Page 77 of The Double Play

I don’t think so.

“Only if you let me love you too,” I breathe.

His eyes light up at my words.

“You love me?” he asks.

“I love you,” I whisper my confirmation, then press a kiss to his lips. “I love how gentle you are with June and with me.” Another kiss. “I love your smile and that it’s not given out freely to everyone.” And another. “I love how you look in your uniform, specifically your baseball pants–” I giggle. His laughter joins mine.

Our foreheads touch. My eyes flutter shut.

“I meant what I said under the stars that first night,” I say softly. “I want you. I might be scared, but that hasn’t changed. It’s only grown.”

“I feel the same way.” His lips brush mine. “Don’t quit. We’ll make a plan and figure out how to do this. Stay with me and June.”

I pull in a fortifying breath. “Okay.”

He smiles against my lips. I don’t know how we’re going to do this, but Emmett is right. It’s much better to fight together than to run away. I’m not going to let fear control me any longer.

Chapter thirty-seven

Emmett Foster

I’mabouttopressanother gentle kiss to Hazel’s lips when the back door slams open.

“You kissed!” June shouts the accusation at a decibel reserved for umpires at baseball games.

Hazel quickly moves away. There’s a soft blush staining her cheeks. I bite back a smile at the sight. Hazel shoots me a look like she knows I’m entertained by her embarrassment.

“Yes, we did,” I say to June. No point in trying to lie. I should have been more attentive to our surroundings, but it was difficult to think of that when Hazel just confessed she loved me. My smile breaks free, spreading across my face.Hazel loves me.

“That’s what happens in all the princess movies after they get married! Now that you’re married, can I ask Miss Hazel to be my mommy?” June bounces with each word like she’s still on her trampoline.

“We’re not married yet, sweet pea,” Hazel says.Yet. That word makes my smile grow.

June pouts. “Daddy said I have to be patient, but that’s hard. I want a mommy now.”

Hazel looks at me in confusion.

I sigh and rub the back of my neck. “June asked if you could be her new mommy, and I explained that she needed to wait until you were ready for that. I didn’t think she would bring it up so soon.”

Hazel’s eyes, red from crying earlier, well up again. She lowers down to June’s level and outstretches her arms. June runs into her embrace without hesitation.

“I’m so honored that you want me to be your mommy. I-I don’t know if it’s quite time yet, but maybe soon.”

“That’s okay. I will keep being patient!”

Hazel laughs through her tears. I find my eyes stinging at the sight of them.

“You’re doing so good, June.” She pulls back to look June in the eye. “I would love to be your mommy, because you’re the best little girl in the whole wide world. We just have to wait on a few grown-up things, okay?”

June nods. “Okay.”

Hazel gives her another hug. “Why don’t you go wash up and then you can help me pick out what to cook for dinner?”

My daughter’s eyes light up. “Yes, ma’am!” she says, then runs off toward her bathroom.

Hazel stands, giving me a sheepish look. “I hope I didn’t cross a line. I wasn’t sure how to handle it, but I wanted her to feel loved and wanted.”

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