Page 147 of Undisputed Player
“What did you do?” My nose wrinkled, halfway teasing.
He grinned, then pecked my lips. “What would you say to giving Leo his very own dinosaur?”
The words tumbled into my chest, making something bright unfurl against my ribs. “A… dinosaur?”
“A bearded dragon,” he chuckled, stroking down my arms. “I remembered him telling you he wanted a dinosaur a while ago. I figured… why the hell not? He gets a childhood. And Giselle would’ve loved it, wouldn’t she?”
I didn’t trust myself to speak right away, my vision shimmering as I swallowed. I turned, wrapping my arms around his neck, pressing my face into his shoulder.
It hit me all at once, the overwhelming rightness of this—of Jax, always seeing what Leo needed, always giving it with so much intention it nearly broke me.
“She would’ve loved it,” I managed, my voice soft and wobbly. “Jax, I—” I squeezed him tighter, laughing a little helplessly at the tears that threatened anyway.
He rocked me back and forth, his palm smoothing over my lower back. “It’s okay, princess. Happy tears today, yeah?”
I managed a laugh, wiped at my eyes, and let him pull me to my feet. “How long have you been planning this? You always do this—get it perfect.”
He shrugged, a little too casually. “Long enough. I called the shop ahead. They’re holding a couple for us to meet. And I might’ve already bought the thing a habitat. It’s state of the art.” He was smug now, that cocky glint back in his eye.
I snorted and poked his chest. “Of course you did.”
He caught my hand, tugging me close for a lingering kiss. “C’mon, princess. We’d better go tell the big news.”
We found Leo in the kitchen, staring at a tray of cookies Elsie had prepared. His hair was sticking up in four directions, eyes bright. Jax dropped a hand onto his shoulder, squeezing gently.
“Hey, buddy. Got a minute?”
Leo twisted on the stool, looking between us with curiosity. “Am I in trouble?”
Jax’s laugh was low and warm. “For eating three cookies already? Never. We wanted to ask you something.”
I knelt by his side, brushing his hair back and tucking a strand behind his ear, my gaze soft. “Do you remember what you said you wanted to be when you grew up?”
Leo brightened. “A paleontologist!”
Jax grinned. “Right. And you told Estelle you wished you had your own dinosaur, right?”
Leo’s face lit up, even as skepticism crept in. “Well… yeah, but dinosaurs are gone.” His tone had that new hint of childish confidence, the color that had filled in once the old anxieties faded away these last months.
Then… he glanced at me, and his gaze dropped to his lap, remembering what today was. “Like my mom.”
My heart shattered. He didn’t look sad, but he knew what today meant, even if he couldn’t remember Giselle very well. He saw her in me; he knew we loved her fiercely.
I leaned forward and wrapped him in my arms, breathing in his hair. “That’s true, Leo, and we’ll never forget that.” I kissed his hair, then moved down so he could meet my eyes.
“But why don’t we do something she would have loved?”
Leo looked nodded, holding my arm as I pulled back to look at Jax, wiping quickly at my watery eyes.
Jax noticed, of course, and gave me a soft look before turning his attention to Leo. He tapped his jaw, pretending to be deep in thought.
“What about a pet dinosaur? Maybe kind of like one?”
Leo blinked in confusion. “Huh?”
“A bearded dragon,” Jax finished, dropping the punchline. “We can pick one out today if you want.”
There was a silent beat—then Leo’s eyes went wide, his whole body going utterly still with shock. “For real?” he finally burst out. “I can really get a bearded dragon?”
