on his last trip to Florida. Then he'd unceremoniously dumped her that same night, passing her off to Ricky Carter like she was a piece of meat to be shared.
Not that she didn't like Carter. She did. A lot. Enough to have slept with him starting back in April, while she was still trying to hang on to Damian. She and Carter had had a good laugh over the fact that Damian had thought they didn't know one another. He'd even paid for their night out.
Still, in her heart, Damian's actions had stung. And now she had a major problem. A life-changing problem that would make living in her small apartment awfully cramped.
Her hand came to rest on her belly, as it often had since the stick had turned pink a few weeks ago. A baby. Jeez, how the frig had she been so careless?
She shook her head. Careless wasn't the right word. She might like men, but she was smart enough to use protection each and every time. With each and every man, though in the past six months, there had only been two of them.
Damian and Carter.
She couldn't know for sure whose baby she was carrying, but she knew who was better capable of supporting her and this child.
She knew what she had to do, which was why she was in New York now. She was so nauseous she thought she'd die and she knew it had nothing to do with morning sickness.
She was petrified of telling Damian and yet she knew that he was the only one capable of sparing her from the same fate as her mother-pregnant and alone, raising a kid on welfare, a revolving door of men passing through. In fact it had been this pregnancy that had forced her to face reality.
Her life had been too damn close to her mother's. One man after another, nobody ever staying long, nobody loving her. Carole wiped the tear that dripped down her cheek. Pathetic, that's what she was and she never even saw it happening.
The sound of someone knocking on the door startled her and she ran to the mirror to quickly check her makeup before letting Damian inside. He was her one chance to fix her life and she couldn't afford to mess up now.
CHAPTER NINE
SINCE RETURNING from the island, Damian's game was running smoothly. On the field, he was the Damian Fuller his coaches and fans expected. His first game off the disabled list, he'd played all nine innings, singled, doubled, walked twice and homered once. In the field, his work had been his best in years. Most importantly, as a team the Renegades had won this past series at home and they were still solidly in first place. Carter was pissed at being put back on the bench, but that was the kid's problem. Damian was at the top of his game again and that's all that mattered to him.
His coaches, his manager and most of his teammates were happy with his performance. The only one not taking his calls was his agent, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why Yank Morgan was upset. But the old man had sent his niece off to the island knowing full well that, to Damian, nothing came before his career. Yank couldn't possibly think Micki would change his mind-although Damian had to admit she was the only woman who'd ever tempted him to say to hell with his single-minded philosophy.
He found himself thinking of her at the worst moments. When he was in the field during a game, he'd remember her determined face as she pitched to him, how well she caught a ball and how her hair fluttered in the island breeze. He'd always catch his wayward thoughts before he screwed up on the field. Each time he'd push her out of his mind and promise himself
Damian didn't think his agent would want him to screw up the end of his career over a woman. Not even the older man's beloved niece. And since he planned to stay away, Damian figured the old man would thank him for sparing Micki even more pain. Hell, Yank Morgan would come around in the end because, like Damian, he understood the game came first.
As a professional athlete Damian couldn't afford to let his emotions get the better of him. But as he walked into Carole's New York hotel where she'd asked him to meet her, his gut churned and even his chest hairs prickled with unease. Something about her coming to New York and calling him out of me blue just didn't feel right.
She greeted him warmly but her half smile did nothing to put his mind at rest, either,
'Thanks for coming, Damian.' She led him into the oversize hotel room, lavishly decorated and probably a lot more expensive than Carole could afford.
Still he wasn't about to pry. 'You're looking well,' he told her. Not good, well. He chose his words carefully.
Though she looked beautiful as always, he had to be careful to keep his distance, both physically and emotionally. He didn't want her getting any wrong ideas about their relationship. Or lack of one. For him, things between them had ended the night they'd gone to Lacie's joint.
'So why make the trip north?' he asked.
'Sit.' She gestured to the fabric-covered chair.
The flowers jumped out at him, big and ugly and as frightening to him as her somber tone of voice.
'What's wrong?' he asked.
'Did I ever tell you that my mother never married my father?' She let out a high-pitched laugh. 'In fact she never knew who my daddy was.'
They were over. Why in God's name were they talking about personal things like her past and scary notions like unmarried, pregnant women? 'What's the point?'
She bent down and reached for his hand, 'I don't know how to tell you this-“
'Just say it' His heart pounded a mile a minute and icy tentacles of fear crept up his spine.
'I know we used protection but…I'm pregnant.' As if on cue, large teardrops fell from her already watery eyes. 'And before you ask, yes it's yours.'
'I wasn't going to ask,' he lied.
She gave him a forced smile. 'You're a good and decent man,' she said softly and for a split second, guilt for distrusting her crept into his gut.
Then he reminded himself that this was a woman who'd slept with more ballplayers than just him. He'd never asked what she did when he was out of town, which had been most of the time, and she'd never offered details. He should have questioned, he realized now when it was too damned late. She was placing the responsibility squarely in his lap.
Damian was soaking in sweat, worse than when he played in Florida's sweltering heat, but somehow he maintained his composure and didn't let her see how badly his nerves had kicked in.
He ran a shaking hand through his hair. 'Look Carole, you must realize this is a shock.'
She nodded. 'Of course I do. I've had some time to take in the news and you haven't.'
'So you know I can't make any decisions right now.' Hell, at the moment he couldn't even think clearly.
Only the irony of the situation swirled in his head.
He'd always been so careful. He'd always looked out for himself and the women he was with. Wasn't that the point of protection in the first place?
'Dammit!' He slammed his fisted hand against the cocktail table, rattling the drinking glasses.
Carole wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. To her credit, she didn't try anything sexual. She merely touched him, emphasizing that they were in this together.
He patted her back uselessly. He didn't know how to help her, let alone how to help himself. 'I need to go.'
She rose to her feet 'I understand.'
He drew himself upright. 'I'll be in touch,' he managed to promise.
'I know you will. You're a good man, Damian.'
Her calm behavior was baffling him and he narrowed his gaze. The Carole he knew was all about how she looked and what she could get out of life. She epitomized the idea of
