Page 99 of Wild Pitch
His eyes searched mine, welling up with tears. When I leaned up and brushed my lips on his, whatever bit of control he had snapped. His mouth brutalized mine with a ferocity I hadn’t expected. A sharp gasp escaped me, and he lifted me, my legs settling around his waist, and walked us to the patio couch.
The kiss, once fast and hard, turned soft as we re-familiarized ourselves with each other. When I ground against his erection, Luc groaned and pulled away.
“Not here, not now.”
As he put space between us, causing me to lean back while still straddling his lap, his eyes darted to the bump, and he took in the changes to my body.
“I still can’t believe this.”
“What? That something the size of a pear has forced me to walk around with my pants unzipped?”
I lifted my shirt so he could see the lengths I had taken to keep my pants up when I dressed this morning.
“Really? She’s the size of a pear?”
“She?” I asked.
“Oh, God, I hope it’s a girl.”
Other than deciding that I wanted to find out the baby’s sex, I hadn’t thought about it and had no preference. But now I wanted to give Luc a baby girl. God, I wanted to give this man everything he wanted.
“You’ve thought about that?”
He smiled and placed his hand on my belly. “I’ve done nothing but imagine several little girls with your red hair and eyes running around the house. I think I would be a good ‘girl-dad.’”
My father had been the best ‘girl-dad’ because he never once made us think we had to take a step back because we were girls. He taught us to check the oil, fight if necessary, and be aggressive on the field.
“How many little girls do you see in that image?”
“At least three or four. But that’s up to you. I feel selfish even asking.”
“That many little ones are going to be tough with your travel schedule. And I love my job?—”
Luc was quiet for a bit and tucked a stray hair behind my ear as I leaned into his touch.
“It’s funny. I realized something recently. I don’t give a fuck about baseball. After this season, I can end my contract. If that means that I become a stay-at-home dad, I would be the luckiest man alive.”
Was Luc serious? Would he give up baseball and stay home so I could have my career? But wasn’t this something he and Skylar had fought about? I shook off the thoughts about Skylar; it wasn’t lost on me that even in her absence from his life; she had found a way to impact our relationship. I didn’t want to give her any more power in my life.
“You know that I don’t make a ton of money? I mean, we would probably need to downsize our lifestyle.”
“We wouldn’t, Ky. I’ll have no problem showing you my entire financial portfolio, but your career is necessary only for the personal satisfaction it provides you. That’s what always bothered Sky. She couldn’t understand why I bothered with coaching, a career with a horrendous travel schedule.”
In the end, Sky tried to manipulate Luc into leaving his career, which is why I would do my damndest to ensure that he never made a move only to regret it later.
“What changed?”
He kissed me again, and I leaned in, attempting to deepen the kiss before pulling away. My body had missed his and wasn’t getting the memo that we had business to take care of before we played.
“Right after we broke up, I left town for Florida. My family—we have a house on the water in Destin. It’s where I go when I’m looking to heal and find peace. When I got off the plane this time, I expected to find solace there. It did nothing, Kylie. I tried every single one of my usual things to heal the hole inside me you had left. When it didn’t work, I thought diving into thebaseball season would be the answer. It wasn’t either. I realized I could give up baseball, but I can’t give you up.”
I let his words sink in.
“My biggest fear when I found out I was pregnant was that you would find out and decide you didn’t want the baby. So yes, I should have told you no matter what, but emotionally, it would have destroyed me if you refused to acknowledge our baby.”
“Are you going to marry me?”
I laughed and shook my head.
