Down the Line (Sports Romance) Read online

  “But he’s been at this a long time. I’m sure he’s learned to live with it.”

  “Yeah.” She tucked her hands under her thighs. “It’ll just take me a while to get used to all the changes, that’s all.”

  “You’re not having any regrets about marrying him, are you?”

  “No way.” Marrying Ethan was the best decision she’d ever made. “This was the right decision, I know that. I just have to figure out what my life is going to look like now.”

  He grinned. “Life as Mrs. Ethan Shaw sure won’t be what you’re used to.” He laughed. “Welcome to your castle, Cinderella.”

  “Shut up.” She blushed, shaking her head. “This isn’t some fairy tale. It’s real life. And I know things won’t be perfect all the time. We’ll face our challenges, just like any couple.”

  “Sure, your challenges just won’t include how to pay the electric bill or fix the car when it breaks down.”

  When he put it that way, she realized how lucky they were. Whatever problems they faced, they could handle. Together.

  Chapter Fifteen

  His sister sat behind her desk, gaping at him when he told her the news that she was going to be an aunt. Maybe. Possibly. Probably.

  “I don’t believe this.” She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes. “How the hell did this happen?”

  Ethan rolled his eyes. “I thought Mom had that talk with you when you were fourteen.” She kicked him under the desk, making him wince. “Ow! What the hell?””

  “You think this is a joke?” She slammed her hands down on the desk, leaning forward. “Do you know what this is going to do to your wife? She told me you two were trying to get pregnant on your honeymoon!”

  That was the bad thing about being married to his sister’s best friend. There were no secrets between them.

  “You don’t think I know that?” He covered his face with his hands, suppressing a groan. “Why do you think I’m here? I need to figure out how to tell her.”

  “Don’t.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell her. Not yet. You don’t even know anything for sure.” She fired up her laptop and shifted to face it. “There must be a way you can find out if the baby is yours without having to wait ‘til it’s born. If it’s not, Grace will never have to know about this.”

  Ethan didn’t think it was right to keep something like this from Gracie, but he sure as hell didn’t want to make her question him or their relationship so soon after taking their vows. She was uprooting her whole life for him; the least he could do was make it as easy and stress-free for her as possible. Maybe his sister was right. Maybe keeping his mouth shut until he knew for sure was the best approach.

  Bella bit her lip as she surfed the internet, frowning hard as she flipped between websites. “How far along did you say she was?”

  “Six weeks.”

  “Ha!” Bella’s face lit up. “That’s perfect. That means she can get a blood test without some invasive testing that has to be done later in the pregnancy.”

  “That’s it?” he asked, relieved. “Just a blood test?”

  “They’ll need blood samples from you and her, but it can be done as early as next week.”

  “That’s amazing, sis.” Ethan felt like an idiot for not doing his own research, but he’d been so concerned about how he was going to tell Gracie, he’d never even thought about whether he would have to. “Thanks.”

  “My pleasure. Now, let’s just see the best place to have it done.” She typed away on her computer. “Back in KC would probably be best, right? You definitely wouldn’t want that bitch to come here.”

  “For all I know, she’s still here.”

  “Ugh. Get her out of town as soon as possible. Having her and Grace within a ten-mile radius of each other is just asking for trouble.”

  “You’re probably right, but maybe we should choose a neutral place between here and there.” It was hard for him to be incognito in the city where they’d won a championship, and the last thing he wanted was for this to leak to the press.

  “You could.” Bella grabbed her notepad and scribbled down a few names and numbers. “Honestly, I’m surprised Issie hasn’t announced this on social media yet.”

  “Are you kidding? Her silence is worth a lot more to me than that.”

  “You paid her to keep her mouth shut?” Bella asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “You think that was wise?”

  “What the hell was I supposed to do? She blindsided me with this. I needed time to think, time to figure out how I was going to tell Gracie.”

  “I guess. I just hope that decision doesn’t backfire.” She slid the paper across the desk. “It doesn’t look good, E, paying her to keep her mouth shut.”

  He knew he hadn’t handled it well, but he’d felt backed into a corner and he panicked. “What would you have done if you were me?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know.”

  “Well, that doesn’t help.”

  Her phone buzzed, and right before she hit Ignore, Ethan recognized the number that flashed across the screen. “That’s Loran. Why aren’t you gonna answer it?”

  “Because I’m done with him.” She curled her hands around her take-out coffee cup as she sat back in her swivel chair.

  “What the hell happened? You guys seemed pretty tight in Vegas.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, well, he started making all kinds of crazy demands, and you know I don’t go for that.”

  “What happened?”

  “You’ve got your own problems,” she said, waving off his concern. “You don’t need to be worrying about mine.”

  “What happened?” he repeated firmly. If Loran had done anything to hurt his sister, he was going to hurt him.

  “We had a little fun up in his room, and I told him I preferred to sleep alone, so I headed back to my own room. Except I wasn’t really tired, so I headed down to the bar. I started talking to this guy next to me.” She smiled. “Turns out he was pretty nice. We had a lot in common.” When Ethan frowned, she shook her head. “It was strictly platonic. He was just cool to talk to.”

  “And?”

  “Loran came down, saw us together, and went crazy.” She swatted the air with her free hand. “Said I left his bed to go pick up some other guy. Can you believe that?”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Ethan put himself in Loran’s position. “Uh, sis, not gonna lie, if I found the girl I was hooking up with down at the bar chatting up some other guy less than hour after we’d been together, I might be pissed too.”

  What surprised him the most was that Loran even cared. The message was pretty clear. Bella wasn’t like all the rest as far as he was concerned. But Ethan had seen evidence of that during their exchanges at dinner. He was really into her.

  “What is it with you guys?” she demanded. “Can’t you see that women are not your personal property? We have a right to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

  That was probably the reason Bella was still single. She had no respect for boundaries in a relationship.

  “Okay, let me ask you this. If you’d gone downstairs to find him with someone else, would you have been mad?”

  “Why would I be mad?” she asked, looking amused. “You think I don’t know that he’s a man-whore?”

  She was so hard, so cynical, Ethan almost felt sorry for her. “Can’t you even entertain the possibility that this one might be different?” He couldn’t believe he was going to bat for Loran, since he’d been so opposed to their relationship in the beginning. But seeing them together had made him re-evaluate. Maybe his teammate could be the one to finally make his sister happy.

  “No.”

  “Why not?” He watched her carefully, trying to read between the lines. “You’re afraid of getting hurt. You really like this guy and—”

  “I never said that!”

  Ignoring her, he added, “And you’re afraid that if you take a chance and he turns out to be as bad as people say he is, yo
u’ll not only look like a fool, but you’ll end up with a broken heart.”

  She wasn’t admitting it, but she didn’t deny it either.

  “You really think I’d suggest you talk this out with him if I thought that was his plan?”

  “You don’t know his plan.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Like he’d tell you even if he had one.”

  “Look, I’ve spent enough time around the guy to see a pattern. He likes ladies. He likes the attention he gets from them, like most of the guys on the team. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see something special in you, sis.”

  Her eyes drifted back to her computer screen. “He’d be a lousy bet.”

  “But I’ve never known you to play it safe before.”

  “Maybe it’s time I start,” she said, sighing.

  * * *

  Grace was packing the clothes she wanted to take to Ethan’s when he walked into her bedroom.

  “Hey,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  His smile was tight when he glanced at the suitcase. “Your doorbell’s not working. We’ll have to get that fixed before you put the house on the market.” He stepped back. “You know, I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe you shouldn’t be in such a big rush to put this house on the market.” He looked around at the freshly painted master bedroom. “Might make a good rental.”

  They’d talked about her house on their honeymoon and Grace had told him she wanted to use the money from the sale to invest in another business. “I already talked to the agent. She’ll be stopping by tomorrow to let me know what she thinks we can list for.”

  His eyes widened. “Wow, that fast, huh?”

  “Why wait?” She could tell he was tense, but she didn’t know why. “Unless you’re having second thoughts about marrying me?” She’d been teasing, but when he looked away, her stomach dropped. “Ethan, what the hell’s going on with you? Are you having second thoughts?”

  “No.” He took her face in his hands, kissing her. “How can you ask me that? You know I’ve wanted this for years. I’m psyched that you’re finally my wife.”

  She wanted to believe him, but something in his tone told her that he was holding out on her. “Did something happen? Is it something to do with the team?” She knew he had a couple of years left on his contract, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been rumblings about a trade.

  “Nothing like that.” He smiled. “Baby, it’s nothing. I just thought maybe you’d want to hang on to this house a while longer, that’s all. In case…”

  “In case what?”

  He chuckled. “In case you get pissed at me and need somewhere to retreat.”

  He was smiling, but she wasn’t. There was a hint of fear in his joke, she could hear it.

  “You really think I’d leave you?” she asked, tipping her head back to look at him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “That’s never going to happen.”

  He swallowed before shaking his head. “I know.”

  “Do you?” She knew they’d been through a lot and it would take time to build trust in what they had, but she didn’t want him to live in a constant state of fear that she was going to leave him.

  “Sure.”

  “Ethan, the past is the past. I’m over it.”

  “Yeah, so am I.”

  “Then why are you in such a strange mood?”

  “I’m not.” He slipped out of her arms, holding her hands to keep her at a distance. “What can I do to help you?”

  “You can start by telling me what’s going on with you.”

  “Nothing.” He stepped around her, gesturing to the suitcase. “So you’re just bringing the basics, right? I’ll have to clear out some space for you the walk-in closet and I haven’t had a chance to do that yet.”

  Last time they’d discussed it, he’d been ready to call a mover and have everything she owned moved across town to his place. Now one suitcase was more than enough to satisfy him?

  “I don’t have to bring anything at all,” she said, trying to shock him into telling her what the hell was going on. “In fact, I don’t even have to move into your house.”

  “Christ, Gracie.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t say shit like that. You know I want you with me.”

  “I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure.” She sank down on the foot of the bed next to her open suitcase. “Is this the way it’ll always be? You questioning me or me questioning you? Will we ever be able to feel secure in what we have?”

  “Hey,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of her. “Come on, baby. Don’t start thinking like that. You and me are on solid ground. Nothing can shake us.”

  She wanted to believe him, but ever since he’d walked through the door, she’d felt as though there was a gulf between them and she didn’t know how to bridge it.

  He stood, setting the suitcase on the floor.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, watching him pull his long-sleeved T-shirt over his head.

  He grinned. “I’d think that would be obvious.”

  Her mouth watered as she watched him undress, but she couldn’t shake the feeling he was trying to distract her. “Ethan, I—”

  He silenced her with a kiss, pushing her back on the bed until he hovered over her. “Let’s get rid of this,” he said, tugging on the hem of her short flowered dress.

  “I think we should…” She fell back on her elbows when his fingers teased her through her silk panties. Her core was already throbbing as he inched her legs farther apart.

  “You think we should what?” he asked, lying down beside her. “Forget about everyone and everything else for a while and just enjoy each other?” He kissed her neck, making her squirm. “Yeah, good idea.”

  He had her right where he wanted her, focused solely on the pleasure he was delivering. All of her thoughts zeroed in on the sensitivity that felt like the center of her world as he worked her over.

  “Ethan… I… oh…”

  “Yeah, baby?” He nipped her nipple through the thin cotton bra and dress, making her back arch off the bed, hoping he’d give her more. “You like that?”

  He was stroking her hard and fast now, making her lose herself as the tension in her body built. She curled her toes and flattened her palms into the duvet, gasping as he drove two fingers into her.

  “I’m gonna—”

  He cut her off with a searing kiss that extended her release to a dizzying stretch.

  She felt drowsy and satisfied, but instead of giving her a chance to catch her breath, he upped his game, stripping off her clothes. There was intensity to his actions now, as he pulled her to the edge of the bed and pinned her legs back. He slowly entered her, his eyes never leaving hers as her mouth formed a soft O while she caressed her breasts. Having him watch her was a turn-on, but she’d rather feel his hands on her than her own.

  He slipped one of her legs over his shoulder and shifted their positions so she was nearly on her side while he drove into her. He hit so deep, and it was so powerful, all she could do was scream through another release. She was stunned when he threw his head back, gripping her hard before he pulled out and coated her stomach.

  “Why did you do that?” She wasn’t angry or offended, but they hadn’t been using protection since their wedding night and he kept telling her how much he wanted to get her pregnant.

  He winked before leaning over to kiss her. “Can’t become too predictable, can I? Let me get something to clean you up.”

  She turned her head, watching him wet a washcloth at the sink in the adjoining bathroom. Something was definitely up, but why the hell wouldn’t he tell her?

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you,” Ethan said through clenched teeth as he gripped the phone. “Get your doctor to arrange it. I’ll meet you at the clinic next week to do the blood test.”

  He hadn’t expected Issie to make this easy for him, but the fact that she was fighting so har
d made him feel better. It meant there was a good chance he wasn’t the father after all and she was just trying to drag this out to extort more money from him.

  “I’ve never even heard of a non-invasive paternity test you can take before the baby’s born.”

  Ethan had had Bella confirm it with her doctor. It was definitely a thing. “I’m texting you the name of the clinic that will do it for us. They just need your doctor’s office to provide a requisition form.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get in to see him on such notice. It usually takes a couple of weeks to get an appointment.”

  “We don’t have a couple of weeks,” he said, trying to control his rage. “We have to get this done between seven and eight weeks or it’ll be too late. If we can’t do this, we’ll have to wait and do some invasive test at twenty weeks or something. Make me wait and you can kiss any more money good-bye.”

  And there was no way he could live with this huge secret for another three and a half months. It was already killing him to keep this from Gracie. Not to mention the risk to the baby. If Issie really was carrying his child, he had a sinking feeling he’d spend the rest of his life trying to protect him or her from their selfish, reckless mother.

  “I know you think the whole goddamn world should ask how high when you say jump, but that’s not gonna happen. It’s my body and I’ll decide when—”

  “You want me to take this to my lawyer? Get a court-ordered paternity test?” He didn’t even know if that was possible before the baby was born, but he felt the threat would be enough to motivate her to take action.

  “You think you can bully me into doing what you want? Sorry, not gonna happen.”

  “So what’s the real reason you won’t do it? If you’re so sure the baby is mine, prove it. Then I can start taking responsibility now. I’ll pay all the medical bills and make sure you have whatever you need throughout the pregnancy.” He knew he was speaking her language. Money. When she didn’t respond, he had to ask. “Issie, there is a baby, isn’t there?”

  “Of course there’s a baby! How can you even ask me that?”