ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: M.V.B. - Most Valuable Baby (Sports Secret Baby Romance) (Contemporary Interracial Pregnancy Romance) (15 page)

She told him as much back at their apartment, the two of them snuggled on the couch while watching TV. The commercials—so many damn commercials—were so long and boring, she actually forgot what they had been watching to begin with.

Ben kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t we go on vacation after the season is over?”

Georgia smiled and hummed her approval. “That sounds wonderful. Some place private with no reporters, fans, and definitely no paparazzi. Those guys are insane.”

He snorted against her head, his breath warm. “I’m sorry, are you complaining about being famous?”

She jolted. Huh. She had been complaining about it for some time now, though she hadn’t realized she had been complaining about “fame” per-se. Still…

“Because,” Ben continued, clearly amused, “it’s kind of cliche for a famous person to complain about fame.”

She groaned and pressed a hand to her face. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“I’m just saying. You’re with a famous linebacker who makes a lot of money, dealing with the media comes with the territory.”

“I never said I was great at empathy, okay!”

He bellowed out a laugh, head tilting back over the couch.

She laughed with him.

A number of months later, the Vipers lost their chance at the playoffs. She and Ben were able to plan their getaway even sooner than expected.

“This is not a good thing,” Ben reminded her defensively. “We should have made it to the playoffs, but Jenson and Lopez were reckless enough to get injured.” Ben shook his head and swore, disappointment evident in his tone.

“I’m just looking at the silver lining,” she lied, smiling. She opened her laptop to start planning their trip. “If the Vipers can’t be in the Super Bowl this year, then at least we get an early vacation.”

“That’s the wrong way to look at it.”

“I’m pregnant. Let me look at it the wrong way.”

He never had a response when she pulled out the pregnancy card like that, so he huffed and dropped the issue over her heightened enthusiasm.

Ben drove the two of them to a California beach resort—an exclusive gated resort with only a few cameras for security. The guests tended to be rich and famous, so they didn’t bother one another too much with pesky things like autographs or gossip.

It was glorious. Their suite alone—massive and plush—was enough to satisfy Georgia’s growing need for comfort. Walking took more effort, sitting took more effort—and with people watching her?

First chance she got, she dropped her bags in the front room of the suite and went over to the giant bed to lie down. The second she did, it was like she was sinking into a heavenly kind of quicksand. Georgia moaned and went limp.

In the other rooms, she heard Ben move their bags around and check out the entirety of the suite. “You like it here, babe?”

“God, yes,” she said, followed by another moan. Her aches and discomforts were evaporating from her flesh as she spoke. “Let’s live here.”

He laughed, entering the bedroom enough so that he could lean against the door-frame and stare at her. “I’ll talk to the manager about it right away.”

“You better.”

He laughed again, breathier this time. “Don’t get too comfortable just yet. We’ve got dinner reservations.”

“Let’s skip it and sleep forever.”

“I don’t think so.”

Georgia groaned, though she did peek one eye open to stare at her boyfriend. “You sure?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Alright.” She closed her eyes and sighed melodramatically. “If you really don’t want to sleep forever, I guess I understand.”

“And the dinner reservations.”

She waved her limp hand out. “Yeah, yeah. That, too.”

They went to some Greek place that had a name Georgia couldn’t pronounce, but their bread—their stews—they smelled like meals gods would eat.

Her mouth watered as she waited for her food, her hand swirling around her glass of ice water. Ben, kindly, only had a glass of ice water, too. And he was also swirling it around, though his movement seemed a little jarring—nervous, fidgety.

Georgia turned to him, his gaze shifted back and forth.

She frowned. “Are you okay?”

Ben snapped his eyes to her, his lips spreading wide. “Yeah, yeah. I’m just…eager, I guess.”

“Me, too. I am starving.” She watched a waiter in the distance, his tray of food steaming. Her stomach growled in response.

Ben choked on a chuckle. “No, that’s not—” He shook his head and cursed, his eyes gleaming. “You know, screw it. I can’t wait.” He got out of his chair.

Georgia furrowed her brow. “What? Ben—”

He crouched right beside her before positioning himself on one knee. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and took out a little box.

Shock—adoration—love rushed through her, seizing her heart. Georgia tried to blink past the tears that formed, but they only formed again, stronger.

Ben popped the box open, revealing a gorgeous, huge diamond ring. “Georgia, I—”

“Yes.”

Ben sucked in another laugh. “You didn’t let me finish. I’ve been practicing this speech for weeks.”

“Sorry,” she said, grinning. “Sorry, I just love you so much, and I wasn’t expecting this, and this is…I love you.” She held both of his hands, her eyes locking with his.

“You keep messing up my plans,” he said, voice weighted with fondness. “Come here.”

Georgia leaned forward and let Ben surge toward her, his mouth capturing hers in a heated kiss.

***THE END***

Tackling Coach’s Daughter

CHAPTER ONE

Tanya’s bedroom was located on the first floor, and Eric Reed was damn lucky that that was the case. Otherwise, things might have gone very differently the night he came up to her father’s large house and banged on the door.

She had been up, anyway. She being a college drop-out mooching off of the great coach Lawson of the New York Yaks while she tried to figure out to do with her meager life…yeah, she hadn’t been getting much sleep for the past few months. Guilt, shame, frustration…

It was two o’clock in the morning when Tanya jolted in her bed, the harsh sounds of Eric’s fists meeting the front door echoing throughout the first floor. Her heart hammered, her palms sweating. She had reached for her cell phone to call the police when Eric shouted. Then she relaxed, recognizing the voice of her father’s favorite running back.

“I deserve better than this!” Eric slurred loudly. “I’m young but I’m the best player on the team, coach! My contract should represent that! It’s respect, man!”

Tanya blew out a breath and shook her head. Normally, she didn’t get involved in her father’s work, but this guy was disrupting her attempt at sleep. Plus, he was going to get himself fired, and her dad wouldn’t want that to happen.

Rolling out of bed, she grabbed the robe from off the back of her desk chair and wrapped it around herself. She strode out of her bedroom, her hands clutching the robe’s flaps over her breastbone. So determined to end this situation in a peaceful and swift manner, she didn’t even think to be intimidated until she was standing in the entryway. Eric’s fists striking the door—making it rumble—made ice shoot through her veins.

She shook it off and walked forward. She knew self-defense—took several classes in regards to it. She couldn’t live her life in constant fear.

Eric was shouting profane things now as she unlocked and opened the door.

He sneered and jabbed a finger in her direction. But then when he realized he wasn’t staring at “Coach,” his face and finger fell. “Oh, um…sorry, ma’am. I…” Eric squinted and glanced around. “This looks a lot like Coach’s house.”

“It is,” Tanya said tersely. “I’m Coach’s daughter. Tanya. Tanya Lawson. Remember, Eric? He’s had the team over here more than once.”

He blinked at her, and then a slow grin made its way on his face. Swaying on his feet, he pointed at her. “Tanya. Right. I’m Eric Reed. Running back. Maybe you’ve heard of me.”

She gave him an incredulous look before rolling her eyes. It was people like Eric that gave his colleagues a bad reputation. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she slowly said, “Listen to me, Eric. You are drunk, right?”

“Only a little, baby. No need to worry about me though.”

“Right. Of course. But even with that being the case, I know that your agent would want to know about all the grievances you have with Coach, right? He would want you to talk to him about your contracts, right?”

“Yeah, always. And I did. But that money-grubbing asshole said that—that—” Eric burped, gagged, and then burped again. He gave her smirk afterward. “Excuse me, sweetheart.”

Disgust churned within her. She fought past it and continued. “Look, Eric, you need to get sober and talk to your agent for a longer amount of time than you already have. That is your best option right now. Did you hear me? Get sober, talk longer to your agent, and then you get what you want. Sound good?”

“Huh…” He pursed his lips and tilted his head to the side. “That does sound pretty good. There’s gotta be a catch.”

“Just one,” she said, smiling as sweetly as she could, “you have to quietly sit on the porch for a few minutes while I call you a cab.”

“But I already got a—” He motioned behind him to the empty street. “Hey, where’d he go? I gave him money so that he would stay put. Dumb driver.”

“I will call you another cab. Just sit down on the porch, Eric.”

He faced her again, his eyes gleaming as he staggered toward her. “What—what do I get if I obey? Hmmm?” He leaned toward her.

“You don’t get killed by Coach. Now, sit down or I’m going to call the police.”

“That’s harsh, baby,” Eric said, but he did as told and lowered himself to his knees, and then his rear. He sat crisscrossed like a child. “Is this good enough for you?”

“Yup. Now stay there.” She closed the door and locked it—just in case—before hurrying over to the landline.

Cab called and money in her hands, she sat by Eric on the porch as they waited for his ride. He leaned toward her repeatedly and told her some line about her eyes or her lips, and she in return would push him back.

When the taxi finally arrived, Tanya handed him the money. “Get home and sleep this off. Dad needs you to be better than this.”

“Whatever you say, sweetheart,” he said, winking at her.

Rolling her eyes yet again, she went back and inside and locked the door. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to deal with Eric Reed again.

CHAPTER TWO

From the sidelines, Tanya watched Eric Reed and the others practice. She rested her chin in both hands while blinking at the sights before her. Gray clouds made the field look bleary but bright, painful to the eyes until they adjusted to the lights’ reflections.

Her father yelled out insults that supposedly motivated the players, and the players grunted and did as they were told. It was all very boring. But with no degree and no job, her father had the final say on what she did nowadays, and today, he had wanted her to get out of the house.

“I’m tired of your self-pity,” he had said, huffing and shaking his head. “This is your own damn fault. You have to fix it already. Be an adult.”

“I’ve changed my major four times, wasted all that money, and I’m still uncertain of what I want to do with my life. What do you suggest I do? Waste more of your money?”

“At least get out of this house once in a while.”

“And do what?”

“You could watch practice. That might motivate some fight into you.”

It wasn’t. If anything, Tanya found herself pitying the athletes that ran, jumped, tackled—did everything that was commanded of them like circus monkeys. God help her if her father ever knew what she truly thought of his favorite sport.

She rubbed her watering eyes and suppressed a yawn. She had studied some art, anatomies, computer science, and the contemporary English language. She felt no more satisfied or whole since she had first started college.

Maybe she was just a spoiled brat. The thought had her lips twisting downward, but it was a legitimate thought. She hadn’t worked nearly hard as her parents had when they were her age—may her mother rest her soul—and her father now had his dream job. He was never a football player himself like he had initially wanted, but still.