Page 4 of The Forever Game

Concern washes through me and is only amplified when Caroline starts wincing and rubbing her forehead. She’s obviously uncomfortable and wants to leave too.

I catch Casey’s eye and tip my head for the door, letting him know he can go. He looks disappointed, standing with a glum smile and helping Caroline up. She cradles her belly, walking out of the room with barely a goodbye.

Rachel watches her go, tears lining her lashes.

Liam leans in to comfort her, and I get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach again.

I’m getting married tomorrow, and the people who are most important to me seem to be a fractured mess.

I want this wedding to be perfect for Tammy, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’re heading into yet another disaster.

Seven months ago, Tammy asked something of me, and I swore I’d make it happen for her.

Shit, what if I can’t keep my promise?

SEVEN MONTHS EARLIER…

NOVEMBER

CHAPTER2

TAMMY

Nova is being extra fussy tonight. I rock her back and forth, humming her a tune as I try to get my overactive toddler to sleep. She’s eighteen months old now, and from the second she was born, I could tell she was the complete opposite of Kai. He was always so quiet and cuddly. He took his time to study people and decide if they were worthy of a smile. He’d watch and observe before acting. My little Supernova, on the other hand, is a ball of energy. She started smiling at only four weeks, which apparently is very young. She’ll babble at anyone she meets, and she didn’t learn to walk, she learned torun. From the second she wakes until the moment she crashes, she’s on the go, and it’s exhausting… and entertaining. She has definitely filled our house with sunshine. And fireworks. And rainstorms. And tornados.

“Come on, baby. It’s okay,” I murmur against her cheek. “Let yourself go and fall asleep.”

She whimpers and rubs her nose across my shirt. I cradle the back of her head and finish humming “Blackbird” by the Beatles. I don’t know why I picked that song and made it ours, but it just came to me one night, and it’s stuck. Beyonce did a beautiful version of the song, and it’s become a favorite of mine.

By the time I get to the end, Nova has gone limp in my arms.

Finally!

I don’t usually rock her to sleep, but on those days when she’s been hyper, she gets herself into this vortex of overactivity, and it makes it so hard for her to fall asleep. I creep to her crib and lay her down, lightly stroking her head before covering her with blankets and making sure Mr. Pickles is within easy reach.

I leave the door ajar in case she wakes in the night, then check on Kai, who’s starfishing in his bed, his limbs looking long and gangly. Puberty is only a year or so away for the little guy, but I can already see his body getting longer. He’s stretching out like a piece of gum, and I swear he’s going to be taller than me by the time he’s a teenager. Watching him grow and develop warms my heart to no end. He’s the sweetest boy and the most patient big brother. Nova adores him, and he’ll chase her around, trying to protect her from her wild antics all the livelong day. School is a nice reprieve for him, and he’s made a best friend—Tommy—who is the sweetest kid. I’m just so happy for my boy that he’s got a little buddy.

Just like I had with Baxter.

I grin, walking to the master bedroom and thinking how my little buddy became so much more. From the way Kai blushed at the girls at the fall dance this year, I don’t think Tommy and Kai’s relationship is going to shift the way Baxter’s and mine did.

My smile grows a little wider as I walk into my room and spot Baxter on our bed. He’s shirtless, and I admire his hard ridges. His handyman business keeps him strong and toned. He’s seriously the sexiest man on the planet, and when he sits on our bed, writing in his journal with that intent look on his face, my heart falls a little more in love with him.

I wonder what he’s writing but try not to ask too often. It’s his personal space to get out his thoughts and feelings. He lets me read it when I ask, but I try to respect his privacy.

Squirting some hand cream into my palm, I rub the moisturizer into my skin and watch my man. He really is the most beautiful sight—his long legs stretched out on the bed, those beautiful bare feet, those solid muscles I want to run my hands over. And his face, so sweet and kind and?—

“What?” He doesn’t look up from his journal, and I grin, loving the way he can sense my perusal.

“I want you to be my husband.”

He glances up and starts to laugh. “Not sure that’s ever gonna happen, TT.”

“But it must.” I slip off his big hoodie, letting it drop to the floor before I crawl across the bed and kneel beside him. “I want to make you mine.”

“I am yours.” He lays his journal aside, cinching me around the waist and lifting me onto his lap. I straddle his legs, loving the way his fingers draw lines up my thighs, creeping beneath his extra-large T-shirt and settling around my curvy ass. I’m not toned and sculpted like him. My curves are soft and squishy, but he always makes me feel so sexy.

His eyes gleam with a heat that makes my body tremble, but I try to stay on point and finish our conversation.

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