The Finish Line Read online

  During the time they were apart, he'd given a lot of thought as to what the gender of his first child might be. He'd wanted a son, but had decided that a little girl would be an awesome thing as well. Little girls worshipped their fathers, didn't they? He'd be her champion for the rest of her life. But he remembered what it was like to have a hero, and the idea of being Superman and the Hulk and Bruce Lee all rolled into one held just as much appeal to him. He'd fancied himself a man since Kelsey Mayor had let him feel her up after their third date nearly twenty years ago. But it wasn't until that very moment, standing on the sidewalk in front of the headquarters of his empire, that Hill knew himself to be a man. He had fathered a son. Maybe he'd have felt just as puffed up if she'd said they would be having a daughter, but the fact was, he'd fathered a son. There was no greater accomplishment in his life.

  "Congratulations, sir," Levi said with a knowing grin.

  "Thanks man."

  After he'd climbed into the car beside her, Hill asked, "Where's your bag?"

  Her startled gaze met his. "Uh… at home. I forgot it."

  That was strange. "Anna, you've got this all planned out, but you forgot your overnight bag? Why didn't you pack it in your car weeks ago?"

  "I took public transit. Okay?"

  He wiped his brow to hide the shock his eyes might reveal. "What happened to your car? Did it break down?"

  "No. I just didn't want to be driving it while I was in pain. That's how my mother died. She tried to drive to work through the pain in her neck, but didn't realize it was a heart attack."

  "So you rode clear across town on the bus, while you are in labor?" It was taking everything in him to keep his tone moderate. "You should have just called. I'd have come to get you."

  "Well, since you've only been talking to me through your lawyers, it was either call Cavanaugh and Cohan or come get you." She pulled a yellow envelope from her purse. "Here. If anything happens to me, I want you to have that."

  Hill hefted the bundle. "What is it?"

  "A copy of my will and other affairs."

  A ironic expression crossed his face. She'd brought her will, but she'd forgotten her overnight bag. "You're not going to die, Anna."

  "I'm not taking any chances. Just hold on to it in case anything happens to me. No! Don't open it now!"

  "I need to know if I agree to any responsibilities that you might have laid on me before something that most likely will not happen happens to you." He was trying real hard to be reasonable.

  She turned her head to look out the window nearest to her. "Don't pull the plug on me. And don't sell the hotel. Do whatever you can to leave it as a lasting legacy for Alex."

  "Hal," he corrected, deeply touched by her trust that he would manage her estate according to her wishes.

  Anna's head swung in his direction. "Why do you keep insisting on that awful name?"

  "Hilliard Alex Lorin Dux-Griffin."

  "How about Ahl? Alex Hilliard Lorin."

  "We're here. I think I'll have one of those shakes and that burger she ordered, Levi."

  "One large vanilla shake and a triple stack coming up."

  "There's a park about a block away from the clinic. Would you mind if we stopped there to eat?"

  "Are you waiting for your water to break in the car?"

  She rolled her eyes. "I'd like to eat without feeling like I'm on the run."

  "You are on the run. To the clinic," he pointed out. Then said, "You heard The Lady, Levi. Stop at the park."

  Levi pulled the car up to the curb and got out, leaving them to eat in private. As if by unspoken agreement, they waited as he took his lunch to a bench before digging into their own bags.

  "You look beautiful," Hill commented around a mouthful of burger. He'd ordered from Big Fridays often enough, but nothing had ever tasted like this. On the first bite, it was as if all the tension he'd been carrying around since their last argument months ago had drained out of him and was being replaced by greasy, meaty bliss. This was comfort food at its best - where an everyday burger could be transformed into the greatest meal on earth. Obviously Anna thought the same thing, judging by the way she'd thrown her head back and slid to a sprawl on her seat.

  At his comment however, her eyes had opened and she just stared at him. "Who do you think he's going to look like?"

  His lips twitched. "Me."

  She snorted a laugh. "He'll probably have your ears. They stick off a little. That's bound to be a dominant gene."

  "It would be tragic if he had your lips though. Can't have my son walking around with a girly mouth."

  Twin dents appeared at the corners of those lips, and she ran her free hand over the mound of her stomach. They didn't say anything after that, just finished their meals in silence.

  "Thanks for coming to get me."

  "Thanks for coming with me."

  "Wouldn't have missed this for the world." His eyes tracked the slow strokes of her hand over her belly. "There's something I've always wanted to do, but I don't know how you'll react. Just say 'no' if you don't want to."

  Languidly, she lifted her eyes and met his gaze. "What is it?"

  "Can I see your belly?"

  "You saw it that day we argued."

  "I know. But I mean, can I touch it?"

  She shifted her hand out of the way. "Sure."

  He twisted his mouth to the side. Anna was like a bomb, and he was never sure what would set her off. "I mean…" he said, waving his hand back and forth.

  She stopped stroking. "You mean uncovered?"

  He nodded.

  "I'm wearing a dress, you know? And I've got stretch marks."

  "It's alright if you don't want to." It wasn't alright at all. It was her fault he wasn't entitled to lift her dress, and it was her fault he hadn't spent months looking at her belly and stroking it. It was also her fault that she was the sexiest pregnant woman he had ever set eyes on.

  Unexpectedly, she unbuckled her seatbelt and began to draw the hem of her dress upward. "Alright. You can see it. But if the stretch marks gross you out, that's your problem."

  "I won't be grossed out," he promised.

  Reverently, Hill waited as she drew her dress upward. The flirty pink hem slipped over her knees, over her thighs. This is what her legs look like in the light of day, he thought. Toned. Smooth. Shapely. Then he could see the beginning of her stomach and a strip of black cotton panties tucked under. She hadn't been joking about the stretch marks. Her stomach had been smooth and dark when they'd made love, but now it was covered in pale branches of scars. The innie of her belly button was now most definitely an outie. Before he could think better of it, he bent his head and pressed a kiss there on the little peak.

  Hill drew back and looked up at her, fully expecting a fight. Anna's lips parted on a sigh, but she made no move to stop him. He moved his hand over her belly, stroking the taut flesh that held his son. This woman was amazing. He'd never been this close to a pregnant woman's belly. He pressed another kiss on the darkened line that bisected her womb. Then another kiss on the side, and another over there… and another… then he reveled in the feel of Anna's fingers scraping through his hair, massaging his scalp, pulling him closer. He felt her shiver and responded in kind.

  "I'm not cold, Hill," she whispered.

  "I know," he said, drawing away reluctantly.

  She released his head so he could sit upright once more. "I'm just not ready for this thing between us. I hoped it would just fizzle out, but it's not dying, and I'm still not ready for it."

  "I know," he said once more, drawing her into his arms, a little surprised that she came willingly.

  With her head resting on his shoulder, Alezanna allowed herself to relax for the first time in a long time. It wasn't until after he'd walked out on her that she'd realized how unfair she was being, and how important Hill had become to her very existence. "You make me so mad sometimes that I want to just punch you."

  "You did," he chuckled. "But don't t
ry it again. Seriously. Don't hit me again, no matter how mad you get."

  She sniffed, but said, "I won't. But only because you make me laugh. You make me laugh so much. But I'm not ready for someone like you. I've got a lifetime of mess to clean up before I can let myself fall in love. You kept coming around, and I could see it in your eyes, Hill. No matter how much I tried to push you away, you just kept coming around until I started to get hooked on the way you look at me. I'm not ready to be a man's whole world, Hill. Not when my world's up in the air."

  He closed his eyes and rested his chin on her head to hide his expression. She knows, he realized. She's known all along. "There's no pressure, Anna. There never was. All you had to say was that you didn't want me. I'd have understood."

  Anna snorted. "Really? Nothing I did or said gave you that message?"

  "No," he admitted. "Everything you did told me you were scared of what we could have."

  "Why did you want me, Hill?"

  "Why do I still want you?" he corrected. "Maybe because you're the most frustrating woman I know. Maybe because I know that if I ever captured your heart it would be mine for the keeping. I know the important things about you, Anna. I can trust that if anything ever happened to me, you'd be able to pick up the reins of my affairs, and that you'd never let everything I've secured for our son collapse. I can trust that you'll blacken my eye if I ever get out of line. And that you'll keep yourself - not because you've got no passion, but because you have too much passion. You're the kind of woman who loves one man for life. You didn't trust me that night we made love. You weren't even open to the idea of trusting anyone, and it showed. But, when you are ready, I know you'll make love the way you fight. You'll put everything into it, and just the thought of scratching and biting and shredding the sheets with you keeps me hard day and night. Even your voice is my idea of perfection, Anna. I live for the day when I can make you sing my name."

  Gently, he drew her away from his chest so he could look her in the face and say, "Quite frankly, Alezanna Dux, everything about you is everything that I want. Whether we're fighting, or sharing a laugh, or a moment while we wait for our son to be born, every experience we share is worth remembering. But, if you decide that you don't want to be with me ever, that's okay. Just don't expect me to ever move on from loving you."

  A cry escaped her lips. "Hill, you can't wait for me."

  "I already love you. I'm not waiting for what I've already found. I'm at the finish line, Anna. You just need to get here." He sighed. "Until then, we'll raise our son together. I won't expect more than you're willing to give. And if you decide you'd rather love somebody else, just know that he'll never love you as deeply as I do."

  "What if all I can offer is shared parentage?"

  He rested his hand on her bare belly where her dress remained high over their child. A small force pushed against his palm from within. Anna glanced at the clock on the dashboard. "How long has it been?" he asked.

  "Twenty minutes."

  "We should get going."

  "Answer me first," she pressed, clutching his lapels. "What if all I can offer is shared parentage?"

  "Then I'll count myself blessed that we brought this child into this world together," was his solemn reply.

  "Barry offered me a recording contract."

  He quirked a brow. "Oh? Barry?"

  "Don't play dunce. All I had to do was look up his name to find out he was your stepfather."

  "Fine. I brought him to the Roll one night. Did you accept his offer?"

  "I told him you are my financial adviser, and that I'd have to run things by you first."

  His lips twitched. "I was the one who negotiated your contract. You should accept it. The forward you get should cover the taxes for next year, but you're going to either have to let go of the hotel, invite others to invest in it, or get help."

  "I can't do any of that." The heartbreak was in her eyes. "That hotel is like this baby, Hill. It's all I've got."

  "No. It's not. You've also got someone who can help you, Anna. I've got enough money to privately fund the restoration of the hotel. No obligations. No strings. Just pay me back the way you would have paid back a bank loan. Because we share a son and I've got a vested interest in your success, I'll even offer you a two per cent interest rate. You'll be able to borrow more and get the hotel to the standard that you envision for it. Just put whatever payments you make into a joint account between us for our son. Together, we'll decide how to reinvest it so that he'll have a strong portfolio by the time he comes of age."

  With watery eyes she looked at him closely, her lips tight from trying to conceal the pain ripping through her abdomen. "You've got this all figured out, don't you?"

  He cupped her cheeks, brushing his thumbs over the dimples beside her mouth. "I've had an entire year thinking of nothing else but your happiness." Tears fell onto her cheeks and rolled to his thumbs. One at a time, Hill sipped away the beads.

  "Why are you doing this?" Anna sobbed. "I may never love you, Hill. And I don't want to take advantage of your feelings."

  "But I love you, Anna. You and our son are my family. That's enough for me. Understand that my feelings for you are unconditional. We're drawn to each other. I knew that before I knew about the baby. Just go on with your music career. Sign that contract with Barry. Rebuild your grandfather's hotel. Do whatever you want. But be happy. Do you. And I'll do me. And if doing me means I'll spend the rest of my life loving a lady whose heart is elusive, so be it. I've had months of practice already, and I've learned to live with it. Everything I have is yours for the asking, Anna. Free and clear of any conditions."

  "Don't wait for me, Hill."

  "I won't. I'll just stand at my finish line." He wanted to kiss her, but that wouldn't reassure her that he meant what he was saying. He might end up spending the rest of his life hoping she didn't choose to run in another direction, but that was his cross to bear. "Your contractions are coming closer. We should probably get to the hospital now before your water breaks."

  "Too late," she whimpered.

  ALEZANNA DELIVERS 'A NIGHT LIKE NO NIGHT HAS BEEN, OR WILL BE AGAIN'

  By: Cassidy Sherriff

  "Breakthrough Female Recording Artist of the Year Alezanna made music's biggest night a night to remember. We all know that the notoriously private singer is the daughter of the late great boxer Alex Dux - The General, and that she's been taking the music world by storm now for two years running. We also know that Anna recently cut the ribbon on the Dux Grande Luxury Hotel in San Francisco. What we didn't know was that she's been keeping a whopper of a secret all this time.

  Last night, Anna brought the house down with a soulful rendition of the song that launched her to stardom, If You Go Away. She devoted her performance to her four year old son Halex, and his father banker Hilliard Griffin. Not a dry eye was in the room when she completed her performance. She was still backstage, her eyes streaming with tears, when the nominees for Breakthrough Female Vocalist of the Year were announced. Alezanna was a girl on fire as she moved across the stage in a Cat Diaz gown of flaming red and orange organza to accept the award.

  After hastily reciting the names of a long list of people she credits with her success, and thanking her fans profusely for their support, the music had just started and they were about to bring out the hook and wrench her offstage when the world's favorite artist threw her public into tailspin. The stations had to cut for commercials, but they lost out because this was worth airing.

  Listen for yourself to what Anna had to say at the end of her 'thank yous':

  'People laugh and smile to conceal the fact that oftentimes we aren't truly happy. I've always heard that it is a rare thing to achieve self-actualization. Hill, you've been patient. You never pressured me, just loved me unconditionally and so completely that I was able to grow and achieve everything I ever dreamt of. All my needs have been met and exceeded, except one.

  We are already a family, but I would like the privilege o
f loving you for the rest of my life. I would like to be your wife. I would like to meet you at our finish line. And I would like the world to know how much I truly, deeply, devotedly love you, because you are the best man in the whole world, and even the greatest award on Earth is nothing compared the certain knowledge that your love for me has proven itself time and time again to be the greatest gift I have ever received. Hill, will you marry me?'

  "Oh! I get so choked up just listening to that. Can you imagine, that girl forgot about her makeup. It was like she forgot about the audience and that millions of people might be watching if the stations hadn't been foolish enough to cut to commercials. She got on her knees and proposed to him! Can you believe it? It would have been the most embarrassing thing if he'd turned her down, but the smart guy didn't. In fact, he picked up their son - I better mention here that the couple have denied being together for years now. He picked up their son and handed him to Alezanna's producer Barry Holmes - who was once married to the Griff's mother -, then jogged up the steps and knelt one rise lower than where Anna waited for him.

  This couldn't have been a publicity stunt, and officials say they knew nothing about it, but Hill Griffin had come equipped with a ring. In an interview with the couple this morning on CVS News, Hill admitted he's been walking around with that ring in his pocket for six years now. All I know is that he knelt there like a modern-day knight in midnight blue armor and proposed to her. Grammy officials weren't on their game because none of them got out of their surprise quickly enough to offer the man a microphone. Only he and his bride know what was said on those steps as they accepted each other's proposals and exchanged rings.

  The kiss was hot to say the least. There was no awkward fumbling, just a tender moment shared between a couple that had forgotten anyone else existed except each other. Well, I retract that. After the kiss, they called their son on-stage to share in the moment. His father lifted him into his arms and the couple rode off into the sunset, leaving behind a stunned audience. But the most poignant sight was that of music's biggest award sitting all alone on stage.