by Ward,Alice
As he sauntered out, Whitney looked at me. “Did he…? Is…?” She shook her head, still trying to decide if Ace was just pulling her leg.
“Sshhh.” We both looked up to find Ace standing in the doorway. He was holding a finger up to his lips. “Don’t fuck up my surprise, got it?”
We nodded dumbly, then looked back at each other as the door clicked shut.
I shook my head, unable to deal with any of that just now. “Forget about him,” I said, turning her toward me again. “What about leaving baseball? What do you think?”
Her lower lip trembled, and she pulled it into her mouth, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “Cal, I—”
The door opened, and I groaned, looking up to see the team doctor. He was followed closely by Rhett and Coach Griffin. I glanced back at Whitney, who was wiping her eyes before turning to face them. The atmosphere of the room had become oppressive.
The doctor nodded to Whitney and held out his hand. “I’m Dr. Walters. Sorry to be meeting you under such tense circumstances.” Whitney shook his hand, then placed hers right back into mine, linking our fingers together.
“Well,” I began nervously, “what’s the verdict, doc?”
He didn’t smile, which made my balls shrink in alarm. “The good news is that it’s a severe strain and not your rotator cuff. You won’t require surgery.”
Whitney sagged beside me in relief.
“What’s the bad news?” I asked him, tightening my jaw to take the blow. I could tell by the look in his eye that I wasn’t going to like his answer.
“Your season’s over, Calvin, but not your career. Six months of rehab then we’ll reevaluate, but I’m optimist that you’ll be back for season two.”
It was like he punched me in the gut. I couldn’t breathe for a moment. I wasn’t really sure if my heart was keeping a good rhythm. I wasn’t sure if I was going to pass out.
Rhett spoke up, “That’s a relief. Good to know we’ll get you back.”
I smiled at him, blinking several times to clear my vision. “Thanks.” I didn’t promise him I’d work hard in rehab or that I’d be better than new when I came back. I didn’t know myself. I might be a high school physical education teacher by this time next year, coaching t-ball on the side.
There was more talk about therapy, things I only half listened to as a million what-ifs floated through my mind. Finally, the door closed behind the men, and it was only me and my girl again.
She turned back to me, lifting her hands to cup my face, her lips pressing against mine for the sweetest kiss I’d ever received.
“Okay,” she said on a long breath, “what’s the worst case scenario here?”
I pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then stroked her soft cheek again, swallowing hard. “Losing you.”
She smiled, her eyes growing wet. She blinked back the tears, looking up to keep them at bay. “You’re not losing me regardless of the scenario, so let’s focus on career stuff. What are the options?”
“Well, since this isn’t a career-ender, I could be on the disabled list while I rehab, then come back next year like doc said.”
“Or…?”
I kissed her forehead. “Or we go home, give all this up, and I become a high school coach or some shit.” I kissed her forehead again, then the tip of her nose. “Marry my girl, have a few rug rats, and live happily ever after.”
She snuggled closer, her face pressed into my neck. “Would you be happy with that?”
“Sweetheart, wherever you are, I’ll be happy, and I know we’ll make it work.”
She pulled back, looking me in the eye again. “You’d really give all this up?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“What about your contract?” she asked, chewing her bottom lip.
That would be a problem, a big one.
“I’ll deal with it,” I told her with more confidence than I felt. I’d get sued and lose everything. Except Whitney. I wouldn’t lose her, and that was good enough.
She leaned forward, pressing her lips to mine again, harder this time. I wrapped my good hand in her hair to deepen the kiss. She made that adorable little sigh that assured me she was happy. I’m pretty sure I made a similar one.
She pulled back, just an inch, still so close that her breath warmed the space between us. “Do you know what it means to me for you to be willing to give all this up?” I just smiled and continued to stroke her hair. “I love the idea of going home, of getting regular jobs and living a normal life together.”
My heart squeezed. Damn. I hated to give it up, but normal seemed pretty good too.
“But…” she went on, poking me in the chest with a fingernail, “if you quit, I’ll never forgive you and will personally kick your ass all the way to Indiana before kicking it all the way back here and forcing you to play.”
I blinked, and she laughed, a beautiful, musical sound.
“I love you, Calvin. And we’ve had a tough few months, but neither of us are quitters. Got it?”
I kissed her nose. “Yes, ma’am.”
She backed up a step and held out a hand. “Alright then, let’s get you out of that uniform. I’m starving.”
Smiling like a crazy man, I followed her out of the door to the locker room. “Better close your…” She screamed and whirled around, her hands clamped over her face. “Eyes,” I finished with a laugh, looking around.
Dicks and ass. Yep, my girl just saw them all.
She’ll probably never be the same.
Whitney
My cheeks were still burning by the time we left the locker room. At least now I could understand why Holly was so enthralled with Ace. Holy dick! He could use that thing for a bat.
Calvin was in a sling, his right arm slung over my shoulder as we headed to the field to deal with the media circus and listen to Rhett give the formal announcement that Calvin was out for the season. Maybe the tabloids would back off for a while. A camera flashed in my face. Maybe not.
When we opened the door to the parking lot, I was glad it was still daylight. I liked afternoon games much better than night ones. Calvin tossed me the keys to the Escalade, and I nervously got behind the wheel. I’d driven his Porsche in Long Island traffic, but not this big, oversized thing. I guessed I’d need to get used to it sometime. This was home now, and I needed to get used to everything that meant.
“Turn right out of the stadium,” Calvin told me and I glanced at him.
“Why?”
He grinned. “Calvin says just do it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Calvin says, huh? Since you’re in a sling, I’ll play.”
Following his commands, we ended up driving about twenty minutes out of the city, to an area where there was slightly more grass than concrete.
“Where are we going?” I asked for the fifth time, but he only hushed me again.
“Calvin says turn left in three… two… one.”
I stopped the SUV. “Uh, that’s a driveway.”
“Yes, I know.”
I did what he said, driving through an open gate. My heart thumped hard, then began racing, my fingers trembling on the steering wheel. In front of me was a stunning, wood shingled colonial featuring a deep wrap around porch, sitting on a large lot that seems completely out of place in this city.
“It’s… it’s…” I covered my face and began to cry.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Exactly what I’d always wanted.
The words were stuck in my throat.
“I sent the realtor a picture of the old Parker place and asked her to see if there was anything close to it within a half hour of the stadium.”
I looked at him, then at the house again, then back at him. “Is it ours?” I finally managed.
His smile could have lit up the entire world at that moment. “It can be, if you want. It’s your decision.”
Pressing the gas, I drove closer, needing to see it better. No, not really. I already knew it was everythi
ng I’d always wanted and never thought I’d have.
The old Parker place was my dream house. It was a colonial, similar to this one with dark wood shingles and a wrap around porch. I used to talk to Calvin about the house, about how I’d decorate it, and which room would be the nursery some day. I wanted four kids. Two boys and two girls. Twins would be perfect. So I wanted a big yard where we could celebrate birthdays and put up one of those large bouncy houses. There would be pony rides too.
“There’re five bedrooms and four and a half baths,” Calvin said, talking about square footage and acreage. “Want to go inside?”
My head whipped in his direction. “Can we?”
“Yep. The realtor should have it open for us. I planned this yesterday before…” he looked down at his sling. “And since it looks like we’re going to be city folk for a while longer, having our own little farmhouse in the middle of it seems like a good compromise.”
I nodded like a crazy person, opening the door to step out onto the driveway. I walked around the car and straight into Calvin’s arms — arm. “I love it. I don’t even need to go inside to know it’s where we belong.”
“Let’s go inside anyway.”
I looked at his shoulder. “Are you sure you feel like it? I mean, you just got hurt and—”
He kissed me hard, then grabbed my hand. I’ll never tell him this, but I’m kinda liking him taking charge like this.
An older lady with her hair pulled back in a bun met us at the top of the steps. She smiled and waved us inside, leaving us to tour the house ourselves, which I appreciated very much. “I’ll just enjoy one of these rocking chairs while I wait.”
The inside took my breath. Wide planked wood floors in dark expresso caught my eye immediately. They were mirrored by the dark planks of the ceiling. “Oh my.” Light gray walls with white trim softened the effect, as did the large windows letting in the gorgeous early evening light.
A sweeping staircase rose to the bedrooms above, and I could imagine our children sliding down the banister. I stepped farther inside the empty home and could envision where all the furniture would go.
The kitchen was a chef’s delight, and I’d have to take lessons to do it justice. A formal dining room would seat a table of at least twelve, while a cozy breakfast nook would be perfect for just us.
Glancing out the windows, I gasped at the pool, then the view of the Sound beyond. I stepped outside and walked to the prettiest gazebo I’d ever seen, rose bushes climbing the walls. A hammock with what looked to be a dozen colorful pillows highlighted the space. I turned back to look at Calvin… then down. Oh my God. He was down on one knee.
“For nine years now, it’s been you and me,” he began, and I immediately burst into tears. He was crying too, and I sank to my knees, moving down to his level. Our level. Together.
“I love you so much, even more now that I almost lost you. I’ll never be so foolish again. Be my wife, Whitney. Let me love you forever. Let’s make babies together. Make mistakes together. Make up together. Please, say yes.”
I was crying so hard I could only nod. “Y-yes,” I finally managed and held out my hand as he slipped the most incredible ring on my finger. This one was different from the one I’d found months ago in the little apartment.
“After we moved here, I bought you a ring and should have asked you to marry me then. But I didn’t, and we both went through hell and back because of it. That other ring no longer fits. It was perfect, flawless, but it wasn’t us. This is an infinity setting.” I held the sparkling beauty up to the light and could see the infinity symbol woven through the band with tiny diamonds.
“Infinity,” I murmured, “so we always come back to each other.”
“Yes. Always. And the center diamond is flawless, surrounded by a halo. A symbol that we respect the path, respect each other, respect what we are to each other.”
“It’s perfect.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the ring, then each knuckle beside it. “I love you.”
I crawled into his lap, being careful of his shoulder. “I love you too.”
I’m not sure how long we sat there, just holding each other that way. It didn’t matter. Nothing else matter.
Because we were back.
Calvin and Whitney.
Together forever.
THE END
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A SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK
SECRETS
(LORDS OF THE CITY)
ALICE WARD
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Who is stalking Blaire and is her new love, Cristiano, involved?
After following other people's orders my entire life, I've finally struck out on my own. I realize that I don't even know who I am. It's time I found out who Blaire Daniels really is. I need to discover myself… reinvent myself.
And, if the breathtakingly sexy and handsome, not to mention super rich, Cristiano Leventis is a part of that equation, who am I to complain?
But, is it just coincidence that I meet him now? When I think someone is following me? Or is something more sinister going on? Please don't let me be falling in love with the wrong man. He seems like such a perfect Mr. Right…
Secrets (Lords of the City) is a Full Sized Standalone Novel with an HEA and no Cliffhanger!
CHAPTER ONE
e
A breeze wafted in through my bedroom window, lifting the lace curtains. Down on the street two floors below, a car honked and someone shouted in Spanish. Women chattered and birds chirped. Spring. It had arrived just as gloriously as it always did.
I took a deep breath and gazed at myself in the floor-length mirror leaning against the wall. I meant to hang it weeks ago, but like so much else in the apartment, I just hadn’t gotten around to it. Nearly six months into the lease and I still wasn’t sure how I felt about living alone. It was weird, waking up in the middle of the night and being able to do whatever I wanted. I knew it was good… well, hopefully I would one day see it as good. Besides, it was past time to cross living alone off the bucket list. But it was still odd, just like almost everything else that had happened in my life this past year.
I brushed some of my blonde hair from my eyes and twisted my lips, making a funny face at myself.
“Don’t be nervous,” I said out loud. “You got this.”
I scrunched up my nose, Mirror Me not believing Right Side Me.
“Really,” I stressed to my reflection, giving mysel
f an encouraging fist pump. “Really.”
The one seriously fantastic bonus about living alone that I had discovered? You could talk to yourself twenty-four-seven, and no one else was around to look at you funny.
With a confident nod at myself, I turned from the mirror to rifle through one of my jewelry boxes. My recent visit to the Swap-O-Rama flea market had turned into something akin to hitting a gold mine. Brightly colored chunky bracelets now filled one side of my blue velvet jewelry box. I selected a coral one and an orange one, slipping them both on my left wrist, the blend the perfect complement to my reddish-orange and white romper. Just being fully accessorized had a way of making me feel better.
Snatching up my leather fringed purse from the bed, I left the bedroom and crossed the tiny living room.
“Phone,” I murmured to myself, feeling in the bag for it. “Keys… check.”
I unlocked the front door and yanked it open… then let out a yelp.
“Sorry.” Derek grinned, gazing down at me. His unruly brown hair fell down over one side of his face, nearly hiding one of his eyes. He looked like a college kid trying to be goth. When I first met him, I thought he was actually younger than he was, mostly because of the hair.
I exhaled loudly. “It’s all right. I was just… lost in my head. How are you?”
“Good.”
I rolled up onto my tiptoes so I could reach his face and give him a quick peck on the lips.
“Were you leaving?” He shifted his weight and rested an arm against the doorway.
“Yeah, I’m going to the orphanage today. Remember?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.” He straightened up. “Well, let me walk you to your car.”
“Sure.”
Derek stepped out of the way and waited silently while I pulled the door to my apartment closed and locked it up.
“How’s it going over there?” he asked as we clomped down the stairs.
“Good.” I smiled just thinking of their faces. “The kids at Hampton Road are great.”
