“Ava,” I whisper, suddenly overcome.
Her eyes fill with tears. She can feel it too. The emotion welling between us.
The love.
“Come to bed with me,” I murmur, leaning in to gently press my mouth to hers. “I just want to hold you.”
I pull away from her slightly to take her hand and she stands with me, coming willingly to the bed, letting go of my hand so I can take off my sweatshirt. I toe off my shoes and so does she. She tears off her sweater too, revealing the T-shirt she wears beneath it. Then I pull back the comforter and we’re both crawling onto the mattress. I tug the covers over the both of us and pull her to me, holding her as close as I can get her. She tangles her legs with mine, her head tucked beneath my chin, her breath fanning against my neck.
Making me hard, but what else is new? She looks at me and I want her. I always want her.
But I’m not going to push. She flat out said she’s not having sex with me and I’m not going to look like some horndog who only cares about getting in her panties.
I love getting in her panties, but right now she needs something else from me.
I rub my hands up and down her back, noting how she melts into me the more I stroke her. I press my lips to her forehead, delivering tiny kisses. She soaks it up as if she’s love-starved and maybe she is. I’m sure she’s overly emotional since she found out she’s pregnant, which is just…huge.
Life-changing.
I’m going to be a dad.
“I fucked this all up before between us,” I whisper against her temple. “And I hate that I did that. I was selfish and stupid. But I promise, Princess, I will never do that again. Everything I do from now on, forever, is for you and our baby.”
No response. She’s so quiet, I start to worry.
Until I realize from the sound of her deep breathing that she’s fallen asleep.
My poor exhausted baby.
I kiss her temple. Brush her hair out of my face. Tighten my arms around her, comforted by the way she snuggles closer, even in her sleep. I meant every word I just said to her, even if she didn’t hear me. I will do whatever it takes to make it right between us. I need to get over my issues and stop trying to put them on her. She is by far the most important thing in my life.
More important than football.
Than my family.
She is my family. My life. My light.
My everything.
I wake up to a pretty girl staring at me, her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling.
“Hi,” she murmurs.
“Hey.” I’m groggy. “How long have we been sleeping?”
“I don’t know, but I’m starving.” She leans in so close her lips move against mine as she says, “I want pizza.”
A chuckle leaves me. “You’re actually hungry?”
She nods. “Maybe you have magic powers.”
“You know I do,” I return, unable to keep the arrogance out of my voice.
“Kind of like my magical vagina?” She lifts her brows.
I place a hand over her mouth. “Such an unsexy word.”
“What? Vagina?” Her voice is muffled beneath my palm.