Page 72 of Stealing Home

“I’m not doing great, Low. I know why you asked me over, but I want to explain what happened before you end what we’ve got.”

I can do this. I know it doesn’t matter. There’s too much I’ve been ignoring because being with him makes me happy, but Wren is right. This needs to end for both our sakes. Loving him doesn’t change the fact we’re in two different places in life.

“Okay,” I whisper.

“I did not cheat on you. I know that video was hard to watch. The fact it exists makes me sick. I might not have been in a relationship with Katrina, but I stupidly trusted her. She filmed that in my room, months ago, when I was drunk. I told you that I drank too much and used women to try and deal with finding out Mara cheated on me.”

He takes a deep breath, and I want to comfort him. I hold back and let him get it all out. “I know what that feels like, and I would never do it to another person. If I felt the need to be with someone else, which is unimaginable to me, but if I did, I’d have the balls to say something before I acted on it.”

The thing is, I believe him. Not just because the story doesn’t make sense. When I calmed down over the weekend, I started to wonder how he managed to talk to me several times and be seen at the hospital if he were partying with his team.

“I believe you,” I choke out.

“Low, sweetheart, thank you,” he starts to say, but I hold my hand up.

“It doesn’t change anything, though. I’ve done a lot of thinking over the last week, and I realized I’m not being fair to either of us. I’ve been in a relationship with an athlete. I know what happens on road trips, and I can’t live that life again.”

“I’m nothing like him. Yes, women throw themselves at me, but I will never act on it.”

I look down. “You say that, but there will come a time when you realize I’m not enough.”

He shakes his head. “Is baseball the only thing standing between us?”

I take a deep breath. “I don’t think I can give up the chance to be a mother. Even if I have to do it alone, I want a baby.”

Scott leans forward. “There are a few things I haven’t told you. Don’t give up on us until I’m done.”

25

Scott

It’stime I quit holding back. I don’t even know why I haven’t told her this before now. I guess I was afraid she’d try and talk me out of it. People mistake being talented at something for a desire to continue doing it.

“I’m off the team,” I tell her.

Harlow’s head snaps up. “He can’t do that. There’s nothing in the rules that says we can’t be together. Thanks to Nando, I’m no longer an employee of the university, and I filed for divorce before you and I ever went out.”

“I know that. I can fight him on it, but I’m not sure I’m going to. I haven’t enjoyed playing baseball for a while now. Low, I’ve never planned on going pro.”

She blinks. “I don’t understand. You’re so good at it.”

“I know, and I’m not trying to sound cocky. I can throw a ball really fast, and I know there are people who would kill for the same ability. But there’s more to me than the ability to play a game. It doesn’t challenge me the same way writing code does. I want to be known for doing something meaningful, not playing a game. I’ve never wanted to be famous. In fact, I’d very much like to live a quiet life. I’ve got a job lined up for after I graduate, which is actually at the end of this semester because I took running start classes in high school and came to college with enough credits to be a sophomore.”

“That was your first roadblock, right?” I ask her.

She bobs her head, but it’s not clear if she’s agreeing, or just stunned.

“The second thing you’ve mentioned was wanting kids?”

“Yes,” she says, her voice heavy with emotion.

I can’t stop myself. She’s wavering in her belief that we can’t be together, and I need to push her over the edge. Grabbing her hands, I yank her onto my lap and rock her against my hard cock so she can feel the evidence for herself. “You know, I was ready to wait for marriage to have sex. Do you think my plan was to wait years after graduation?”

She shakes her head. The images going through my mind are sending all the blood in my body straight to my dick. “I don’t want that with Mara anymore, but that doesn’t change the picture of the life I’ve wanted for a while now. My dad thinks I need to date around, see the world, and who knows what else before I settle down, but he’s wrong.”

“You told your dad? About us?” her voice trembles when she speaks.

“Both my parents know about us,” I admit.

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