Page 36 of The Forever Game

“I love you too.”

Her gaze turns misty, but I’m pretty sure these are happy tears.

Pregnancy has always made her emotional, and I’ve had to harden myself, as her tears have always killed me in the past. But I’m adjusting… mostly.

Wrapping my arms around her, I cup her breasts and give them a light squeeze. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She sighs, making it sound like she’s not.

I give her a sympathetic frown.

“It was just a tough day. But you’re here now.” She runs her fingers across my forearms and rests her head back against my shoulder. “You’re home, so everything’s good again.”

“Can I reinstate you to the role of mother again?”

She laughs. “Yeah, I guess I better not resign.”

“Thanks.” I kiss the tip of her nose and finally pull out of her. “I should get you into bed.”

“Okay, but I’m not ready to sleep yet. I want to hear every detail of the game.”

When she says shit like that, she actually means it. I’m going to have to give her a play-by-play of all my moves. At least the ones I can remember. She’ll pepper me with questions and try to live the game through my recall of it.

As we put our pajamas on, she tells me she only caught snippets. Billy watched me for all of five minutes before getting distracted.

“I ran into the living room to try and see what I could, but the boys were…” She shakes her head. “It was just one of those days.” She sniffs, her chin bunching for a moment. “Liam and Rachel popped in.”

“Oh yeah?” I spin with surprise. “Rachel?”

“Yeah.” Her expression buckles, and I can instantly tell there’s more to this story. Caroline’s smile is sad and wobbly.

Aw, shit. What the hell went down during that visit?

Caroline looks on the verge of tears again, and I know we’ll have to talk about it. I open my mouth to say that, but she shakes her head.

“Let’s talk hockey tonight.” She sniffs. “I can tell you about my dumpster of a day tomorrow. I just want to fall asleep with good news in my head.”

“You know we lost, right?”

She gives me a sad smile. “I know, and I’m sorry. But I saw you play for a couple minutes, and you were fire. I’m so proud of you.”

My chest tingles with a warmth only she can ever give me.

We slip into bed and I hold her against me, the baby moving inside her as she rests her belly on my stomach. I feel those little kicks and my heart swells with anticipation. We still haven’t decided what we’re going to call our little angel yet, but we’ve got time to talk baby names. Right now, Caroline needs to talk hockey.

CHAPTER13

BAXTER

“The goalie jerked left, sticking out his foot to stop the puck,” I read to Kai. He’s really getting into chapter books, and any story about hockey is king. Tammy’s been working overtime to find books that fit his age and stage. He’s actually a good little reader, but he prefers us to read to him, and I’m not complaining. It’s one of my favorite times of the day.

Kai’s snuggled up against my right side while Nova sits on my lap. She’s sleepy, so she’s in a cuddly mood. It’s about the only time of day she sits still, and I always cherish these moments. Brushing my lips across her soft forehead, I keep reading to my kids while Tammy potters around in the kitchen. She’s had a hectic week, but we’re nearly at the finish line. Kai has one week left at school, and Tammy is taking a big chunk of time off this year. She’s saved up vacation days so we can take a week off for our honeymoon and then spend another three full weeks with the kids after that. It’s going to be the best summer. Asher’s helped me find another handyman to plug the gaps while I’m away, and he’s going to take over the admin side of my business for that month. I’ve got it all planned out.

We just have to make it through to the wedding and we’ll be set.

I’m relieved that everything has gone so smoothly there. We’re now just in that holding stage before all of the last-minute details need to get organized. The timing is going to be perfect, and I get a kick of excitement in my stomach every time I think about standing at the end of the aisle, watching Tammy walk toward me in whatever dress she’s chosen. I still haven’t seen it. Lani insisted that it was stored at her place, because the girls want it to be a surprise.

Fine. Whatever. I’m cool with that. For all I care, Tammy could walk down the aisle in a potato sack. She’d look good either way. I just want to stand there, watching her come toward me,knowingI’m about to make her officially mine.

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