Page 109 of The Goal

Sabrina turns to me. “Can we go upstairs and pack now?”

“You guys are scaring Sabrina,” Hannah grumbles at the bickering idiots. “Babe, put that doll away. And Logan, remind me to never let you babysit my future children.” With that, she refocuses her attention on Sabrina. “Okay, assuming we’re putting a pin in Gigi, what other names are you thinking about?”

Sabrina and I exchange another look. “We haven’t even discussed it,” she admits.

“Are there any names you like in general?”

Sabrina ponders it. “I like the name Charlotte.”

“Oh, I love that!” Grace exclaims. “Charlotte Tucker. It has a nice ring to it.”

“Charlotte James,” Sabrina corrects.

I glare at her. “Her last name is going to be Tucker.”

“No it’s not. It’s going to be James.”

“What about Tucker-James?” Fitzy calls out as he grabs a beer from the fridge.

“No,” we say in unison. Not because we’re against hyphens, but because we’re both stubborn jerks.

I didn’t realize I felt so strongly about my daughter having my last name, but I do. Hell, if it was up to me, Sabrina would have my last name too. But that would require us getting married, which would require me to propose, and I’m pretty sure she’d flee to another continent if I did that. We might be sleeping together again, but I can tell she’s still fighting the idea that we’re in an actual relationship.

For some reason, the silly girl thinks she has to do everything alone.

“Okay.” Hannah grins. “How about we table the first name discussion until you’ve solved the surname quandary?”

That sounds like a good idea. The last thing I want to do is argue with Sabrina in front of all my friends. “Let’s go upstairs and do some packing,” I tell Sabrina.

Nodding, she allows me to help her out of her chair.

From his perch at the counter, Garrett’s expression turns glum. “I can’t believe you’re moving out.”

I roll my eyes. “You guys are moving out too.”

“Yeah, but not for two more weeks.”

I notice that Logan looks equally bummed at the prospect of my leaving today. They wanted to throw me a goodbye party, but I said no, because technically this isn’t goodbye. I’m just moving to Boston, which is where they’ll both be in a few months anyway.

Dean’s heading to New York, though. He’s bailing on law school and got a job teaching at a prep school. Allie landed a role on a TV show that’s filming in Manhattan, so I guess they’ll be moving in together.

Truthfully, I’m equal parts sad and relieved that Dean will be living in another state. He hasn’t exactly been supportive about my impending fatherhood, but he’s still one of my best friends, damn it.

“You guys decide yet who gets the master bedroom?”

Garrett is speaking to Fitzy now, who shrugs his tattooed shoulders. “Me. Obviously.”

“I don’t know,” Logan warns. “Hollis and the freshman are gonna try to fight you for it.”

Fitzy raises an eyebrow and then flexes his big biceps. “Let ’em.”

I stifle a laugh. Yeah, Hollis and Hunter don’t stand a chance against Colin Fitzgerald. Though, considering what a private person he is, I’m still surprised that he agreed to take over our lease with them. I figured he’d look for another place on his own, but I guess Hollis twisted his arm into it.

Sabrina and I head upstairs, where I sweep my gaze over my empty room. The bed’s gone and there’s nowhere to sit. I notice Sabrina rubbing her lower back, so I make a mental note not to let her stay on her feet for too long.

“Okay,” she says in a decisive voice as she opens the closet door. “Should we fold everything up nicely? Or just toss it in the boxes willy-nilly?”

“What boxes?” I swipe a cardboard container of garbage bags off the hardwood. “The clothes go in here.”

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