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“Oh, East,” Mom gushes. “What about her mother?”
“I love her. I love them both.” A sob breaks from Larissa’s chest. “Listen, Mom, Larissa’s here and we were in the middle of something. Can I call you back later?”
“She’s there? East, you should have sent me to voice mail,” she scolds.
“I tried,” I tell her with a chuckle.
“Sorry,” she replies sheepishly. “Call me later. Love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.” I end the call and slide my phone back in my pocket before holding my hand out for Larissa. She takes it and allows me to lead us to the couch. She sits, and I sit across from her on the coffee table, gripping her hands in mine. “I love you, Ris, and I love Paisley. That’s all that matters to me. I don’t care who says what or who thinks what about us. All that matters to me is the two of you. I want her smiles when she comes home from school, or when she catches a fly ball. I want to tuck her in at night and read her however many princess stories it takes for her to fall asleep.”
“She loves you too,” she says through her tears.
I nod, because I know she does. She’s told me several times. “Then, I want to be able to climb into bed with you and talk about our day while I hold you in my arms. I want to make love to you until we’re too exhausted and have no choice but to fall asleep.” The tears are falling faster, but I push through, needing to bare my soul to her. “I know life with me won’t be easy. I have five or six years left before I won’t be able to play anymore. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I need you to take a leap of faith. Trust that we can do that. That we can be a family. I want to be her daddy, and I want you to be my wife.”
Her mouth drops open as I lower myself to my knees. “I wasn’t sure when I was going to ask you, I wanted it to be perfect, and I need to talk to Paisley,” I admit, and she smiles through her tears. “But I want to marry you. I want you both to have my last name, and I want to have more babies with you.” I place my hand on her belly. “I know you worry, baby. But I need you to trust me. I won’t hurt either of you. All I want to do is love you, and make Paisley feel every bit like the princess she is and make you my queen.”
A laugh breaks free, and her smile is blinding. “I love you too,” she says, scooting to the edge of the couch. “My heart cracks when I think about not being with you. When I think about telling Paisley that you’re no longer going to be around. I just worry—”
I cut her off by pressing my lips to hers.
When the kiss ends, she admits, “She stood up for us, and I didn’t. I was too afraid to cause a scene, so I grabbed her and our stuff and hightailed it out of there. What kind of mother does that? What kind of mom doesn’t stick up for her kid?”
“Didn’t you?” I ask her. “You showed her how to be the bigger person.”
She laughs humorlessly. “That was you. She told them her East says to speak from your heart and that their hearts were not nice.”
“That’s my girl,” I say, cupping her face in my hands. “I love you. You’re an amazing mother who was put into a tough situation. I need you to know that no matter what, I’m on your side. God forbid something like that happens again, but if it does, my family comes first. You and Paisley are my family.”
“I love you,” she says, wiping her eyes.
“Say no more. That’s all I needed to know. Trust in the love we have for one another. Trust me to take care of both of you.” I kiss her one more time. “Now, I need to take our little girl out on a date, so she and I can have a chat.” I stand and pull her with me. “You okay with me taking her out to dinner?”
She nods, more tears tracking down her cheeks. “Yeah. I’m okay with that. She’s in her room.”
“Love you, Ris.” I kiss her one more time then head down the hall to get our daughter. The reality that I get to call her that, that I can tell her that she can call me Daddy is humbling and exciting. It beats any win I’ve ever had in baseball.
Paisley’s awake when I enter her room. She holds her arms open for me, and I scoop her up in my arms, giving her a big hug. “Those girls said bad things,” she tells me.
