Page 124 of Between Commitment and Betrayal
“Wait. Ruining?” I almost screeched at my stepsister. We’d grown so close over the past couple months that I was actually surprised she hadn’t shared more with me about her anxieties. It was more than I could say for Melinda and Anastasia who we hadn’t even invited to the game.
They’d been angry about that, but less stress while I was pregnant was best. I had to protect my mental headspace for my child now, not just myself. Declan was proud of how I made that decision quickly, not really weighing much else. I was too.
As Declan came onto all the screens, I saw he was wearing a signature blue jersey that now had our HEAT emblem on it. It matched the one I wore with Hardy across the back.
Clara pointed to the television, trying to change the subject. “Let’s see what they’re saying.”
I waved her off. I’ve never enjoyed football and had already seen how decadent my husband looked. If I stared now, I’d probably never look away. In football pads, he was twice his normal size and looked like a damn beast ready to bulldoze just about anyone. It was the only reason I considered watching the sport a bit more. “Who suggested you’d ruin anything you designed, Clara?”
“Dom freaking Hardy.” She ground out his name and then shrugged. “You know he hates my ideas for the bakery, which maybe now needs to be a café or a restaurant. I don’t know.”
“There’s no way that man hates your ideas. He’ll love whatever you decide to do, and if for some reason he doesn’t, just ply him with your food. No one can turn now your sweets, Clara.” I grabbed a blue macaroon with a smirk from the small table in front of me and took a bite, moaning loudly. “Just persuade him with these. They’re amazing.”
She groaned and shook her head. “I don’t think he even eats sweets, Evie.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, about to protest, but before I could reply, Dom walked in with a smile across his face that mirrored his brother’s. “Evie, my little brother thinks he needs you down on the field as a good luck charm.”
“What?” I glanced at the screen and saw Declan waving toward our skybox. “No.” He knew I didn’t want to be out there where the cameras would be taking pictures of us.
“He said if he’s doing this for charity, you have to do it too. Marriage shit and all.”
“I’m pregnant and can barely move,” I whined, but Clara was already up and offering me her hand as she practically danced in place at the idea.
“This is going to be so cute. You two should do a kiss cam thing or”—she flipped her dark-red hair over her shoulder, as she squealed—“have him kiss your belly. The fans will go insane. They’re so excited for the little Hardy.”
I noticed that she didn’t even look over at Dom, didn’t say hi, and almost acted like he didn’t exist.
“I’m not doing that.” I wrinkled my nose but rubbed my belly, not able to avoid her infectious joy about the baby. “Our kid is going to be so spoiled.”
Dom hovered over the table of food and said, “Damn right. That’s next gen right there. Did you eat anything today? Make sure you’re not eating any of this deli meat. Why is it even in here? Don’t they know—”
“Oh, it’s for everyone else,” I cut him off, my eyes darting to Clara who wide-eyed me and then spun around to walk over to the window of the skybox like she wanted to disappear. “Have you tried the macaroons? They’re amazing.”
I saw how Dom’s gaze drifted over to Clara as he said softly but firmly, “I don’t indulge in desserts when I can have a real meal, Evie.”
I saw how Clara whipped her head around to glare at him, how their gazes met, and the tension crackled through the room. It was a tension I’d started to think they needed to work out. “Well, there’s tons of great food here. I’ll leave you both to it for a few while I go appease my husband.”
I didn’t wait for either of them to object. I beelined it out of there and made my way down to the field.
Unfortunately, Wes was the one to meet me by the fifty-yard line after security waved me through. “So, Evie, you couldn’t wear the jersey I gave you?” He sneered at me because the man was trying to rile Declan. And he knew exactly how to do it. “Where is it?”
“I fucked her out of it the night you gave it to her, and now it’s in the trash where it belongs,” Declan growled as he walked up and shoved Wes before pulling himself into the stands and then he hauled me in close. “Should I kill him out there today for you?”
“Not for me.” I stared up at him, trying my best not to melt into a puddle as the world around us melted away. His hair curled at the tips from sweat; his face was already dirty, like he’d been rolling around in the damn mud down in the field, and still he smelled like the ocean and my man mixed together. “You’re about to push each other around for three hours just to stroke your own egos.”
“I’m doing this for all the kids!” He tilted his head toward the skyboxes that I knew were filled with them.
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed.
“Well that and I wantmykid to remember that his daddy still can take down anyone who disrespected his mom.”
“Wes isn’t worth it,” I pointed out, glancing behind Declan to see that Wes had walked off but now there were cameras around us everywhere. Security was forming too, making sure no one bothered us.
“He’s not, but you are.” He rubbed his hand over my belly softly. Slowly. Taking his time like he the world could wait for this game to start. “Our baby is.”
I was just a few months away from delivering our little boy and Declan seemed to think everything was worth it when it came to him. He got the best crib, the best car seat, the best sneakers. Declan even had a whole team come in to childproof electrical outlets and the fencing around the pool. Then, he’d panicked and asked me if I wanted to move because he wasn’t sure this was our home and if I wanted to move back to my hometown.
Yet, HEAT Health and Fitness was where I could still spar with anyone who would take on a pregnant woman. Spoiler alert: no one did because Declan literally followed me around everywhere.
