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Turning my neck to face him I said, “Ryan, not all couples have to stay together just because they have a baby.”

“We
are
having this baby, Evie… together. I’m going to be by your side every step of the way. I never thought I’d ever hear myself say this but I want to come home to a house where my beautiful woman greets me at the door with open arms, and I shower her with kisses while our child runs around between our legs. You are that woman for me, Evangeline.” Ryan stopped for a moment then scrunched up his face. “
Fuck
. Listen to me; I’ve completely lost my mind,” he said scratching his head.

Seeing his vulnerability brought a smile to my face. It wasn’t because I enjoyed seeing him that way, it was because it reminded me that no matter how confident and arrogant, or god-like, he may be on the outside, deep down inside he was a regular human being, like the rest of us.

His face fell when he realized I was watching him with a smile, and he immediately became wary. “What’s so funny?” he asked slowly.

“Nothing. Nothing at all,” I said forcing back a grin.

Staring back into his rich, hazel eyes, it suddenly dawned on me that nothing in this world could ever replace the love I had for this man. I was truly fortunate to have met someone so incredibly beautiful on the inside and out. He made me laugh, he understood me, he brought out the best in me, and at times frustrated the hell out of me, but most importantly he loves me unconditionally.

He had said himself he put his career on the line in coming all the way out here to see me, and he would do it all again if he had to. I believed him. He had spoken only the truth when he said that he had never lied to me. I was the one that got scared and ran away. I never gave him the chance to tell me the real story, I also never gave him the chance to realize he was going to be a father, and I never gave him the decision to be apart of his child’s life.

Well, I was about to change all of that.

“Evie,” he whispered. “I won’t be able to control myself much longer if you continue looking at me that way.”

I felt the bed move as he tried shuffling back. He was trying to put some space between us, but I wasn’t ready to end the moment between us. Without thinking I quickly reached out and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from moving any further. Before he could question my motives I closed the gap between us, and reached up and kissed him on the mouth.

My unexpected move had caught Ryan off guard. At first he was tense and unsure of what to do, before ultimately taking control of the situation. He deepened the kiss, and in one flawless move he shifted so that he was resting above me. He took hold of both my hands in his and raised them so that they were both resting high above my head.

It sounds cliché to say this but as soon as our lips touched, my body felt like it exploded into a tiny million pieces.

A moan escaped as Ryan sucked on my bottom lip and gently tugged on it with his teeth as he pulled back only inches away.

My core tightened as Ryan’s growing bulge continued to press up against me. Whether he meant to do it or not, the feeling was incredible and if we didn’t stop soon, I wasn’t going to be able to.

Suddenly, Ryan pulled back, staring at me like an over-excited puppy.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to understand his swift change in his mood.

“Evie, I want to be inside of you more than you’ll ever know, but there’s one thing I want more.”

“And that is?”

“Can I meet him?”
Huh?

“Meet who?”

“Our baby.”

Ryan let go of my hands and shuffled down so that he was facing my belly. Carefully, he lowered a hand to my thigh and began lifting my dress up until it revealed my swollen stomach. I felt self-conscious. I was already having issues with my changing body, the last thing I wanted was to have someone inspect it from such a close-up angle, least of all, Ryan.

I shifted uncomfortably until Ryan gently pressed his lips just below my belly button, causing me to still. “Evie, don’t be embarrassed of your body. It’s beautiful...
You
are beautiful,” he whispered, kissing my belly again.

With one hand, he gently caressed the swollen bump before turning his head to the side and holding his ear up against it.

“Do you think he can hear everything we’re saying?” he asked lifting his head up to look at me. My heart fluttered seeing him this way.

Smiling, I replied, “Maybe. The doctor said four months is when the ears start to grow.”

“That’s incredible,” he said with big, round eyes. Turning back to my belly he began talking to the little bean inside, “Hey there, little guy. Daddy can’t wait to meet you. I can’t wait until I can hold you in my arms and kiss your little chubby face, or when I get to teach you how to throw your first ball and swing a bat. We can discuss important topics like fast cars, how to seduce beautiful women—”

“Ryan!”

“I’m
joking
.” Laughing, he kissed my belly one more time before lifting himself up and bringing his face back up to meet mine. “Seducing women will be in his genes, baby. I won’t need to talk to him about that.”

“You’re ridiculous,” I groaned, trying not to laugh. “And anyway, what makes you so sure it’s going to be a boy? I’ve decided not to find out.”

A tiny line between his brows appeared. “Why not?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

He thought for a moment. “Huh. Well… can I find out?”

“
No
.”

The tiny line got bigger and this time I also received a pout. “And why not?”

“Because I don’t trust you to keep that big mouth of yours closed.” I grinned, knowing my short answers were bound to be driving him crazy.

“Fine. I can tell we’re having a boy anyway,” he grumbled, causing me to giggle.

He kissed the top of my nose before shifting off me and back on to his side.

“Can I please have a look at your tattoo, again?” I said unexpectedly, catching sight of a corner of the black ink artwork.

A mischievous grin crept up on his face as he continued staring at me. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked wondering what he was up to.

“You can. Look at my tattoo, that is, if…”

“If what?”

“If I get to touch you here.” In one quick move, Ryan’s hand was suddenly between my legs, resting on my panties, while a finger slowly drew circles through the fabric.

“Ryan…” I felt my voice falter as my body trembled at his touch. There wasn’t a way to escape this, not when my body wanted it so badly.

“Tell me to stop if you don’t like it, baby,” he teased.

I felt myself nod, unable to control the strong urge to have more. “Please… I need you…”

Shifting closer to me, he bent down and kissed my mouth. Strong, hungry kisses, while a finger gently slipped inside my panties. I gasped loudly as I felt his finger go in all the way.

Unable to control myself, I grabbed hold of his shoulders and pulled him towards me, our bodies crashing together.

I knew from this moment, I was never going to find anyone else like him. That was because there was no one else. He was the only one who could make me feel this way, the only one who knew me better than I knew myself. We did belong together, and for once I wasn’t going to second-guess myself.

PROLOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

“Just go already or you’ll be late. Little Alex will be fine. We promise.” Connor chuckled, trying to force me out the door of his penthouse apartment, while a heavily pregnant Amelie stood behind him cooing at my son wriggling in her arms.

I turned and gave Connor a knowing look before shifting my gaze to my little baby, who now had a chubby little hand on Amelie’s cheek, giggling as she made silly faces at him. I automatically smiled.

Alexander Aaron Flynn Fox entered the world six months ago, and has been the ultimate joy of my life and my very reason for living. I loved him more than anything in the world, with his father coming in at a very close second.

During the rest of my pregnancy, Ryan and I both worked hard to mend our relationship. We did it for our son, who we both adore immensely, and we also did it for each other. Relationships take work, and for a couple like us, constantly in the public eye, we had to work a little harder. We faced many challenges, like having to deal with Ryan continually travelling around the country and his crazy female fans; we also worked on his temper, whenever another member of the male species approached me. We were able to do it because we had trust. We loved each other too much to give up and let go of everything we had.

We were perfect for one another; we just had our own demons to overcome. Ryan found a new,
male
therapist and I went back to seeing my own for a while to help confront my fears once and for all. We found it both highly important as the media were all over us since little Alex was born.

I made the move back to New York and then the both of us moved out of our penthouse apartments and bought a large townhouse, with spectacular views over Central Park, together.

Ryan was an amazing father. He was so supportive, helpful and slightly over-protective over us both. When our green-eyed, dark-haired bundle of joy came along, it was difficult to kick Ryan out of the house, even when it came to training.

His away games were the hardest to get through, but we were managing. When he wasn’t playing or training, we would video chat … well, most of the time I’d be holding the camera up to baby Alex so that Ryan could sit there and watch him.

Tonight’s game was very important for Ryan and I was a nervous wreck. It was the first time I was leaving my son alone in the care of others. Even though I trusted my brother and his new wife, it was still hard to part from my child. But after they practically kicked me out the door, I had no choice but to suck it up and make my way to the Yankees Stadium where Ryan was expecting me.

After Clifford dropped me off, I met up with Derek at the gate and gave him a hug before we both made our way inside the ballpark.

The familiar faces of Ryan’s mother, Serafina and his sisters, Gabriella and Annabelle came into view when we reached our seats, as well as Cynthia Heilmann’s overly excited one.
Why were they all smiling that way?

I greeted everyone and sat down between Cynthia and Serafina, while Derek went to annoy Gabby. While the two generally liked to irritate one another, they’d become quite close friends over the last few months since she moved back to New York after divorcing from her husband.

“I’m so excited! This is going to be so special,” Annie squealed, clapping her hands together.

“
Annie
! Shut up!” Gabby hissed.

“What? It’s not like I hinted at anything,” Annie replied throwing her sister a sour look.

“Oh. My. God,” Gabby groaned smacking herself in the forehead.

“Seriously, you two need to stop. She’s not an idiot,” Derek joined in.
What the hell is going on? And why is everyone acting so strange?

“All of you just shut it! My sexy husband is about to come out any minute,” Cynthia added, shaking her head at the other three.

That caused everyone to shut up.

“Thank you, Cynthia,” Serafina said quietly, rubbing both her temples with her fingers.

I regarded everyone with suspicion; they were up to something, I just knew it. Derek opened his mouth, about to say something to Cynthia but was cut off by the crowd who suddenly roared with cheers and whistles. I turned to see what all the excitement was about and my head suddenly filled with more confusing thoughts. Ryan was making his way towards the middle of the diamond, where the host was standing with a microphone. He was dressed in his uniform minus his playing glove, holding something tiny in his hand.
What is he doing?

The cheers grew louder when Ryan took the microphone and held it up to his mouth.

“Hello, Yankee Stadium!” he shouted into the microphone. The crowd began going wild, whistling and shouting things at him.
We love you!
I heard someone shout.
Have my babies!
Another one said.

“Most of you might be wondering what I’m doing out here, while many don’t care and wonders why my ass isn’t in the bullpen warming up…” he started.