Page 106 of Her Game Plan

“It’s almost time to take Nan home,” Charlotte reminds me when an alarm goes off on her phone.

“Thanks for the reminder. I’ll be back in thirty.”

She grabs my arm, stopping me. “I’ll take her. You stay and enjoy your party.”

Charlotte and Nan’s relationship is one hundred times better now than when we first started dating. Charlotte even goes over to Sunshine Hills once or twice a month to spend time with Nan and Rose without me. As much as I want to be included, I know it’s important for them to build a relationship that doesn’t revolve around me—even if I would prefer that it did. Plus, it has Rose’s kids and grandkids worried about their inheritance, so that’s always beneficial.

“I love you, Princess,” I say, pulling her in for a deep kiss that elicits a few catcalls from nearby.

Charlotte pulls away, smoothing a hand over my cheek. “I love you too, Ball Boy. Now, let me take your grandma home so this party can start to wrap up. I still need to give you your birthday present.” She winks before lifting her eyebrows suggestively.

“Did you get me sex for my birthday?” I tease.

“Yep.”

I laugh. “Best birthday ever.”

Chapter 42

Epilogue

Charlotte – Years later…

“You ready to go, Princess?”

I look up from my desk to find Callan standing in the doorway to my office, a navy-blue suit hugging every muscle in his body. His hair is longer than it was when he was playing, but I love the way he’s let it grow out since he retired a few years ago.

“Need to get this contract to legal. Mind waiting a moment?”

“And miss getting to watch you boss bitch? Never.” As if proving his point, he folds his arms and leans against the doorframe, his gaze never leaving mine.

I roll my eyes but quickly look away. That exact pose was how we ended up with Naya. And with my dad finally retiring, now is not the time for a third child. I also probably shouldn’t be late to my dad’s retirement party, but I’ve learned over the years that Callan can be very, very efficient at making me come… when he wants to.

Forcing my attention back to the document on the screen, I read the final page, adding my comments for legal before sending the email to the team to review. Since becoming CEO of Langford Entertainment, I’ve made a number of important changes to the way we’re structured, including bringing our legal team in-house. It’s a major expense, but having the best legal minds in entertainment on staff has saved us millions.

“Sorry for making you wait.” I press onto my toes to kiss Callan when I meet him in the doorway.

“Watching you work has been the best part of my day so far.” Callan laces his fingers through mine, walking with me down the stairs on the backside of the arena. Even though people keep trying to convince me to move my office into the same building as my dad’s and the rest of the holding company, I continue to refuse. I love being here, where the action is.

“That can’t be true. Didn’t you meet up with Beckett and Larsen for a workout today?”

The old athletes crew has become the retired athletes crew, and, somehow, they’re still friends. Not that it’s surprising when Callan is fully committed to being the glue that holds them all together. Even if Larsen thinks he is, or he’s trying to be, so they’ll finally give him the coveted poker invite when he retires in the next year or two.

Callan lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses the back of it. “Still the best part.”

I believe him. Even after he retired, Callan has never once gotten upset about how much time my job takes. Sure, sometimes I feel guilty for sending a meal to daycare with Naya and Drew that our chef made, instead of packing a lunchbox with love like the other moms, but Callan is there to remind me that he—gasp—ate school lunches his entire life—and turned out okay.

We’ve also gotten our family dinner schedule homed in to where we eat at a time I thought was limited to people over the age of one hundred and five, so we can all have dinner together before I attend some of our biggest shows. Childcare is a glorious thing. When it works. And when the nanny gets a stomach bug for the fourth time this year because children are petri dishes, Callan stays home and sends me pictures of him feeding Naya Nerds Clusters like they won’t keep her five-year-old body up way past her bedtime.

Twenty minutes later, we pull up to the familiar sight of my parents’ front entry, though this time it’s not only Chris’ Mercedes SUV out front. Cars line the drive, a couple of men dressed in black, running cars back and forth as they handle parking in the limited space.

People show up when Steve Langford retires, it seems.

Callan holds my door open. “You ready?”

“I’ve been waiting for this day since I was in my twenties. Of course, I’m ready.” I stand, tugging the edge of my hot-pink dress. While it’s a true enough statement, my brother, father, and I have reached a sort of equilibrium these days.

“I will… miss him, though,” I confess as I loop my arm through Callan’s.