Page 109 of End Game
Nine months later
The floor creaks as I tiptoe down the staircase. Sunny has been asleep for a half an hour and there’s no way in hell I’m waking her up.
She’s a beautiful little girl with blonde hair like me and the bluest eyes like her daddy. She came into the world as calm as a dove. The nurses tickled her feet to make her cry so her lungs would dry out after the C-Section.
Her biggest issue so far, besides her refusal to breast feed, is her daddy. He holds her nearly every moment she’s awake when he’s home. He sanitizes every bottle and nipple she might come into contact with and she already has two battery-operated vehicles waiting for her in the garage that she can use when she masters things like sitting up and walking.
It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever witnessed. As good as he is to her, he’s just as good to me.
Things with him are easy. Yes, they require work, but it’s not hard to love Branch Best. He’s kind and thoughtful and bringsme flowers and ice cream and leaves me notes on the dry erase board on the fridge when he leaves for work every morning.
He’s everything I never dreamed he’d be. Plus more.
After getting Sunny back to sleep, I laid her in her bed and took a bath. Branch has to work in the morning, so he’ll be up in just a few hours. I want to make sure his juices are restocked in the fridge so he has a cold one to drink before he leaves.
Turning the corner, I stop.
My first instinct is to be annoyed, but that drifts away at the pure love before me.
Branch stands in the kitchen with just his boxers on, Sunny nestled in the crook of his arm, as he heats up a bottle. He’s whispering something to her, the soft tone of his voice making me melt. He has a way of doing that. A lot.
“Hey,” I say, padding into the room. “I hate to interrupt this love fest, but why isn’t she in bed?”
“She wanted to get up with Daddy.”
“Oh, she did, did she? Doesn’t she know Daddy needs some rest before practice tomorrow?” I say, leaning in for a kiss.
“She does. But she wanted to be awake when Mommy came down for coffee cake.”
Laughing, my cheeks pink. “How did she know Mommy would do that?”
“Because Daddy told her.” He leans in, pulling Sunny away. “I didn’t tell her what’s going to happen to Mommy when she goes back to bed though.”
He touches my lips with his, the softness of his mouth making me moan. That just encourages him. His tongue parts my lips and slips through my mouth with a laziness that has my thighs clenching together.
“Is that a hint of what’s to come?” I ask, catching my breath.
“Yes, my lady. You’re going to come.”
With a grin that’s a permanent fixture lately, I grab a fork. Under his smirk, I lift the lid to the coffee cake.
“You were right,” I sigh, pulling it in front of me. “I’m so going to—OMG. Branch?”
The fork hits the floor, the little ping startling Sunny. Branch ignores me and soothes her until she settles against him once more.
My heart is racing, my gaze going from the dessert and back to him again. Surely, I’m seeing this wrong. I have to be.
“Branch?” I gulp. “What is this?”
His eyes glued to mine, he reaches in the middle of the cream cheese icing and plucks the diamond ring out.
“I wasn’t sure how to do this,” he says, an edge of anxiety in his tone. “I didn’t know where to put it so I’d be sure you found it and I didn’t have time with my schedule to take you anywhere. Plus, Sunny really wanted to be around for this.”
“Did she?” I say, blinking back tears.
“She did.” He kisses her forehead while watching me. “You’ve given me everything in life that means anything. I don’t just mean Sunny, but of course she’s the main thing. You’ve given me a reason to get up, a reason to go to bed, a reason to come home.”
He takes my finger and slips the ring over it, the icing smearing down my hand.
