Page 40 of Personal Foul

“Come here,reina.” I pull her onto my lap and hold her.

“It happened, Garrett.” She sobs. “My son got hurt, and I wasn’t here, and I took it out on you!”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” she says harshly, trying to calm herself down. “I love you, I want you. If you give me another chance, I promise I will try my hardest not to fuck it up.”

I brush the hair out of her face, looking her in the eye. “You don’t need a second chance, Reagan. Did you hurt me? Yes. But I knew it was your momma bear peeking through. I told you I wouldn’t give up. I love you too much to walk away.”

Reagan leans forward and kisses me hard, weaving her hand into my hair. She opens her mouth, letting her tongue dual with mine.

Home isn’t a place, but a person, and everything about Reagan Kelly screams home to me.

I hear Nick bounding down the steps and pull back, resting my forehead on Reagan’s.

“I missed you,” she whispers.

“I missed you more.”

“You two good now?” Nick asks from the bottom step.

“We’re good, bud.”

Epilogue

One Week After the Super Bowl

Garrett

I’m sitting on my balcony overlooking the beach, watching Nick play with my cousin’s children. As soon as my post-Super Bowl responsibilities were over and Nick had a school break, we hopped on a plane and I brought them to meet my family. Reagan in a bikini has me in a constant state of arousal and I love it. Reagan and I are stronger than ever. Finding our footing while both traveling was hard, but we pulled it off. She doesn’t know it yet, but I have no intention of renewing my contract. I want to be home every night, never missing one of Nick’s games, and checking out new recruits when Reagan needs to. Nick’s laughter pulls me out of my thoughts and I laugh. My cousin’s daughter has taken a liking to him and has stars in her eyes.

Reagan comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my neck.

“She likes him,” she teases.

“Yeah, but I don’t think it’s mutual,” I muse, making us both laugh.

“Oh, to be young,” she says wistfully.

“You’re still young,reina.” I pull her into my lap. “Perfect.”

She settles in my lap, laying her head on my shoulder.

“I love it here.”

“Yeah? Enough to visit often?” I ask.

“How would you feel about spending our summers here?” she asks softly.

I squeeze her hip. “What are you thinking?”

“Nick gets out of school the beginning of May, starts the beginning of September. That would give me enough time to get ready for football season. We could spend that time here, then the rest of the year back in Seattle. Maybe come back for a holiday or two if we can.”

I turn Reagans face towards me, kissing her hard.

“I want that.”

“Good.” She smiles with a twinkle in her eyes.

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