Page 78 of Zone Protection

“Thank you for meeting them. It means a lot to me.”

“I’m really happy I got to meet them too. I love the way your family is so in tune with each other. You can literally feel the love in the room. I want that.”

“You’ll have that, darlin’. I promise you.” He leans down and kisses me.

As we walk back to my hotel, he tells me some more about the game, and a peace settles in me. This beautiful, kind, caring, talented man, who loves his family, is mine. And even though this pregnancy wasn’t planned, I couldn’t have picked a better daddy for my baby.

When we get to the room, I drop my bag on the dresser, and he sets his wallet and phone next to it.

I take his hand and turn him to face me. “Hey, babe. I’m really glad I got to meet your family.” I tilt my head up to look at him.

He leans down, frames my face with his hands, and takes my lips. When he breaks the kiss, he smooths my hair back off my face and just looks at me.

“Emma, you’re so fucking beautiful. How did I get so lucky to knock you up? Turn around and let me see my name on your back.”

Okay, maybe he is feeling the buzz a little. When he releases my face, I turn but look overmy shoulder at him.

“Aww, you’re the sweetest.”

I laugh.

“Do you need to get something to eat? Want some water or anything?” he asks.

“I’m good. I have a bottle of water on the bedside table, and I ate earlier.”

He moves the hair from my back and sets it over my shoulder. Then he brushes one hand across his name and hums. “I sure do like this.” He buries his face in my neck and kisses me softly.

“You know, if you wanted to stay with your family or go party with your friends, I wouldn’t have minded. I just wanted to be here with you to celebrate a little bit.” I sit down on the edge of the bed.

He moves in front of me, and I open my legs for him to stand between them. They kind of spread anyway with my growing belly. He places his hands on my shoulders and looks down at me as I look up at him.

“Darlin’, there is nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you and my baby. And I gotta say, I think you like me a lot if you flew all this way to see me play. Oh, and you’re wearing my jersey, so this feels like a big moment.” He winks at me, then kneels between my legs.

“I mean … I might like you a lot. You’re pretty fun to hang around with, and you’re a beast on the football field, but the orgasms … that’s the clincher.”

He knows I’m mostly joking with him, but he also knows he blows my mind in bed too.

“You know it, darlin’. Now let me see my baby.” He brings his hands to the hem of my jersey and slides it up over my belly. “Hi, baby. Daddy had a really good day today. Someday, I’ll be able to tell you all about it and maybe even show you the game. Although things will probably be weird by then, and I won’t understand technology, but I’ll tell you all about it. And then Mommy came to surprise Daddy, and she all but claimed me ashers by wearing my jersey. Then she met your grandparents and uncles and didn’t get scared away.”

“Okay, babe, I think you’re going a little overboard here.” I huff, even though it’s pretty much the truth. “There were a lot of people wearing your jersey today, and you know it. And your family is amazing.”

He places a kiss on my belly but looks up at me. “Mommy is trying to pretend it doesn’t mean more than it does, but I know she can’t resist me.”

I try to hide my smile by puckering my lips and shaking my head back and forth. We both start laughing at my attempt to deny that I can’t resist him. It’s the complete truth.

He starts to push the jersey over my breasts and then up and over my head. I’m wearing a sports bra since none of my bras are fitting me anymore. And I can’t say that it’s a bad look for me. Archie must agree because he buries his face in my boobs every chance he gets. Like right now.

“You are so perfect. I feel like you were made for me and only me. Did I ever tell you that the first time I saw you at that party, it felt like everything faded around me, and all I could see was you?” His face is in front of mine now, and he’s looking into my eyes.

“Archie …” I breathe.

“I’m not lyin’. I looked up, and there you were. And the best part was that you were looking at me too. I think we both felt something that night, am I right?” He tilts his head slightly.

I nod. “Yeah, you’re right. There was definitely something happening.”

“So, I kinda feel like the baby happened because we really are supposed to be together or tied together in some way. I’m so excited to be a daddy, but I’m even more excited that I get to do this with you. Wins like today, and hopefully more and even bigger wins in the future … won’t mean as much if you aren’t with me.”

My eyes must be leaking because Archie swipes away a tear from my face with his thumb.

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