Hands down.
No question.
She’s my game changer.
I knew that October night all those months ago when I saw her for the first time that she was different. I just didn’t know that she was not only going to change my life but alter who I am as a person. Hell, even the media portray us as a baseball royalty couple, second place of course to Cameron and Paisley. And to hear Easton tell it, we are in third place. He is the king of the family, after all. His words, not mine. Not to mention I now have a new agent, who is not of the frame of mind that all press is good press.
I want to be better for her. I want to show her every single day that nothing is more important to me than her.
Not even baseball.
If it were not for the fact that it’s only been four months since I’ve known her and that I know she wants to graduate from college first, I’d be asking her to marry me tonight—confessions of love and promises of happily ever after. I’ve considered it, and hell, I even bought a ring. I was out shopping last week for today, and I saw it. I just knew it was meant for Parker. I bought it with the intention of proposing tonight, but I talked myself out of it. There’s no rush. I’ll let her focus on her last semester of college, and then all bets are off.
My phone rings, and I smile when I see it’s Cameron. He’s not only just my teammate but someone I consider a close friend and my girl’s brother-in-law. One day soon, he’ll hold all of those titles for me as well.
“What’s up, man?” I ask.
“Paisley’s not feeling well. She thinks it might be the Mexican that we had last night that’s not agreeing with her.”
“Shit. Okay, well, we need to change it up then.”
“Nah, man, you and Parker go on without us.”
“No. Parker is excited for all of us to get together. She doesn’t buy into Valentine’s Day.” Which is why today is perfect for telling her that I’m head over ass in love with her. She knows that I know how she feels about the holiday, and she won’t be expecting it, especially since we had plans with Cam and Paisley.
“No. We can figure this out.”
“Paisley wants to stay close to the house, just in case.”
“I can work with that.”
“Jett’s still here.”
“Okay. Here’s the deal. You need to get on the phone and use your Cameron Taylor charm to organize dinner. I can pick it up if I need to. I’m going to swing by your place and pick up Jett to drop him off at his grandparents. While I’m gone, I’ll pick up what we need. We’re going to transform your basement.”
“Without my wife knowing?” he asks.
“We’re sure as hell going to try to do this without either of them knowing.”
“We’re going to need help.”
“I know.”
There’s a beat of silence on the phone before we both say, “Easton,” and laugh.
“He’s coming around with me, and since you and Paisley are involved, I think he’ll help us. I’ll get Larissa to have Peyton help too when she gets home. I can’t call her right now. She’s with Parker getting their nails done.”
“Got it. Yeah, Paisley was supposed to go as well but decided not to. Larissa stayed home in case Paisley needed her.”
“All of that could work in our favor. I’m on my way to your place now. You start thinking about food.”
“Sounds good. See you soon. I'll get Jett ready. Paisley is resting, and she’ll never know. I hope.” He laughs softly.
“We’ve got this, Taylor,” I pep talk him before ending the call. Grabbing my keys, I lock up the house and head to pick up Jett.
“Grandpa!” Jett launches out of my arms and into Easton’s. “Uncle Holden bringed me.”
Not gonna lie. When the kid refers to me as Uncle Holden, something softens in my chest. He was confused as to what boyfriend meant, and since I was Aunt Parker’s boyfriend, I should be an uncle. I was fine with it, and so were his parents, so we just rolled with it.
“I see that,” Easton says, bouncing him on his hip. “Is everything okay?” he asks me. “My princess said she was fine when we talked to her earlier.”
“Everything is good. We just decided to bring dinner to their place and surprise the girls.”
He nods, and dare I say, a small smile plays at his lips.
“Parker was looking forward to tonight, so Cam and I are changing things up a bit. Are you still good to keep Jett?” I ask.
“Always.” Easton hugs his grandson to his chest. “Go see Grandma. She made cookies last night.”
“Cookies!” Jett races off in search of Larissa.
“So, change of plans, huh?” Easton asks.
“Yeah, we’re going to bring dinner to them. I need to grab a few things, a tablecloth, fresh flowers, candles, but we’re going to make it happen. We’re setting it up in Paisley and Cam’s basement.”
“Need any help?” he offers.
I don’t, but this is an olive branch from her father, and I’ll be damned if I pass it up. “Sure, I was thinking about getting one of those outdoor gazebos, the one with a cloth top, and keep the top off, and hanging lights around it to help set the mood.”
He nods. “I like that. What else you got?”
“Well, Cam is taking care of dinner, and I just need to grab it on the way over.”’
“No. That won’t do. I’ll call Cam and let him know that I’ll be picking up dinner. That will spoil the surprise for my duchess. Just tell me what time to have it there, and I’ll do a drop-off.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“Sure, anything for my girls. How about I run out and pick up some lights and flowers while you grab the gazebo?”
“Sounds like a plan. Oh, can you get Larissa and Peyton in on this as well? Maybe have Peyton stall Parker as long as she can. Or maybe not tell Jett and have him call and say he misses them? You know they can’t refuse him.”
“Great idea. Go on, get moving. I’ll be in touch.” He holds his hand out for me to shake, and I take it.
That’s not at all how I expected this drop-off to go, but I’m thrilled that it happened. I never blamed Easton for his coldness toward me. I knew deep down it was more about no longer being the only man in his daughter’s life than it was the man I am. He knows I love her. Hell, she knows I love her, and I won’t stop until the entire world knows it too.
I might not have said the words, but I’ve always believed that actions speak louder, and I try to show her every day that I love the hell out of her. No matter who’s around or who’s watching. Parker comes first, always.
“I can’t believe you two actually pulled this off without either of us finding out,” Parker says as she lays her napkin on the table.
“Oh, we had help,” I assure her.
“Who schemed against us?” Paisley asks, humor in her voice as she rests her hands on her baby bump.
“Your dad, your mom, and your little sister.” Cam lets the cat out of the bag.
“Our dad?” Parker asks, surprised.
I tell her about how I dropped Jett off, and he offered to help, and how everyone just rallied after that to help us pull this off.