Page 127 of Play the Game
“Definitely greatest family in the world.” Jo grins and follows Cece out.
Noah takes the plate out of Evan’s hand and shoves it at me. “Evan’s lunch is cold. I think you better make her a new one. You know, seeing as you can cook and everything. And you better make one for me too. And Han,” he says, wrapping an arm around her waist. “She loves quesadillas.”
“Want a quesadilla, Ames?” Elliot asks, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Cooper’s cooking. Apparently, he can do that now.”
I grin, taking the plate from Noah. “How long do you think I’ll be on your shit list for?”
“Oh, it’s gonna be a while,” Jordan says with a smirk. “Better brush up on your groveling.”
“A long while,” Noah mutters. He steps away from Hannah and throws his arms around me. “I love you, you asshole.”
My heart squeezes when Elliot joins the hug, and then Jordan, the four of us standing together right in the middle ofmy brightly lit kitchen. “I can’t fucking believe you’re a dad,” Elliot says out of nowhere.
“Totally weird right?” I say on a laugh.
“Nah,” Jordan says quietly. “Fatherhood looks good on you, Coop.”
“Thanks,” I manage, emotion tightening my throat.
When we break apart and my brothers head to the living room, I see Evan still standing there swiping under her eyes. I’m in front of her in a flash, cupping her face in my hands. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she says on a watery laugh. “Just seeing you and your brothers like that…” She shakes her head. “I don’t know, it’s a weird hormone thing. Or maybe just the fact that I’ve never, ever met people like your family. I didn’t know families like this even existed in real life. I really love them,” she says quietly.
Closing my eyes for a second against the onslaught of emotion, I lean down and press my forehead to hers. “They love you too. And so do I. You’re the one I’ve been waiting for. It’s always been you, Ev. And it’ll be you until the end of time.”
Evan tips her head up and kisses me, soft and sweet and full of promise. “Always,” she murmurs.
“You better be cooking, Cooper,” Noah yells from the living room, and we both laugh, easing back from each other, the moment broken.
Evan pats my chest. “Guess you better get cooking, Cooper. You fucked around and now it’s find out time.” She winks at me and saunters into the living room, and I turn back to the stove to make lunch for my apartment full of family, feeling like the luckiest man in the world.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
EVAN
SEPTEMBER
My phone beeps, startling me out of a sound sleep. Turning my head, I’m surprised to find Cooper’s side of the bed empty, and even more surprised when I check my phone and see it’s almost seven. Even with Emmy, early morning is still my favorite time to get up and write, but I got a burst of inspiration last night and wrote from the time Emmy went to sleep until well after midnight when I crashed hard. I listen for a second, but the apartment is silent. Wondering where Cooper is, but too comfortable in bed to get up and go find him, I grab my phone, rolling onto my back to read the message.
Jo
Okay ladies, it’s officially the one-week countdown until Evan starts her big and very important new lawyer job, so we have very important things to do.
Me
We do?
Hannah
Bet your ass we do.
Amelia
As your best friends, it’s our official job to end your maternity leave and send you back into the workforce in style.
Best friends.
My chest squeezes at the words. I’ve never really been the kind of person to have best friends, but then I found this family, and these three women grabbed on tight and decided I was going to be theirs.
