Earning A Ring. Kristina Mathews

as if he had the whole world at his feet. “I’ve had a rough go of it these last few weeks. But one thing that’s gotten me through these painful losses and tough wins was knowing I’d see your pretty face after the game.”

      Rachel felt heat flash across her skin. Her stomach rolled. She was on camera, so she simply smiled, even though she had a horrible feeling he was going to do something outrageous.

      Bryce reached into his back pocket, where he usually kept his batting gloves, and pulled out a small velvet-covered box. He dropped to one dirt-covered knee.

      “Rachel Parker, will you marry me?”

      Her jaw dropped open. She felt the earth tilt on its axis. She happened to glance up at the scoreboard. They had broadcast Bryce’s proposal, right there on the big screen for everyone to see.

      “Please, Rachel. Say you’ll be my wife.” Bryce looked up at her with his big blue eyes. His irresistible smile. And that little something that rendered her completely powerless to deny the man anything, whether it was an invitation to his bed or a preposterous proposal. The only thing she could keep from him was her heart.

      “Yes.” She barely got the word out before the tears sprang forth and she dropped her microphone. The crowd cheered. Many of the forty thousand people in attendance were still on hand to witness the most exciting, the most humiliating moment of her life.

      Bryce slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her, bringing her to her knees and the crowd to a collective “Awww.”

      Her cameraman shut off the live feed. But there were still plenty of fans nearby. She had to continue the façade. They loved Bryce, and couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t be thrilled to marry the sexiest shortstop in baseball.

      As soon as she caught her breath, Rachel tried to gather herself together. She unclipped her earpiece, the large diamond ring weighing heavy on her hand.

      Bryce stood there at the top of the dugout steps, grinning like a kid at Christmas. What could he possibly be thinking? She didn’t want to get married. And there was no way he actually wanted to get married.

      She checked with her producer, making sure she was finished for the day. Hopefully she wasn’t finished for her career.

      “Hey, I got this.” Carl assured her. “You two go celebrate. And congratulations.”

      “Thanks.” Rachel felt heat creep across her cheeks. She’d been trained to always go along with the story. Only this time she’d become the story.

      “We need to talk.” She followed Bryce into the clubhouse where they were greeted by applause, whistles, and catcalls.

      “I’m in trouble already.” Bryce grabbed her hand and if they didn’t have so many witnesses, she would have pulled it away. Instead, she had to put on her best glowing-bride-to-be smile.

      They found an empty training room and she pushed the door shut, keeping her hands on the frame while she took a calming breath. She turned to face him, and saw his cat that ate the canary grin.

      Calmness was overrated.

      “Of all the arrogant, irresponsible— Are you totally out of your mind?”

      “I thought it was romantic.” Bryce’s eyes twinkled with merriment.

      “Romantic?” She was not going to fall for his charm. Not this time. “Maybe if you actually wanted to marry me. But Bryce, you can’t be serious.”

      “Oh, I can be serious.” He closed the distance between them. Standing so close she could almost feel his heartbeat, he leaned into her space. “I can be very serious.”

      He placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head so he could look into her eyes.

      “Please, Rachel, won’t you take a chance on me?” He rested his forehead against hers. The heat from his body radiated through her. He hadn’t showered yet and he smelled of sweat, glove leather, and that scent that was uniquely his. “Take a chance on us.”

      “You make it sound so simple. I almost want to believe you.”

      “So why don’t you?”

      “Because I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t want you to resent our child.” She could barely get the words out past the lump in her throat.

      “Never.” He shook his head. “How can you even suggest that?”

      “I know how you feel about your ex-wife. I’ve heard you say it enough times.”

      “That’s totally different.” He backed up, folded his arms across his chest.

      “No, Bryce, it’s not. You only married her because she was pregnant. You wouldn’t have proposed to me if I wasn’t pregnant.”

      “Ah, hell.” He fisted his hands, clenched his jaw, and exhaled. “There’s one crucial difference here.”

      “What’s that?”

      “I like you.” He shrugged, his lips twitching with amusement.

      “You like me?” Hope bloomed in her chest. But it was overrun by disbelief.

      “Well, yeah. I do.” He reached for her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her palm. “I like you a lot.”

      She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So she did both.

      “Rachel, look at me.” This was a side of Bryce she’d never seen. Serious. Sincere. And very dangerous where her heart was concerned. “I know it seems kind of sudden, maybe a little bit crazy. But I just know that when I’m with you, everything feels right. You’re good for me. You’re good for my game.”

      “Your game?” She knew it was too good to be true. “You want to marry me because you think it will help your game?”

      “No. That’s not it.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “All I know is that everything I accomplished last season was so much better because you were there with me. We can be great together. Let’s take a swing at it.”

      She knew the odds were against them. They didn’t have a solid relationship, and bringing a baby into the world would be hard enough without the added pressure of the spotlight given to the reigning World Series MVP and his Emmy-award-winning fiancée.

      “I can’t marry you, Bryce.” She wanted to believe in him, but even he couldn’t pull this off. “It just would never work.”

      “But you already said yes.” He sounded a little surprised; it was the first time she’d ever turned him down.

      “I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of the camera.”

      “So what do we do? Break up after the next home stand?” Now he sounded angry. “Should we have a fight in front of the camera? How will that protect your job?”

      “I don’t know.” This whole thing was out of her control. “I just know that getting married isn’t the answer. And now that the whole world knows about our relationship, I doubt my career is going to go anywhere. Just this afternoon, my boss warned me to stay away from you. Then you go and propose live in front of everyone.”

      Rachel didn’t know how to stay strong, but she just knew she had to. She wasn’t sure why she’d said yes. Part of it was the lights, the crowd, the romanticism of the gesture. Part of it was wanting to believe he really did want her. That he wasn’t just trying to deflect the spotlight away from his game.

      “What do you want me to do?” He sounded bewildered. It wasn’t an emotion she ever expected from him. “Do you want me to take it back? To go on camera and say the proposal was a joke? I didn’t mean it?”

      “You didn’t mean it,” she said softly. “I know you don’t want to marry me. You don’t even want to date me. You just wanted to sleep with me whenever