Romance: SPORTS ROMANCE: The First Half (Bad Boy Alpha Male College Football Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Pregnancy Romance) (15 page)

After a week of being stuck in Anthony’s penthouse apartment, I had to get back to work. Though it was ill-advised, I decided that I was going to help with the fashion event of the season. My father discouraged me, and so did Anthony. Being headstrong, I made my own decision. I was going to go back to work whether I was six months pregnant or not.

“These editorial shots are pertinent for our ad campaign after the show,” Leo explained, looking me sharply in the eye. “Now, I’m going to be frank with you about the models this time around.”

I gulped.

“And what about them?”

I was terrified that I was going to fail him again. I couldn’t take any more stress during the pregnancy. I had to stay calm and collected.

He grinned and grabbed my shoulder.

“They’re
perfect!
” he squealed. “I told you I needed three Heidis, a Brittany, and an Angela and oh my
God
did you deliver! This show is going to be a
dream
. An absolute dream!”

I grinned. For once, a fashion show was going exactly as planned and I was responsible for it. Maybe I wasn’t a model, but I was living the dream.

“Lillian,” I heard a voice say. “You’ve done a fantastic job this time around. Outdone yourself.”

I turned on my heel and my face fell. It was my father. I should have been excited to see him, but I was actually horrified. Anthony was going to talk to him soon and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be around when it happened.

“O-oh! Daddy!” I exclaimed, nervously. “It’s so good to see you here.”

Part of me had hoped he wouldn’t show. I was having second thoughts about telling him about the baby. To my horror, Anthony was right behind him.

“Good to see you too,” he murmured, “though I believe the doctor told you that you need to be taking it easy.”

“Ah, but it is easy for her. Isn’t it, Lillian?”

I blushed and nodded.

“Y-yes. It comes naturally,” I admitted. “Must run in the family!”

I let out a nervous laugh. My father seemed nervous.

“Is something wrong, Lilli?” he asked. “You seem…off.”

Anthony laughed.

“Well, I think she’s just nervous for what we’re about to tell you,” he said. “Can’t say I blame her. I’m a bit nervous too.”

He rocked on his heels. My father pursed his lips. He knew something was wrong.

“And what is this bad news?” he asked, cuffing his hands behind his back. “Better to get it out of the way, I’d think.”

Anthony took a deep breath and nodded.

“Yes, well, it isn’t so easy to say,” he replied. “I care about your daughter a lot. But Lillian and I have been—well…”

“Well what?” my father demanded. “What have you and my daughter been doing?”

Anthony closed his eyes. I thought my father was going to hit him.

“Your grandchild…it’s—it’s mine. But I love her and I will raise it right and—”

My father’s jaw dropped. His face was violet with rage.

“You—you
what?
” he gasped. “This is a sick joke! Tell me it’s a joke, Lilli!”

I gulped and shook my head.

“It’s not a joke, Daddy,” I whispered. “Please don’t hate us.”

He shook his head.

“Hate you?” he asked me. “No, no. I am angry—infuriated even. But I do not hate you. The father of your child, on the other hand…” He flashed Anthony a glare. “Well let’s just say he and I will have to have a talk sometime.”

And with that, he stormed off.

I had been crying since meeting with my father.

“I’m sorry he reacted like he did,” Anthony murmured, rubbing my back. “It’ll be okay, though. I promise. I talked to him after and I—well let’s just say that I explained some things. I think he was in a much better place after I called.”

“Really?” I sniffled. “What did you tell him?”

He chuckled, a glint in his eye.

“Well
that
part is a surprise, but I can promise you’ll find out soon.”

“Is it a bad surprise?” I grumbled, resting my chin in my hands. “I can’t deal with another one of those.”

“No,” he laughed. “Well, I hope not, anyway.”

I gave him a sad smile.

“I hope not too.”

Chapter Twelve – Do I Have Your Blessing?

The fashion show was just as fabulous as I planned. The models that I chose were creating a buzz around the entire room. I should have been happy, yet I wasn’t. My father still had not spoken to me and Anthony still had not surprised me. I was beginning to think there was no surprise at all.

The last look closed the show and there was a wild applause. I expected the designer to emerge with a quick “thank you”, but the designer was nowhere in sight. Then, someone else came onstage. It was Anthony.

“What the hell is he doing up there?” I hissed to Mia. “He knocks me up
and
makes an ass of himself onstage? This better not be his surprise.”

“Shh,” Mia whispered. “Let’s hear what he has to say.”

I crossed my arms and waited.

“Hello everyone,” he said, bringing the microphone to his lips. “You probably all know me as Anthony Aliosi, bachelor extraordinaire. But the truth is, I have a very special lady in my life. Those in the fashion world may know her, but for those that don’t, they will soon. Her name is Lillian Massey!”

I anxiously waved at the crowd. I was not sure where he was going with the announcement, but from the corner of my eye, I saw my father grinning. Something told me that he knew what Anthony was up to.

“Now, I’ve done a lot of wrong—especially to Lillian. And I’m an ass for that! I’ll admit it in front of this entire room, in front of my colleagues and my friends. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m in love with her,” he continued. He reached into his breast pocket. “That is why I need to do this.”

Suddenly, he was getting down on one knee. I heard Mia gasp, yet I saw the glimmer in my father’s eye. It was a glimmer of approval.

“Lillian Massey, I want to do this right. So…will you marry me?”

I felt faint again. The spotlight was on me and an entire room’s worth of people was staring at me. It was the grandest proposal I’d ever witnessed.

Then, a reporter held out a microphone for me. I cleared my throat.

“W-well,” I stammered, “i-it’s up to my dad.”

His face fell, but he gave me a nod. His gaze averted to my father.

With a loud sigh, he stared at me.

“Is this what you want?” he asked. “Will he make you happy?”

I nodded.

“Yes, Daddy.”

He smiled at me and reached out for a hug.

“Then you have my blessing.”

We hugged and the entire room cheered. I glanced at Anthony.

“So that’s a yes?” he asked. “Do I get to marry the most beautiful girl in the room?”

My face flushed.

“Well, I’m not sure about
that
, but you can marry
me
.”

He gave me a nod.

“That’s what I just said,” he replied with a smirk. “I love you, Lillian Massey.”

“I love you too, Anthony Aliosi,” I whispered. “I love you too.”

*****

THE END

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Mated For Life

By Nicole Chance

Molly

I dropped my backpack to the dorm's beige carpet and blew a few strands of strawberry blonde hair away from my face. Ugh...

It was just about a week until the start of a new year in college. My absolute least favorite time of each semester. Sure, it was a chance to get a fresh slate and see what my new teachers would be like. See if I was sharing classes with any of my few friends at the mid-sized college I attended, but I mostly enjoyed falling into a steady routine and getting into a flow.

To most people, college was supposed to be this fun, amazing party in people's lives with some studying mixed in, but I'd never really been that kind of girl. That probably explained a lot about my life. I was a product of my parents through and through.

My mother was a mathematics teacher for a high school, and my father was an accountant who ran his own business. Of course, I would be following in his footsteps to eventually take over the family business when they eventually retired. Teaching was definitely out of the question for me since I was an introvert who hated public speaking. Pretty much the exact opposite of my mother. We always had a hard time understanding one another. I was much closer to my father than her.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the dorm's closed front door and stared at the cramped space. My roommate would be coming to campus over the weekend in a few days, so I planned on making this week really count. It was rare that I ever really got time to myself. My parents smothered me when I was at home, and my roommate wanted to hang out literally all the time on campus. So much so that I studied for my classes way more than I needed to just so she'd occasionally back off. It had the upside of great grades, but I wouldn't have minded more of a social life.

I mean, I wasn't totally aloof and anti-social. There was a guy on the college's soccer team that held my interest. I attended each game, even though I wasn't big into sports. Last semester I'd shared a class with him. At first I'd thought I probably was the only one interested, but then I started catching him look at me.

Wow...

I'd never worked up the nerve to talk with him though. Any chances I had were probably done and over with now. But I wasn't here to guy-watch, I'd get over it. Maybe.

I grabbed my backpack with all the things I'd needed from home and sauntered over to my room. The one good thing about being at home had been sleeping in my own bed. The one I had here had taken some getting used to. It was like sleeping at a budget hotel, but I didn't really have anything I could do about that.

Once I'd unpacked everything, I sat on my bed. What could I do today? I'd wanted to make this a week that mattered, so what would do that? It wasn't as if I had much money. I couldn't really go on a trip. Besides, my parents kept tabs on my credit cards and bank account in case I got too wild. I wasn't really allowed much freedom, which was why I insisted on going away for school.

I hopped out of bed. I'd just take a stroll around the small, quaint town. Maybe see if I could find my favorite nature path again. I enjoyed getting out there and being one with the wild. If I'd had much option, I probably would've gone with something in natural sciences rather than a degree in accounting.

But I guess a girl couldn't get absolutely everything that she wanted. A guy might be the right first step though. I ran my hands through my hair and shook my head. Ugh, no.

That was exactly what my parents were worried about. They probably thought I'd go off and fall for some guy, end up pregnant and dropping out of college, only to be stuck in some crazy relationship that would fall apart in a few years. Then I'd have no future, no way to support myself, and the offspring, and I'd only have myself to blame for wanting to be wild and rebellious.

Sometimes I wondered if they even realized whom they were talking to.

I strolled out of the large dormitory and headed toward town. It was a little bit of a walk, but the sun was shining and birds were singing in the early afternoon day. I lifted my chin to feel the warmth and breathed in the clean air. This college town sometimes felt more like home to me than my actual hometown did.

Time passed fairly quickly as I walked. My thoughts were a constantly shifting, tumbling mess. I was so absorbed in them, that I almost missed the entrance to the national park. I shook them off, trying my best to just breathe and come back to the present. After a few moments, I felt the weight lift off my shoulders and chest.

"Hey," a deep male voice said from behind me.

The pressure came crashing back down, this time right onto my chest. I knew that voice. I'd heard it plenty of times in calculus last semester. I slowly turned and plastered on a relaxed smile, even if I felt nothing of the sort. It felt like my heart was about to shoot out of my chest by just being in this proximity to him.

"Hi. We were in calculus last semester, right?" I could've smacked myself on the forehead for being so silly. Of course, we were, and we both probably knew it.

"Yeah. Jack, remember?"

I nodded. I'd never forget that. Jack Painter was one of the best of the best on the soccer team. Everyone either loved him or envied him for his skill and strength.

And right now, I couldn't believe that he was standing in front of me... talking to me. I did my best to keep smiling and not run away. That would be awkward.

"I'm Molly," I said–Although, he probably knew that. Our teacher had been a big stickler for attendance and usually sang out all the names as if she was in a church choir. It had been pretty weird, but maybe not as weird as this encounter.

"I know. We didn't sit too far away from one another." He lifted his chin and breathed in the early afternoon air. "Sorry for disturbing you. I just wanted to say hi. Were you going for a walk?" He nodded his head toward the park, and sunshine reflected in his blond hair making it seem golden.

I shoved my hands into my pockets to help quell the urge to reach out and brush my fingers through his hair. "Uh, yeah. I enjoy going for walks here. It's peaceful and takes my mind off things." Except for now when I'd probably be analyzing every word spoken between us on my walk.

"Same. It's beautiful this time of year. What's your major?" He smiled, and it reached all the way to his clear blue eyes.

"Accounting." I lifted my eyebrows and quirked my lips. "Fun, right? How about you?"

He cocked his head to the side in a way that reminded me of a wolf. "Ah, I wouldn't have expected that answer. You seemed awesome at calculus, much to Professor Miles's glee." He chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "She was eccentric. But you don't seem like an accountant. I'd have thought you were more of a science major."

My mouth dropped open, and I caught myself after a few moments. "I... uh..." What did I really say? The fact he noticed it too blew my mind, but I couldn't just change my path because my secret crush was able to see that I was just coasting through life instead of embracing it.

"I shouldn't have pried." He gave me a half-smile and shrugged a shoulder. "Sorry about that. I'm going for sport's medicine. Big surprise, huh?"

I shook my head still not sure about my chances of being able to say anything coherent. I wished I had the strength to stand up to my parents. It wasn't as if they were paying for my tuition. I'd gotten enough scholarships and grants that my college fund was able to go toward expenses instead. Still, they liked to remind me that I was their daughter, and my path was connected to theirs.

I looked up at Jack and saw someone who seemed much more free. What would it be like to just live, do what you want, and have others look up to you? Maybe I'd never know.