Authors: Michelle Congdon
It took me a day to plan everything out, but I had to wait a couple of weeks to execute it. I couldn’t go anywhere during our home games but with fate on my side, the next away game was right in California, in Anaheim against the Angels.
As soon as I received that information, I called up Evie’s brother, Connor Montgomery, and requested their grandparents’ street address, even though I was someone he didn’t want to hear from. The conversation didn’t go down so well at the beginning but once I’d informed him I knew all about the baby, Connor reluctantly agreed to help.
So it
is
true.
Everything was set, so all I had to do was wait until the day came. I couldn’t tell anyone what I was up to; even Bucky, the believer in true love and chasing after what you want, wouldn’t agree to what I had planned. I kept a low profile over the next couple of weeks, leaving straight after the games and refusing to join in the parties and celebrations after our wins. I also paid zero notice to the women who tried desperately to grab my attention. It’d gotten easier since Evie was back in my life…well, sort of. I was going to make sure she was back in it.
When the day finally arrived, all I could think about on the flight over was what I was going to say to her. It had to be flawless in a way she couldn’t possibly turn me down. Of course I had much apologizing to do—she needed to know why I’d taken so long in going after her—but so did she.
I waited just before it was my turn to bat before I asked a stunned Bucky to stall for me while I snuck out the back. I’d arranged for a taxi to pick me up and take me to the hire car which would drive me to Newport. It did cross my mind that what I was doing was completely insane, and not only were the coaches going to kick my ass but so was my manager, Phil. I hadn’t heard of anyone leaving midgame before except in the movies. Oh, well, it was too late to turn back by that point.
After arriving in Newport and finding the right estate, I pulled up to a mansion with the address Connor had given me.
Wow
, was all I could think as I passed the many multimillion-dollar houses with their manicured lawns and oversized in-ground pools. It was a sight I wasn’t used to. Yeah, baseball paid me a lucrative income and I owned a spacious apartment, but I lived in New York; we didn’t have room for such oversized luxuries. Sure looked good, though.
An elderly lady with a sour face and faded orange and gray hair greeted me at the door. “Is Evangeline home?” I asked when all she did was stare at me.
“No,” she replied, eventually shaking her head.
“Do you…do you know where I can find her?” The lady shook her head again, leaving me standing there in complete awkwardness.
I turned to walk away, unsure how else to respond to her bizarre behavior, when I heard a man’s voice call out from behind her. “Connie, who is it?”
Spinning back around, an elderly man dressed in dark slacks and a gray knit top, with the charm and suave of Sir Sean Connery, stepped in front of the door. “Ryan Fox, it’s great to see you here,” the man said. While I wasn’t sure how he meant that, a genuine smile grew behind his thick peppery beard.
He had to be Evangeline’s grandfather. The harder I looked, the more I could see the family resemblance, from the soft hazel eyes to the shape of his nose. “Hello, Mr. Sinclair. It’s nice to meet you.”
I shook his outstretched hand and took a small step back, in awe of his great presence. Now
he
was a man I aspired to be like. Rupert Montgomery had been a great man but his father-in-law, Caleb Sinclair, was on another level completely.
“I’m sorry about Connie. I think she recognized you immediately, and how can I put it lightly—”
“Hates my guts.”
The old man chuckled and let go of my hand. “She has always been protective of all my grandkids. You can’t blame her for it, though.”
“Suppose I can’t,” I mumbled, glancing behind Mr. Sinclair and noticing the woman staring back at me from inside the house.
“Hopefully Connie mentioned Evie isn’t home. She’s gone to lunch with her grandmother.”
Yes, finally I’m getting somewhere.
“Would you happen to tell me where, Mr. Sinclair? I really would like to speak to her.”
He took a moment to pause and look at me before he spoke again. I wondered what he was thinking. “They didn’t mention but if Hunter has anything to do with it, they’ll be down by the pier.”
I felt a large grin grow on my face and quickly thanked the old man before rushing back into the rental car. It wasn’t until I was driving out of the estate that I wondered who the Hunter guy was. But that was about to be the least of my worries. Coming toward me, in a small white car, was someone who looked like my trusty manager, Phil. Of course he’d know where I was going. My suspicions were confirmed when the car passed and the man, dressed in a suit, started shouting. His car came to a screeching stop and did a sharp U-turn before speeding up, trying to catch mine.
Phil Taylor is not about to spoil this for me.
Thankfully, we were the only two on that strip of road, so I hit the gas. Phil immediately followed in pursuit, so I had to think of ways to try and lose him through the streets of Newport.
Eventually, I did. I figured keeping to the main streets where traffic was bound to separate us would at least give me a few minutes alone with Evangeline before Phil came storming in. Since Phil didn’t know Evangeline’s location, I took him on a wild detour, circulating the same blocks and streets a few times, before finally heading off to my true destination. When I couldn’t see his car behind me anymore, I headed for the pier.
After parking, I jumped out and headed for the first restaurant I could see. I stuck my head in but couldn’t see her. Knowing it was only a matter of time before Phil found me, I raced toward the next one. There she was.
I felt the magnetic pull between us long before my eyes fell on her. She was already facing me, staring at me with a mixture of confusion and shock. I’m sure I was a surprise to her, but it was me who was completely awed by the sight I saw. Evangeline stood there in a loose navy dress which tightened around her stomach, showing off an obvious but glorious bump. She seemed to glow a vibrant color, and a golden aura surrounded her, almost causing me to lose my footing as I made my way toward her.
“Evie…” The words came out in a barely-there whisper as I forced myself to stop from throwing my arms around her. I needed to stay calm and get everything out that I’d come here to say.
By the time I reached her, my mind blanked, and I forgot everything I’d drilled into my head in the car. The only thing I could manage to do was stare at her like a stunned creature then gently caress the side of her face with my hand.
This is my everything; how could I have let her get away from me in the first place?
As time passed between us, I realized we didn’t need words. Well, we did, to sort out our mess, but not then. At that point, it was just her and me…well, until some
ass
came between us and disturbed our moment.
“Is this the jerk who knocked you up and screwed you over?”
I snapped out of the magical moment and turned, with narrowed eyes, to the voice. Beside Evangeline stood a teenage boy with his hair in blond dreadlocks. His face seemed familiar but I couldn’t place him, probably because the glare he directed at me was very similar to the one all men gave me whenever I was seen talking to women they fancied. I didn’t fight over women; I never usually went there if the girls were taken, but Evangeline was a different story. I’d fight every single guy who stood in my way for her, including the one fiercely protecting her in front of me.
“Who are you?” I narrowed my eyes. “Aren’t you a little young to be messing around with my girlfriend? Are you old enough to be in here?”
The teenager with surfy hair took a step forward with his chest puffed out.
So, that’s how he wants to play this game.
We exchanged a few more words before Evangeline jumped between us. That only caused my anger to rise further. If that guy touched or hurt her, I’d make sure he knew exactly what it felt like.
“Guys, really? Are you both going to do this right here? In front of my grandma?” Evie said in what was possibly the cutest angry voice. With her hands still up in front of our faces, she tilted her head so I could see her eyes. “Ryan, this is Hunter, my cousin. Hunter, meet Ryan.”
“So, you
are
the guy who screwed her over. Well, you’re not welcome here. Go back to your t-ball game; my cousin’s not interested.”
“That’s cute, beach boy, but it’s time to take a step back and let the grown-ups talk,” I scoffed. Cousin of Evangeline’s or not, I was unwilling to step down from the argument.
“Hunt, thank you for being worried about me, but I can take it from here,” Evangeline said to her cousin. I couldn’t help the smug smile forming but as soon as those sharp, determined eyes turned on me, the smile immediately dropped. Only she had the power to do that to me.
I waited for a lecture about behaving childishly toward her family, but it never came. She became almost shy standing with me. It was then I realized it was my turn to speak. “Evangeline…I came armed and ready with an entire speech on how I was going to win you back, but standing here looking at you has made me forget the words,” I said truthfully. “I can’t take my eyes off you. You’re absolutely beautiful. Not that you weren’t before, but now you’re carrying my child inside you, it’s like there is a golden aura around you. You’re glowing.”
Her cheeks turned pink as she glanced anywhere but at me. “Please don’t say things that aren’t true, Ryan.”
Fuck, she looked cuter than ever standing there awkwardly. It reminded me of the time I saw her in the hotel lobby, back when she wanted me but was too proud to show it. The memory caused a small smirk to form as I stepped closer to her and leaned into her ear.
“If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. He popped up as soon as my eyes landed on you,” I teased, risking a slap on the face I was sure I’d receive from saying the words. Hell, any touch from her would be okay right now.
As predicted, she stepped back with a stunned look on her face once she understood the comment. I quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist, not allowing her to get too far away from me.
“You think comments like that are going to make me take you back?” She was trying so hard to act tough, but I knew her better than that.
“Oh, I already know you want me.” My smirk grew. If she wasn’t going to admit it, I was going to force it out of her. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the look on your face when I came through those doors, or the way your body is reacting with me standing so close. I notice everything about you. You have been staring at me like a lioness that hasn’t eaten for days, which is understandable, I guess. Just admit it, Evangeline; you want me bad.”
“You are the most arrogant person I have ever met,” she groaned, rolling her eyes.
That’s my girl!
“Save the compliments for later, Evie, when I have you against the wall.”
“I am
not
going to sleep with you.” She ripped her wrist free from my grip but didn’t move from where she was, which only confirmed my theory that she wanted me back as much as I wanted her.
“We’ll see, but right now, I need you to come with me.” While I enjoyed playing this game of cat and mouse, I had to remember I came for more important matters.
After grabbing her attention by mentioning I knew about my child, I’d managed to get her to follow me into my car. We were going to a hotel where it was quiet and away from prying eyes, so I could try and win her back. Unfortunately, Phil chose that exact moment to arrive, screeching the car to a stop and slamming the door as he stepped out, fury written all over his face.
I quickly closed the door to the passenger side of the car and joked to Evangeline to remain calm. The man was ready to blow his lid, and even though I understood it was a serious matter for him, it didn’t seem that way for me.
“And just what the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Phil began.
“Proving to my girl just how much I missed her, what does it look like?” I replied casually with a shrug. I had to admit it was tempting to see if I could finally push Phil to his limit.
“Have you lost your Goddamn mind?! You just left in the middle of a ball game! I don’t care who you are; you can’t just do something like that! You need to get your ass back to Anaheim before they cut you from the team!”
“They can try but they won’t. You and I both know they need me too much.” That part was true and while I never understood why, I’d have to go to extremes for them to cut me.
“Can you stop being a pompous fuck for just a second? They
can
cut you and they
will
! You’ll be lucky to get another game in the Majors this season after the ridiculous stunt you just pulled! They’re as furious as I am!”
I rolled my eyes.
Hello to the ever over-dramatic Phil
.
Without really giving him a proper reason for doing what I did, I straight-out said I wasn’t going back, and after a little time I think I slowly got through to him.
“What did I do wrong in my past life to possibly deserve the most insubordinate client in the world?”
Then again…maybe not.
“Hey! Don’t forget I’m also your sexiest client,” I retorted with a giant grin on my face. “And I earn you truckloads of money, so it’s not all bad. Now, please excuse me; I’m wasting precious time. Tell the guys I’m sorry.”
“That’s the thing. You always say that, but you are never really,
truly
sorry. You can’t just say that every time—”
“Yeah, yeah. See ya, Phil.” Not letting him finish, I hit my foot on the accelerator and sped out of the parking lot. I couldn’t help but inwardly smile at seeing Phil lose his shit in the rear view mirror.
Finally, we were away from everyone so we could have a chance to properly talk. I told Evie I’d booked a hotel on the drive over to Newport, which was a tiny white lie. I had no such reservations, but it didn’t take much to walk up to a reception desk and ask to borrow a room for a couple of hours. The receptionist was a young boy, barely in his twenties, and when I mentioned my girlfriend and I needed a room, he practically handed the keys over and threw me a wink.
“What do you think you’re doing? You said we were just talking.”
I knew Evangeline would have something to say about me taking off my shirt. The fact she’d told me numerous times already she wouldn’t sleep with me was a great indication of that. But I wanted to get comfortable, and it wasn’t my fault
she
couldn’t keep her eyes off me.
“And we are. I’m just making myself comfortable,” I answered, hiding my grin before turning around.
“By getting naked? If this is just—”
She didn’t finish. When I met her eyes, she was busy staring wide-eyed at me; well, not at
me
but something on me.
Fuck!
After worrying about everything else, I’d completely forgotten about the one thing I wanted to show her slowly, in case she freaked out. Oh, boy, was she about to freak.
“Ryan…you have a tattoo.”
“Do you like it?” I asked, tilting my neck to see the beautiful artwork. I decided to get it done a couple of weeks before. While I pretended Evangeline wasn’t a part of my life anymore, reality was I needed her much more than I showed. Getting her name tattooed on my ribcage was about the closest thing I was going to get to having her near. I know it sounded like a crazy thing to do, but there was no one else for me. She was it.
“Why?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Why not?” I tried to appear calm while the nerves ran wild inside my body.
“Ryan, you have my name tattooed on your body.” She didn’t sound mad and she hadn’t laughed; she sounded intrigued more than anything. That was enough to stop the uneasy feeling inside, and I felt a small smile form on my face.
“Tell me what on Earth made you get that,” she asked more firmly after seeing my smile.
“The answer is simple, Evie,” I responded, losing the smile. “I got it so everyone knows I belong to you. So the whole world can see the name of the girl who not only owns my body and my soul, but every piece of my heart; the only girl who was able to tear down my walls and wasn’t afraid of the real man she found hiding inside.”
The room was silent for a moment, but my head was filled with loud noises as we just stared at each other.