The Footballer's Designer Baby (A BWWM Pregnancy Romance) by Alexis Gold Page B

doing homework, or out walking on the beach. She’d passed the spot so many times where Cameron had kissed her, that she was able to put it from her mind and just enjoy her walks up and down the shore.
     
    She ate dinner before Cameron came home and spent the evenings in the library or in her room. He would check in on her, and she’d smile and say that things were good, and that she was busy, but she wouldn’t talk to him much at all, or spend time with him, and it made her heart sad, but she knew it was for the best.
     
    He felt her absence keenly, and he hated it; it felt worse than the house just being empty. When the house was empty, it was like he was alone in a sanctuary, but with her there, yet not there, not really present, it felt broken and he couldn’t stand it, but he reminded himself that she was just there for the purpose of giving birth to his son, and then she would be gone.
     
    He focused on his games, and tried to keep his mind on football, but somehow it kept coming back to her, and it began to show in his playing.  Coach John sat him down and lectured him, trying to figure out what was wrong and reminding him that he had a responsibility to the team, the fans, the club and to himself, and he’d better get his act together post haste. He agreed and said he would.
     
    He left for his away game and said an awkward goodbye to Delilah as she sat at her desk. “Is Renee coming to help you?” he asked.
     
    She shook her head. “No, the cast is coming off on Monday, so I’ll be almost as good as new. She doesn’t need to come. Thanks, though.”
     
    He tilted his head to the side. “Your cast is coming off? Do you need a ride-”
     
    She smiled at him and interrupted him. “I’m fine. I don’t need anything. Thank you, Cameron. Have safe travels and a good game.”
     
    He stood there looking at her for a moment, and then rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully, and glanced at her to say goodbye as he walked out of the library. He was deeply bothered by the way things had turned between them. He felt like he’d lost a friend, and he hated the feeling.
     
    He went to his game, and he pushed hard to keep his mind in the field. Every time it drifted to her, he’d force it back to the game. Every time he thought of his son, he’d bring his mind back to the game, and somehow he managed to keep it together and play a good solid game, and he even brought his stats up higher.
     
    Delilah watched him play, cheered him on and wiped tears from her eyes as his face flashed onto the camera over and over and then the reporters cornered him for an interview in the post-game.
     
    One of the reporters asked what they’d all been scrambling to know. “Who was the woman you were pictured with in the papers?” He looked right at the camera and didn’t even blink. “She’s a friend of mine. She’s one of my best friends.” Then he turned away.
     
    Delilah sobbed into the pillow she was holding onto, and struggled with her heart, wrestling the truth away as fiercely as she could. Her cast was removed on Monday and she felt better. She felt freer, as though she had a bit of herself back.
     
    She emailed her parents a message that she was right in the middle of her work and couldn’t talk to them just then, but she’d be in touch with them before the holidays, and she promised them that she was fine and everything was okay.
     
    When she got back from the doctor’s office late that afternoon, the first thing she wanted to do was get into loose clothing and head out to the beach. She’d waited and waited to be able to be in the water, to swim in the sea by the house, and now that the cast was gone, she was determined to get in, no matter how cold, no matter if she could fit into any clothing that would work as a swimsuit.
     
    She’d found a long thin dress from summer that was comfortable and wouldn’t get in her way, and she headed out to the water with a grin on her face. It had been so long