“Sure, bud,” Kiersten said, her heart swelling at the sight of her men playing together. Such a normal thing, and yet so big. “I’ll be right back, guys.”
He shot her a grin. “Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She went into the kitchen, the sound of their laughter drifting out behind her. Yep, this was her life now. And it was damned perfect.
Thank God.
Epilogue
Seven months later
Garrett paced up and down the sidelines. Chris dribbled down the court, his eyes darting around, watching everyone who stood in his way. This time, Chris didn’t freeze up or panic. He dribbled through the players without even hesitating, squared off, and scored a three pointer. The crowd went wild, mostly with cheers since it was a home game, and Garrett smiled.
All that practice with Chris was paying off.
Sometimes Chris even came with him and the adults to scrimmage. The kid could hold his own against a bunch of grown-ups.
Kiersten cheered from behind Garrett, whooping so loudly she woke up the baby cradled in her arms. Amy let out a loud wail, letting her displeasure be known. Garrett spun around and gave Kiersten a pointed look. The whole way to the game, she had worried that the loud noise might be too much for the little one, but she’d come to watch Chris anyway. How ironic was it that she was the one who upset the little angel?
She rolled her eyes at him and rocked Amy in her arms.
Garrett forced himself to look away from his girls for the next four minutes. Tonight was a big night. He reached in his pocket and fingered the solitaire diamond he’d stashed there. His sweaty palm slid across the smooth metal and he extracted his hand without dropping the ring onto the floor.
The buzzer sounded and the crowd cheered. Another victory. Another undefeated season well under way, too. Kiersten came down the bleachers and stood next to him. “Good job, Coach.”
He grinned and kissed her. “Thanks, babe.”
“What about me?” Mike asked, holding his hands out. “Don’t I get a pretty word out of you?”
“Of course. Great job to you, too.” She extracted herself from Garrett’s arms and hugged Mike with her free arm. Mike snatched up little Amy, and all the women sighed collectively. Ah, the sight of a single man holding a baby. “There’s my pretty little sweetheart,” he cooed, for once oblivious to the females drooling over him, focused solely on the one drooling on him.
The moms all surrounded him and Mike, as usual. Mike was the target for their affections, now, though. Everyone knew Garrett was happily spoken for. “All right. Practice is at five tomorrow. I’ll see you all then. Great game!”
The crowd dispersed, leaving Garrett, Mike, Kiersten, Chris, and Amy. It reminded Garrett of that day a little under a year ago…the day that changed his life for the better. The day Kiersten decided she wanted to use him to get back at Pete. What had once stung now all weaved together in the bigger picture of his life.
The life he shared with Kiersten.
Now, they could take the next step. Marriage. He only hoped she’d decided marriage wasn’t such a bad thing after all. They’d been living together for seven months. Loving each other.
This was the next logical step. And he wanted to make her his in every way.
“She’s so cute,” Mike said, holding the baby’s little hand. He nudged Garrett in the ribs. “How did you make something so damn cute with that face?”
“She takes after her mother.” Garrett crossed his arms and grinned. “Hey. When are you going to settle down and have a few babies of your own?”
Mike shot him a horrified look. “Hold your tongue. That’ll never happen.”
“Why not?” Kiersten asked, her eyes on Garrett.
Garrett held his breath. “Yeah. Why not?”
“Love is a disease I’ve tried very hard to avoid catching.” Mike shuddered, but then ruined the effect by looking down at Amy and glowing with the love he obviously felt for the child. “I’ll continue to do so. The only women I need in my life are here. Well, plus Brianna and Katelyn.”
Kiersten wrapped her arm around Garrett’s waist. “I don’t see why you should avoid it. It’s not that bad, once you accept it for what it is—a crazy ride.”
Garrett’s eyes widened and he held a hand to his heart. “Why, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”