Bad Boy Brit (A British Bad Boy Romance) (21 page)

Chapter 25

Liam

Eight months later

I was standing at the altar of London’s most historic and lavish church, in front of over three hundred people. There were throngs of people outside in the streets, too—journalists, photographers, and screaming fans. Most other people in this situation would be doubled over, crippled with panic at all this attention…but not me.

After all, I was Liam Croft.

And before you think of me as overly-cocky for saying that, just remember that today was the one day when I could afford to be a little cocky, seeing as I was about to marry the most wonderful woman in the world.

No, scratch that—the most wonderful woman in the whole universe.

I almost hadn’t been able to believe how lucky I was when Allison agreed to marry me last year, but I’d never been happier. Weeks before that, I’d been feeling like something was missing in my life, and the minute she’d stepped into my world, I’d known it was her.
She’d
been the missing puzzle piece; the one thing I needed to be whole.

And now she was about to be my wife. Yup, I really was the luckiest bastard in the world.

A lot had changed in the months leading up to this day. Allison and I had finally sorted out our conundrum involving our careers and the fact that we came from different continents. Alan Granger had made her an offer as soon as he’d heard the news of our engagement, and she was now the British correspondent for her magazine, reporting on all sports—even cricket. Her father had moved across to England with us, and with my help, he was seeing as many live football matches as he could get to—for free and in the very best seats. My brother and Lauren Bilson had returned from their extended holiday in time for Dean to be my best man today, and I was happy to say that I’d be returning that favor in the near future.

I still didn’t speak to my parents—and I’d made my peace with that—but that didn’t mean I didn’t have a great family. I did, even though it might not be a conventional one. I had Allison, her Dad, Dean and Lauren—that was all the family I needed…at least for now. I wanted kids, and thankfully, so did Allison. I couldn’t wait to see her pregnant and glowing, and I couldn’t wait to see our family grow.

As for my career, it was going great. Busy and challenging, but fun as hell. I was the Captain of the English national squad, and I’d made some great new friends in my new teammates. I still caught up with my old teammates as often as I could, and they’d give me a good round of teasing over my coveted new position. All in good fun, of course, and I’d tease them right back.

I had a new manager now; a whip-smart guy named Ted Armstrong. He was great to work with, did the job perfectly, and he never compromised my morals or health the way Brian Thomas had. Best of all, he also loved Allison, and he’d never call her boss and try to get her fired the way Brian had months ago. And speaking of Brian, he’d wound up in prison for slipping me a roofie that infamous night. His defense for his actions was that drugging a footballer to obtain compromising but commercially valuable pictures of him was an essential part of the game, a defense that was wholeheartedly rejected by a judge who, unfortunately for Brian, was an ardent football fan.

Better yet, it appeared that the judge was correct. The public had taken the new version of me to their hearts and, rather wonderfully, they still envied me. It was easy envying a playboy with inexhaustible money and women, but it was more satisfying to envy the man who’d found something better than all that.

And I had…I definitely had. I’d found Allison, and speaking of her, she was walking down the aisle right now, arm in arm with her father.

As un-manly as this might make me sound, a tear came to my eye as I watched her slowly make her way towards me. She was smiling radiantly and looked positively giddy with excitement, and her ivory-colored dress hugged her curves so perfectly that I was tempted to run up the aisle, throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to the damn hotel right away.

She was completely and utterly breathtaking…and she was about to be mine forever.

She finally made it to the altar, and I winked at her as her father left her alone with me. The officiant was nowhere to be seen, and she wrinkled her forehead at me.

“What’s going on?” she whispered. “Where’s the minister?”

I shrugged, a mischievous smile playing on my lips. “Not sure.”

She looked confused, and as titters rippled through the guests, she turned her head.

“Oh my god. You didn’t.”

“Oh, yes I did,” I replied with a grin.

Mikey was striding down the aisle towards us. I’d told Allison that I’d hired a real priest to perform the ceremony, but truthfully, I’d teamed up with our favorite cabbie to plan something. I knew there was a chance that Allison and I might not be together if it hadn’t been for him and the rather odd friendship they’d struck up when she first arrived in London, and he’d happily agreed to become ordained online so he could marry us.

I couldn’t think of anyone better to do it.

“That’s why I saw his wife and kids in the pews, but not him!” Allison said, shaking her head as a wide grin spread across her face.

Mikey finally reached us. “Sorry I’m late, love,” he said, nodding at Allison and quickly stepping around us to the altar. “Sent the wife and kids ahead while I got dressed and ready. Then the bloody traffic…”

He saw the amused look my brother was throwing at him from near us, and he shook his head. “Right, anyway…let’s get you two married.”

“Wait…is that what this is? I thought this was just a birthday party,” I said, feigning confusion.

“Hilarious. Shut up and marry me,” Allison replied.

I grinned.

There was nothing I wanted to do more.

Chapter 26

Allison

One year later

It was a beautiful goal, whistling through the air and narrowly missing one of the brand new goal posts to land in the back of the net. Young Rob ran the length of the pitch, his teammates behind him, cheering.

“Liam! Liam! Did you see that?!” he called out in our direction.

Liam nodded beside me. A while ago, he’d come clean to the kids about who he really was, and in the event it had been a pretty smooth transition—the kids were naturally surprised to learn that their friend Harry was in fact their hero Liam Croft, but they’d adored Harry anyway. And, since they’d come to know Liam as Harry, they still treated him as a mate, rather than as an icon.

“The new locker rooms look good,” I mused, twisting the wedding ring on my finger as if I still couldn’t quite believe it was there.

“Lots of memories waiting to be made,” Liam said with a wink.

“Yes…I was thinking it might be nice to come back and see them alone someday…” I left the thought hanging.

Liam grinned. “I think that’s a first rate idea. Too bad we can’t do it tomorrow…we’ve got that lunch with Dean and Lauren.”

“There’s always other days. I can’t wait to see them, by the way. Lauren has to tell us all about her new BBC gig, and Dean’s always so funny.”

“Not fair. All you ladies seem to prefer my brother’s company these days. Whatever happened to me being the sexy playboy, eh?”

I shrugged. “When were you ever a sexy playboy?” I said, affecting an innocent air.

He feigned a downcast expression. “Why did I marry such a mean woman?”

“Because you know I’m only kidding, and because you love me.”

“Damn right I do,” he said, grinning and squeezing my hand.

I smiled back at my husband and then turned my attention back to the kids’ match. All was right with the world, and we couldn’t be any happier.

Liam was now the official sponsor of the youth team in his home neighborhood, which seemed to be giving the local economy as well as the local kids a boost. When he had the time, he also coached other kids from troubled families, a job that involved as much talking as football. He’d also set up the Croft Foundation, a charity organization which did everything he’d dreamed of earlier in his career; all the wonderful things he’d told me during that fateful exclusive interview.

As for my own career, it was going wonderfully. I loved working as the British correspondent for Granger’s magazine, and he often called me to chat and tell me how I was practically single-handedly helping a lot of Americans develop a fascination with English sports. I was happy to be contributing in that manner, and I was also very grateful to have a boss like Granger—he had his moments where he made silly and inappropriate comments, but all in all, he was a kind and fair man who’d given me more chances than I deserved.

On top of my job, I was helping Liam write an autobiography. I still had lots of notes and material from when I’d interviewed him so long ago, so there was a lot to discuss and write, but it was fun working together, and when the book was done, all proceeds from sales would be going directly to the Croft Foundation.

“You know,” Liam said as he watched young Rob and his team driving back up the pitch, “when I’m done with playing, I think this is what I’d like to do, full-time.”

“You like coaching that much, huh?”

I wondered if this was the moment to deliver some more news to him.

“I like looking after the kids,” he replied.

I smiled. “Well, that’s good to hear.” I took his hand and placed it on my belly. “Because you’re going to be doing a lot more of it.”

Liam’s face looked like the sun coming out. “You’re…”

“Yes. I’m pregnant! Just had it confirmed this morning.”

“Oh my god…I can’t believe it!” Liam kept his hand on my belly, clearly cherishing his first moment of knowing he was going to be a father. “I can’t wait to feel him kick. Or her.”

I smiled, my eyes twinkling with good humor. “I’d almost rather he didn’t kick, actually, because if he’s anything like his father, he’ll be a regular football star, and he’ll be kicking at my uterus day in, day out.”

“Oh? Who’s the father, then?”

I playfully elbowed him. “Oh, shush. Kiss me.”

“As you wish.”

He wrapped me in his arms and leaned down before crushing my lips with his, and I moaned into his mouth as my lips parted. Goose bumps broke out across my skin as we embraced, and shivers ran down my spine.

For a former bad boy, Liam was a damn
good kisser…

It wasn’t only him who’d changed for the better. I’d changed as well. In the time that I’d known him, he’d showed me how to let go of my reservations and let my hair down on occasion—even if that meant we sometimes ended up running away from security guards after steamy sessions in the announcer’s booth—and he’d also showed me that I had no reason to be insecure about anything by telling me how beautiful I was to him every single day. When we’d first met, I’d been far too serious and uptight about everything, and all it had taken was a few weeks with Liam to show me that I needed to loosen up, let my guard down and trust someone enough to love me inside and out.

I guess sometimes, a bad boy can be very good for a girl…and my British bad boy had turned out to be a good man who’d fulfilled my life in every way I’d ever dreamed of. That was all I could ask for, and it was all I’d ever need.

THE END

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Bad Boy Baby Daddy

© 
2016 Avery Wilde with Caitlin Daire

COPYRIGHT

Please respect the work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without permission. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any similarities to events or situations is also coincidental.

Chapter 1

Riley

“Kaiden Cross?
Kaiden Cross?
”

Despite my usually reserved demeanor, my boss Eric’s latest announcement had surprised me enough to make me lose my cool and practically shriek, almost spilling the latte that had been halfway to my lips when he’d walked into my office. He’d just announced who my latest public relations client was going to be, but I’d surely misheard him. It couldn’t be
that
Kaiden Cross.

Then again, who else could it be? There weren’t many super-famous athletes with a name like Kaiden Cross, after all.

I could picture him my mind as clear as day; every tiny little detail and aspect of him—his towering height, the colorful tattoos twining up and down his biceps and across his chest, all that ropey muscle which flexed whenever he stretched and grinned from the TV screens he frequented, and those gorgeous dimples and electric blue eyes which were always flashing with that daredevil look he was so famous for. Those sinful eyes alone had made him the object of every girl’s fantasy within the last year or so, including me, but you couldn’t pay me enough to actually admit that to anyone I.

Nope, not even a million bucks.

My boss flashed me a beatific smile, obviously expecting me to jump up and kiss him out of sheer gratitude for the huge new client he’d just dumped on me. “Yes, Kaiden Cross. The UFC fighter. I gather you’ve heard of him?”

I composed myself as well as I could, swallowing hard to try and mask my nerves, but my heart continued to flutter like the wings of a trapped bird. “Yes, I’ve heard of him,” I said. “At least that’s one way to put it,” I added in a mutter.

I’d more than heard of the guy. Believe it or not, I’d actually grown up next door to him up until the age of twelve, upon which I’d moved away with my Mom after she and my Dad got a divorce. Back then, Kaiden had been a lanky, geeky kid with a slight lisp and coke-bottle glasses. He’d also been my best friend. We’d played after school every day, climbed trees together on weekends, stomped in puddles together after rainstorms, and helped each other defeat high-level bosses on our console games. We’d even kissed each other’s cuts and bruises whenever one of us fell over.

Yeah, he used to be a real sweetie. Those lips weren’t so innocent anymore, although they were probably just as sweet…but I digress.

After I’d moved away from our old neighborhood in the sixth grade, I’d thought we’d stay in contact, but fate had other plans for us. Kaiden’s father had moved him to the other side of the city and a different school within a month of me and my Mom moving, and I had no idea what his new address or home phone number was. This had all been before the age of Facebook and Instagram, so it had been a lot harder to stay in touch with someone, especially as a child. I’d given him my new address before I’d moved, and he’d written to me a few times, but within six months, the letters had stopped. For a while, I’d wondered why, but I’d eventually let it go. Sometimes friends simply drifted apart, and even at the tender age of twelve I’d understood that. I’d been sad for a while, but it was relatively easy for kids to bounce back. I’d found new friends, and eventually, a whole week had gone by in which I didn’t think about my old friend. That week became a month, then that month became a year, and soon, that year had stretched into many.

I hadn’t thought about him at all in nearly eleven years until I turned on my TV one evening a year and a half ago. I’d barely recognized him at the time, but as soon as the sports news presenter had mentioned his name, my eyebrows had shot up, and I’d leaned closer to see if it was the same boy I’d once known.

It was. It had to be.

He’d grown up to be mouth-wateringly handsome with abs that could render even the staunchest woman senseless with her panties on the floor in a puddle, but those eyes were the same—crystal blue and no longer hidden behind thick lenses.

He’d been twenty-three back then, and according to that newscast, he’d apparently just become the youngest MMA fighting champion in the country in his weight category. My initial reaction at that announcement had been total and utter shock. Kaiden, the geeky little boy from next door who’d always loved math and reading, had become a frickin’ MMA fighter?

Weird as hell, but pretty cool once I thought about it. Watching people beat each other up was certainly not my scene, but if Kaiden had found his passion and become amazing at it, then I was proud of him.

I’d almost tried tracking him down and sending him a quick message to see if he still remembered me, and to let him know I was happy for him, but when I’d typed his name into an internet search engine, I’d realized just how much he’d changed in the last decade and decided against it.

It wasn’t just his looks and height that had changed.

From all the photos and articles about him online, it seemed rather apparent that his personality had drastically altered as well. He was a reckless bar-hopper, arrogant man-whore, and a hotheaded troublemaker who’d found himself on the wrong side of the law more than once—all of those things rolled into one perfectly-muscled, golden-tanned six foot four frame.

To be honest, I’d been too nervous to try and contact him after I’d seen all that, because I hadn’t changed as much as he had since I was a child. I was still just as much of a geek as I’d always been, although I managed to hide that fact somewhat with the help of my best friend Alexa, who took me clothes shopping every six months and acted as my personal stylist. I’d also scored a job straight out of college which apparently ranked quite highly on the ‘cool-meter’—an assistant social media director’s position at a PR firm in L.A. That coupled with my improved dress sense had built up my self-esteem over the last couple of years, but not enough to give me the confidence to contact Kaiden now that I knew what he’d become.

He probably wouldn’t even remember me, anyway.

In the eighteen months since he’d come back onto my radar, nothing seemed to have changed with him other than the fact that he was even more famous now…and not only for his MMA career. He was still an amazing fighter, but apparently, he was even more amazing at picking up women. I couldn’t count how many actresses, models and socialites he’d supposedly bedded now, according to the gossip blogs.

Probably a trillion.

Nowadays, I wouldn’t have wanted to contact him even if I had all the confidence in the world. He’d become the
exact
kind of guy I’d tried so hard to stay away from all my life, and up until now, I’d been successful at that. My parents had divorced because my father had cheated on my mother with three different women, so the last thing I ever wanted to do was associate with a man-whorish guy who had a looser set of morals than a drunken pirate.

Too bad that exact guy had fallen right into my lap thirty seconds ago in the form of a new client.

I realized I’d been silent for far too long, and I squeaked out a question to Eric. “So…are you sure you want me to take him on as a client?” I said. “I mean, he’s uber-famous. I know I’ve handled quite a few celebrity clients, but not at this level. The guy is in the gossip columns twice a day!”

Eric nodded. “There’s a reason I made you my assistant director of social media and marketing when you first came here, Riley. You’re damn good at it, and you’re good at keeping to yourself and staying out of the spotlight while letting it shine on our clients. I can’t count the number of PR agents I’ve gone through who’ve done nothing but use their job to push their own agenda of being famous. But you’re not like that. You’re…”

A shy mouse. A homebody. A nerd complete with a big L on her forehead.
That’s probably what he wanted to say as his voice trailed off.

“Reliable, and you don’t screw around,” he finally finished. “I honestly think you’re ready for such a high-profile client, and you have been for quite some time.”

I nodded. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, as much as I didn’t want to represent Kaiden. God, it would be awkward. What would I even say to him when we finally met again after all this time? I could picture it now. ‘
Hi, Kaiden, it’s me…we used to ride bikes together, and now I have to protect your media image while you let every woman in town ride you.’

Every woman but me.

Even though I couldn’t stand the sort of guy Kaiden had become in his adult years, I couldn’t deny the flush of heat I felt every time his face showed up on my computer screen, and I couldn’t deny the way my heart raced when I saw that famous megawatt grin flashing at me from the TV screen. When we were kids, we’d made each other soaking wet by playing in puddles after storms, and now he could make my panties soaking wet from a simple print photograph of him in a gossip rag.

Amazing how puberty, hormones and thirteen years could change things.

I wasn’t going to let it change my attitude to work, however. Public relations might not have been my dream job in life, but it was always interesting, paid the bills, and most of all, I was a professional. I wasn’t the usual type of person who you’d imagine working in PR, but I was good at my job, and I always tried to do it well.

I straightened my shoulders and smiled at Eric. “Thank you, Eric. That means a lot to me. I’m glad you trust me enough to—”

He waved his hand at me, cutting me off. “Oh, come on. I don’t need a big speech from you,” he said with a wink. “Just do the damn job and make me proud.”

My face flushed, and I caught a glimpse of one of my coworkers casting a jealous stare at me. She probably wished she’d received Kaiden as a client instead, and honestly, I would’ve been happy to hand him off to her if Eric hadn’t been so dead-set on giving him to me.

“So why did he come to our agency?” I asked.

“Well, his current PR people are morons, and like you said, he’s in the gossip columns twice a day. His manager is sick of it, the UFC administration is sick of it, and well…let’s just say that this time, he’s gotten himself into even more trouble than usual,” Eric replied.

“Drugs?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. With the kind of muscles he had, I wouldn’t exactly be surprised if Kaiden was secretly on steroids.

Eric shook his head. “No. You know Serra Silver?”

I frowned. The name sounded familiar, and I racked my brains until I recalled the blonde B-list actress from an afternoon TV soap my best friend loved. “The actress from Meadowlands?”

He nodded. “Uh-huh. Well, apparently she had a one night stand with Mr. Cross, and yesterday afternoon she started shopping around a story saying she’s pregnant with his child. He’s denying the whole thing and saying it’s not his kid, and as you can imagine, that’s already driving a few gossip sites crazy. So it’s our job to manage the scandal as it breaks.”

So the tattooed troublemaker had knocked up a bleached-blonde starlet. Color me unsurprised.

God, when had he changed so much? How the hell had this guy once been my best friend? It was like aliens had abducted him and given him a lobotomy.

“So when do I see him again?” I asked.

Eric arched an eyebrow. “Again?”

“Er, I mean, when do I see him?” I said, quickly realizing what I’d said. “Is he coming into the office?”

“Actually, no. He’s apparently busy all day getting ready for some big fight tonight— against Mac Brydie, I believe—so I thought it might be a good idea to do this.”

He pulled out a ticket from his pocket with a flourish and put it on my desk. “That’s a front-row ticket to the fight tonight. You’ll be able to watch the fight, get to know exactly what his career is all about, what his fans are like, and so on. Could be helpful. Then you’ll speak to him and fill him in on what you’re going to be doing for his career after the fight, once he’s done signing autographs. Sound good?”

Sounds horrible.
“Sure,” I said, forcing a smile.

I guess it never hurt to try new things, and Eric was right. Going to one of these MMA fights would be a good way to get to know the ins and outs of Kaiden’s career, which would certainly help me in my job whilst I was representing him.

“The fight starts at nine. I’ll warn you now—it’s very loud in those places.”

My lips turned up slightly at the corners with amusement. “Yes, I can imagine,” I said. ‘Very loud’ was probably an understatement.

“Anyway, you’ll probably be out late, so come into the office late tomorrow if you want. And trust me, you
will
want to. I’ve been to one of those fights before. Left me with a pounding headache, so you’ll probably need some time to sleep in and get over it.”

Oh, I was going to need a lot more than sleep to get over the job I’d just been given…

***

I stepped out of the Uber I’d caught to the converted warehouse where the fight was being held tonight. I thanked and waved to the driver before smoothing down my skirt and falling into step behind a group of young girls on the sidewalk ahead of me, obviously headed to the fight as well. They were dressed like they were going clubbing; tight crop tops, bandage skirts, sky-high heels and teased hair, and I glanced down at my own outfit, feeling a little underdressed. I had no idea people got so dressed up for MMA fights, but it was too late now. My cream-colored blouse, plain black skirt and black ballet flats would have to do.

The girls stopped dead a moment later, and I almost ran right into them before managing to stop myself just in time. They’d stopped just outside the warehouse entrance, and they were staring up at it, entranced.