“Oh, sweetheart, this is wonderful news. You know, we all thought it would be you and Lo first.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Mom.” I grimaced, finishing the apple, and throwing the core in the trash can.
“Have you planned something magical? I bet he’s planned something magical.” She beamed at Gentry.
“Yes, well,” he smiled at her, “let’s not get too carried away. I’m sure Maverick would appreciate our discretion.”
“Of course, but, sweetheart, this is huge.”
She came over and swept me up in a Mom-hug. “I’m so proud of you, Maverick, of both of you. I had my doubts at first, we all did, but you proved us wrong.”
“Thanks, Mom.” The words came out rough. Displays of affection weren’t something I did often with my family, but hearing the pride in her voice made me stand a little taller. “Just promise me you won’t breathe a word of it to Lo. I want it to be a total surprise.”
“Our lips are sealed.” Gentry mimicked zipping his lips, and Mom nodded.
“You have our word, baby. We’ll take it to the grave.”
“Take what to the grave?” Lo entered the kitchen and silence descended over the three of us.
Fuck.
It was like the universe was always working against me.
“Nothing.” I stalked toward Lo, sliding my hand into her hair and kissing her softly.
“Hello to you too,” she chuckled against my lips.
“Missed you,” I whispered.
“I was barely gone two hours.”
“Two too many.”
“They’re so darn cute,” Mom’s voice was a like a bucket of iced water, and I inhaled a ragged breath, breaking the kiss and tucking Lo into my side.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I think we’re meeting Summer and JB down at Hitters,” I replied. It was the sports bar downtown where Lo had worked back in her senior year of high school. Things hadn’t ended so well at the time, but over the years it had become our usual hangout whenever we were back in town.
Macey and Devon had left straight after the wedding as Devon was touring the east coast over the summer and my sister was tagging along until classes restarted in the fall.
“It was so nice having you all back in one place, even if it was only for a few days.”
“Are you... crying?” My eyes narrowed at my mom.
“What? No!” She sniffled. “It must be allergies.”
“You know it won’t be too long before you have a new set of kids to fuss over.”
It was her turn to frown. “I don’t—”
“Grandbabies, Mom.”
“Grandbabies?” Her eyes widened. “Oh my... I’m not sure I’m ready to be a grandma.” She glanced at Gentry and he balked.
“Don’t look at me, darling. I am most definitely not ready for diapers and night feeds.”
“Relax, I’m joking.” For the most part, anyway. Truth was, I couldn’t wait to see Lo’s stomach round with my child. But we had to graduate first and see where the draft landed us.
“Maverick,” Mom chided. “You almost damn near gave me a heart attack.”
“Don’t worry, Rebecca, we are in no rush to start a family.” Lo pinched my side and I yelped.
“Maybe not, but we can practice lots. That sounds like a—”
Lo grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the back door, my laughter filling the air.
When we were outside, she gave me a hard shove. “What has gotten into you?”
“What? I can’t be happy now?”
“I thought your mom and Uncle Gentry were going to march us down to the planned parenthood clinic.”
“What do you think they thought we were getting up to out here all those times you stayed over?” My brow quirked suggestively.
“I know, but there’s knowing and knowing.”
Snagging Lo around the waist, I pulled her close. “You want that though, right? A bunch of little brats running around?”
Her frown melted away replaced with a look of longing. “You know I do.”
“Good.” I bent down and scooped her up, throwing her over my shoulder. “We’d better make a start on the practice phase then.”
“Maverick, put me down.” Lo hammered her fists against my back.
“Sorry, I can’t hear you.” I chuckled, carrying her into the pool house. We had so many memories of this place: the good, bad, and everything in between.
I bypassed the living room, going straight to our bedroom. “I can still remember the first time I had you in here.” Lowering Lo to the floor, I cupped the back of her neck. “I was so fucking angry, and everything hurt. Until you touched me.”
“I was so confused.” She gazed up at me with lust and love. “One minute you hated me, the next you wanted me.”
“I never hated you, Lo. I hated that you saw so easily behind all my anger and bravado. I hated that you knew my secrets. But most of all, I hated that I couldn’t have you.” My lips fixed over hers, kissing her with everything I had. Our tongues tangled together with easy familiarity, our bodies fitting like two pieces of a puzzle.
Because we were.
Lo wasn’t only my girl. She was the other half of my soul. The better part of me. My anchor and my salvation.
And as soon as I could make it happen, my wife.
Lo
“Change of plans,” Maverick said as we climbed into his car. “Summer and JB can’t meet us, something about his mom throwing a fit because he’s hardly spent any time with her. But Declan texted me to say he’s visiting family in Bay View, so he and his brother are going to drive down and meet us for a drink.”
“So date night has turned into team night?” I rolled my eyes playfully. Maverick knew I didn’t mind spending time with the team. They were as good as family, and I knew they all considered him their leader. It was something to behold, the way they all looked up to him.
“Don’t worry, I plan on making it up to you later.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” He grinned, grabbing my hand and pulling it onto his lap.
“Your mom is right, it’s nice being back.”
“You miss it?”
I watched as the familiar streets of Wicked Bay rolled by. When I’d first moved here from England, I never imagined I’d call this place home. But now, it felt like so much more.
“Yeah, I do.” I let out a small sigh. “I love our life in Steinbeck, but it’s not home.”
“I thought home was wherever I am?” His mouth kicked up.
“You know what I mean.” I squeezed his hand.
Maverick knew I would follow him wherever he decided to play, but we had roots here. It would always be special.
“Maybe I should look at some local teams?”
“Tim didn’t seem to think that was a good idea.”
“Tim is my agent, not my boss. He works for me.”
“I want you to do whatever makes you happy.”
“And what about what makes you happy?” Maverick pulled into a parking bay outside Hitters sports bar.