Page 78 of End Game
“Don’t thank me for doing the right thing,” I say.
“I just want you to know I appreciate it.”
“I appreciate you not punching me in my good eye,” I chuckle. “As unexpected as it is, we’re having a baby. That means we are going to be on the same team for a while. And if you want to sit in the stands with me to cheer him on when he takes over the ol’ eleven jersey for the Legends, it’ll be a few years longer.”
“It’s a girl,” she says off-handedly, turning her nose a little into the air.
“It’s a boy,” I tell her.
“How would you know? You don’t know anything about this.”
“Maybe not, but I can predict the future.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yup. He’s going to have blond hair like me and golden eyes like you. He’ll have your wit and my athletic ability.”
“Hey, now,” she says, wagging a finger my way. “My brother is Finn Miller. I have some damn good athletic genes too.”
“Meh.”
She throws a pillow at me. I catch it mid-air and toss it back at her. Because she had turned away, it hits the side of her face.
Her laughter fills the air, the worry lines on her face from today all but gone. That is, until she moves her neck to the side and flinches.
“What’s the matter?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing. I hurt my neck a few weeks ago and it’s hurt ever since.”
“What did you do to it?”
“I don’t know.”
I catch the blush of her cheeks and her hesitation to look me straight in the eye. “Layla . . .”
“Stop, Branch.”
“What happened?” I say in a sing-song voice. “Sounds like a good story.”
Her lips quiver as she finds her resolve. When she faces me, the little vixen I’ve seen before is back. “Well,” she says, “I was with this guy, right? And he had me up on all fours on this patio chair at our lake house and?—”
“Better stop there.”
“But I was just getting to the good part.”
“Oh, Sunshine. I remember the good part.”
We exchange a knowing smile before she moves her head and winces again.
“Turn around,” I tell her, moving off the chair and onto the sofa beside her.
“Why?”
“Just turn around,” I chuckle. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Um . . .”
Shaking my head, I lay a hand on her shoulder and gently encourage her to turn away from me. Finally, she gives in, shifting until she’s sitting facing the wall.
