Chapter 15

Taylor was driving home from work two days after figuring out that she was pregnant. She was trying to fathom how she would tell Conner that she was having his baby. She hadn’t seen him since she walked out on him two days earlier and she wondered what he was doing. There was nothing in the papers about him and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

“Stop,” she said to herself.

She turned unto their street and was surprised to see balloons along the pavement leading up to her house. She was a bit concerned about her mother openly planning her a congratulations party for her baby when she hadn’t even told the father as yet. She drove up to her house where the balloons stopped and weas a bit surprised when she didn’t see anything different in her driveway. She instinctively looked over at Conner’s garage, but she didn’t see his car. Her heart sank. Had he already moved on to someone else? With a sigh, she drove into her garage and parked. When she came out of her car, she looked around and got the shock of her life. Standing outside were her parents holding balloons. She shook her head to check if they were ghosts because she hadn’t seen them when driving in.

“Mom, dad, what’s going on?” she asked.

“Ah, well, we can’t say,” her mom replied. “We’re just here to watch.”

She felt a bit concerned but she walked into the house where she saw more balloons. They were white and gold and hung mid-air anchored by tiny stones. The room was full of them, but she looked towards the center and saw Conner. Her heart soared, and tears filled her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Well, I know you wanted something spectacular,” he said, “and so I thought this would be a great way to do it.”

Then he motioned her forward. She walked towards him, bumping into balloons as she went by.

“What is this all about?” she asked.

“Let me explain,” he said. “I’ve been a complete fool. I thought I could never love again and then I met you. I was such a fool to think I could ever let you go. You’re the perfect woman.”

“And this is not just for your team’s sake?” she asked. “That’s what your coach said.”

“He did tell me to do that” he replied. “I was doing it, with the woman I had at my house before, but not with you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

“I didn’t remember” he replied. “I didn’t think he would see you and assume that you didn’t mean the world to me.”

“Do I?” she asked.

“You mean the world to me.” He replied, taking a step towards her, “and to prove it.”

He bent down on one knee in front of her and pulled out a black box.

“I know we haven’t known each other very long,” he said while opening it to reveal a beautiful ring, “but do you think you could be my wife?”

She felt her heart flutter and tears fell down her cheeks. She could hardly breathe and she thought she would burst from happiness.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out.

She covered her mouth with her hands and watched as his brows furrowed.

“You’re what?” he asked.

She lowered her hand and felt more tears running down her cheeks.

“I’m pregnant” she whispered, “are you mad?”

He looked up at her and shook his head.

“How could I be?” he asked. “I love you.”

She fell to her knees and clung to him knowing she couldn’t stand the pressure much longer.

“I love you too” she replied, “I love you so much.”

She felt his body shaking and looked up and realized that Conner was laughing.

“Leave it to you to get pregnant the first time you do it,” he said as he pulled her into his lap as he sat on the ground amidst the balloons. He kissed her cheeks and wiped her tears before slipping the ring unto her finger.

“I thought you weren’t into the long-term,” she said, resting her head against his chest.

“I thought so too,” he replied, “but I couldn’t lose the woman I love.”

“I was so sad” she replied, “I couldn’t help picturing you with other women moving on without me.”

“Hey, there is no other woman for me.” He said tipping her chin up she was looking at him.

“I know” she replied, “I just didn’t think you would get it.”

He laughed and she joined him. He placed his hand on her stomach and everything felt right all over again.

“I bet it’s a boy,” he said.

“You think so?” she asked. “As a doctor, I can tell you from a medical perspective that it feels like a girl.”

“I’m not a doctor but I know that’s not right,” he said.

“Wait, don’t you have a game tonight?” she asked.

“Have you been keeping up with me?” he asked, flashing her a teasing look.

“No, I just wanted to know all the places to avoid,” she replied.

“Sure, I believe that” he replied. “That’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“I decided to end my contract,” he replied.

“Wait, you’re not going to be playing basketball anymore?” she asked. “Why?”

“I don’t think I want to anymore” he replied, “plus I don’t really need to. I’ve made billions of dollars on my investments alone.”

She coughed when she heard him reel off the amount.

“You’re a what?” she asked.

“Wait, didn’t you know?” he asked. “I thought that was the reason you slept with me.”

She slapped him, which made him laugh even louder than before.

“Obviously, I didn’t know,” she replied.

“Oh, so you didn’t Google me?” he asked, “How can I be with a woman who hasn’t even Googled me.”

“I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt,” she replied. “Now I know I was wrong. I will be Googling you from now on.”

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” he replied

“How did you make all that money?” she asked.

“I started investing when I was eighteen,” he replied. “My father gave me the money my mother left to me after her death and someone told me to invest it, which I did. The returns on some didn’t pan out but for others, it was very profitable.”

“Wow,” she replied, “so you’re rich! If you don’t play, what will you do?”

“I was planning to go back to law, maybe,” he replied. “I loved it but I never took the time to pursue it.”

“Is that what you really want?” she asked.

“I’m young,” he replied. “I’m not that popular and I don’t want to spend my life away from my wife and child.”

“As long as you’re doing this for you,” she warned. “I don’t want you to stop because of me.”

“I want to stop because of you,” he replied. “I don’t need basketball anymore. I don’t need to use it to conceal my feelings when I have the woman I love right by my side.”

“I love you,” she whispered. “How did you get my parents here?”

“Well, I just Googled you,” he said.

She couldn’t help laughing.

“I needed them here to give me access to the house. Your mom helped with the setup.”

“That part I can believe,” Taylor replied. “It’s more than I ever expected.”

“I can do it again in a million ways” he replied. “I was thinking about using roses the next time.”

She laughed

He pulled her to her feet and together with her parents, they got rid of the balloons. On the street, children began removing the ones he had placed on the sidewalk. When everything was done, Paige came over.

“Oh, I knew you two would get together,” she said. “You’re so perfect for each other

“You’re lying,” Taylor said, nudging her friend. “You told me to stay away from him the first day we met.”

“What I do know” Paige replied, “is that you two are perfect for each other. He’s frantic and you’re grounded.”

“I see,” she said, looking across the room to where Conner was chatting with her father.

In her wildest dreams, she had never expected to ever be this happy. She had the man of her dreams, he loved her, and they were about to get married and have a child. This was the happiest she had ever felt, and all of her energy was focused on not losing her face from all the smiling she was doing.

“You deserve to be happy,” Paige said. “I can tell he does that for you.”

“I know,” she replied

She felt Conner’s hands wrapping around her and she turned to look up at him.

“My future wife talking about me behind my back,” he said as he lowered his head to kiss her.

She didn’t think she would ever get used to the feel of his lips against hers.

“I could talk about you all day,” she replied.