect the call.
Chapter 17
Liv
My mouth gapes when Brandon opens the door to his twenty-third floor apartment and flips on the light. He ushers me inside, but my feet don’t seem to want to obey my brain, my eyes flicking around to each and every gorgeous inch of the space before me.
I’m not sure why I’m surprised. I mean, I went to Brandon’s lake house when Ian was staying there. Easily the most expensive property in Maple Lake, Brandon’s place is over the top with its high-end furnishings and modern design. But this…
This is un-freaking-real.
A wall of windows makes up the entire south side of the apartment, the nighttime views of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle robbing me of the remaining air in my lungs. Brandon flips a switch on the wall beside him, and a gigantic fireplace roars to life, only adding to the magic surrounding me.
I spin around to face him, his body much closer than I anticipated. The feel of his hard body against mine with his lips mere inches from my own almost does me in. Being here, in this beautiful place, the twinkling lights of the city only a few feet away, has me feeling all sorts of things I wasn’t expecting.
Brandon traces the back of his fingers over my cheek, his eyes searching mine—for what, I’m not sure. He must like what he finds though because the corners of his lips tilt up in the slightest of smiles, causing a swarm of butterflies to erupt in my belly.
Pull yourself together, Liv. You’ve been here for all of two minutes, and you’re already ready to jump his bones.
I clear my throat, taking a step back to put some space between us. I turn and face the room again, the views of the city suddenly seeming much more preferable than the way Brandon is currently making me feel.
The view I understand.
The feelings, however…
I tell myself it’s just the experience of being in a new place. It’s just the romanticism of the city, the beauty and glamour too much for a small-town girl like me.
But I know it’s bullshit. Deep down, I couldn’t care less what’s outside those windows. I don’t care that I’m currently standing in an apartment that probably costs more in rent each month than I make in a year.
The source of my sudden unease and uncertainty is standing right behind me, his deep breaths the only sound in the quiet air between us.
He steps up behind me, his hands resting gently on my shoulders. He brushes the hair off my neck, running his fingers along the delicate flesh there, causing a rush of chills to tremble throughout my body. He drops his lips to my skin, and I shudder at the contact.
“You must be exhausted,” he breathes against my skin. “Why don’t I show you to the bedroom?”
It’s everything I can do not to spin around and climb his hard body like a freaking tree, wrapping my legs around him and clinging to him like a goddamn baby koala. Instead, I nod curtly, hiking my bag up on my shoulder as Brandon grabs my suitcase and rolls it behind him.
The long hallway seems to stretch on forever, framed photos of Brandon and his team peppering the walls. There are a few of him when he was younger and one that I’m guessing was taken the night he was drafted by the Rampage, a giant grin in place on his young face as he holds up a Rampage cap. A dark-haired woman stands behind him in the photo, pride radiating from her every pore.
“Who’s that?” I ask, causing him to pull up short.
He turns and looks at the photo I’m pointing to, and the creases in the corners of his eyes deepen as he smiles.
It just might be the most genuine expression I’ve ever seen on Brandon.
Maybe anybody.
“That’s my ma. I think she might’ve been the only person happier than me that day. Always has been my number one supporter.”
I nod. “It shows. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a smile before.”
“Mama’s always been a looker. But, when she smiles like that…I always used to say there was nobody prettier than my ma. But that was before I met you.”
I give him a playful shove with my shoulder. “Oh, please. I’m sure you say that to all the girls you bring back here.”
Brandon’s face falls, his lips setting
into a stern line. “Liv, you’re the first woman who’s ever stepped foot inside this apartment. Outside of Mama, of course. Oh, and Frankie, who comes in once a week to clean for me. But I can assure you, I’ve never told her she was as pretty as my mama. She’s fifty-something years old and missing one of her front teeth. Sweet as sin though.”
I lift a brow at him. “You expect me to believe that you, the Brandon Jeffers, have never brought a girl home before? Do you think I was born yesterday?” My tone is lighthearted and joking, but the set of his jaw tells me he doesn’t take it that way.
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Liv. I’m not going to pretend like I’ve been a choirboy for the last decade. You and I both know that’s not true. But there has never been another woman inside this place. It’s sacred. Special. It’s where I come to unwind. I only share it with those closest to me.”
My eyes search his face, looking for any trace of bullshit. Because, let’s face it, this is Brandon, and he’s the King of Bullshit. The Emperor of Drivel. The Sultan of Absurdity.
But I’m met with only complete sincerity. There isn’t the slightest hint of Brandon’s usual sarcastic self, and I have to wonder if his bringing me here has more meaning than I originally thought.
“Would you prefer I stay somewhere else?” I ask quietly, not having even considered asking Brandon if he wanted me to find a hotel room during my stay. I will say, I had some second thoughts about staying in his shag pad, but I told myself to pull my big-girl panties up and get over it. It wasn’t like I had been a virgin before I met him.
But hearing him now, I have to wonder if this might be a bad idea. And, judging from the hard look he’s now giving me, I’d say all signs point to yes.
