Page 100 of Scoring Grey

Her eyes widen, and I slide my hands around her waist. “I know this body, but more than that, I know my girl. I see you, blondie. I’ve always seen you.”

“When did you figure it out?”

“Ah, two months ago… at the hospital, when I asked you to take a test.”

“You’ve known for two monthsandyou didn’t say anything?”

“You have no idea how hard it’s been.”

“Why wait?”

“Atfirst,it was insecurity. The last time you were pregnant with my baby, you ran away before telling me?—”

“Cal, I wouldn’t do that—that’s not why?”

“Don’t.” I kiss her lips to silence her defenses. I don’t need them. “I know… I know you wouldn’t leave me again.” I rest my forehead to hers. “I’ve watched you be selfless for years. You sacrificed your heart to protect our son, and history is repeating itself. You’re doing it again, holding your tongue, knowing I had a big decision on my shoulders with the weight of receiving a new contract. You didn’t want me to say no because of the baby. You didn’t want to interfere with my choice."

Her eyes soften, and I press my mouth to hers once more. My hands frame her face.

“There’s nothing I want more than my family. With or without a new baby, you and Adler were always my first choice. It’s always been you.”

“I love you,” she says as I gently cover her lips with mine. “But?—”

“No buts, not this time. I have something I want to show you.” I pull my playbook from back where I had tucked it away before my speech.

“Are you serious? This book is like Houdini. Appearing when you least expect it.”

“Well, I wanted to share something with Coach Beck, but there’s also something I wanted to share with you. You said ‘but’ and I needed to show you there are none.”

I hand her the playbook open to the page I want her to read, and she mumbles, “That’s not what mybutwas for. However, I won’t pass up a chance to read your mind.”

Scoring Grey

This entry is dedicated to my future wife. I know we have a lot unknown ahead of us, so I’m time-stamping these thoughts now as proof that no matter what happens, my first choice is always you.

She said yes! Well, sort of. I didn’t ask, and nothing went according to plan, so I had to think fast. There was no way I was letting her leave in that ambulance without me. She’s reminded me multiple times since I slipped that ring on her finger that I haven’t asked, but she also hasn’t taken it off. Our son, her father, and all our family and friends have witnessed the new jewelry on her left hand. It’s hard to miss. That was intentional. I needed to make sure there was no mistake she was taken.

Some say true love will find its way back to you, but I don’t like to think of our love that way because it infers it was lost. My love for her was never lost; it never wavered, even when I wished it would. The love we have was always destined to be. I can’t be sure of what our future looks like; there are too many unknowns, but I know without a shadow of a doubt it’s always been her, and it will only ever be her every day I love her more. She is the most beautiful thing in my life. She is my heart.

She closes the book, and her tear-filled eyes find mine. “You really wanted to make me cry in front of all these people?”

“No.” I pull her into my chest. “I never want to be the reason for your tears, but because they exist now, I hope they’re happy tears.”

“You know they are,” she sniffles, holding me tight. “Do you ever go back and make revisions?”

“What?” I ask confoundedly, wondering what she could possibly want to revise. “Are you telling me I got my thoughts wrong?”

“No.” She pulls back, her baby blues slightly streaked from her mascara. “But you did ask me?”

I bite my lip and bring my thumbs to the corner of her eyes to fix her makeup. I know she saw the date. I wrote that entry the night of her accident. I stayed up and wrote it while I watched her sleep. There was no way I could sleep after everything that happened. “If it pleases my wife, I suppose I could add an addendum.”

“I’m not your wife yet.”

I pull her flush against my front. “But the date has been set, sobasicallyyou are.”

“I don’t think it works that way.”

“It works however I say it works. I told you once…” I let my hand slide down the curve of her back until I reach her ass. “But I don’t mind giving you a reminder.” I squeeze her ass hard,makingher gasp. “You don’t get to leave me, blondie.”

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