Page 80 of Playing It Forward

This proves I’m right. Terri is the one for me.

Chapter 26

I’m an expert at worrying. Hospital gown or no hospital gown.

Terri

Nolan strides into my office. He doesn’t stop in front of my desk. He walks around it and keeps going until he reaches me.

He grasps my hands and pulls me gently out of my chair before pressing a kiss to my mouth. I swallow back a moan. This man and the things he can do with his mouth.

He smiles against my lips before stepping back. “Ready to go?”

I glance at my desk. At the million things I still need to do.

He growls. “Don’t you dare say you can go alone.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“Good. Because it would be number four.”

My panties immediately dampen at the idea of getting four spankings from Nolan. He’s talented with his mouth, but those hands? Those hands are magical.

I feign a glare. “Don’t you dare get me all hot and bothered before a doctor’s appointment.”

His eyes flare. “I can take care of you real quick. The door locks. I checked.”

My mouth drops open. He checked the door locks? For a moment, I consider it. He could flip my dress up and… I force those thoughts away. I am not the kind of woman to have a quickie in the office. No matter how tempting the quarterback is.

“You’re crazy. And I don’t want to be late.”

He offers me his arm. “Let’s go.”

“Are you excited about the little mermaid’s first ultrasound?” he asks once we’re on the road, driving to the hospital.

Hope and fear fight for supremacy in my body. “I’m trying.”

He squeezes my thigh. “Maybe today will reassure you. I read we might hear the heartbeat.”

I place a hand over my stomach. “I hope so.”

“Whatever happens, I’m here. I believe our little mermaid is safe, but if anything happens to her, I’m here. You can lean on me.”

He’s here now. But he won’t be for long. “What happens when the football season starts? When you leave?”

“I’ll still be here. I might not always be here physically, but there are more ways to support someone than in person. I will always be by your side.”

I wish I could believe him. I wish he wasn’t a football player. I wish he was a smuggler. I wish… I wish…

I know better than to wish. When I was ten, I wished my mother would smile. I wished she would get out of bed. She never got out of bed again.

We drive the rest of the way to the hospital in silence. When we arrive, Nolan escorts me out of the SUV and into Dr. Reynold’s office. We’re immediately shown into an exam room.

Dr. Reynold swoops inside minutes later. Nolan stands to shake her hand. “Hi, doc.”

She grins. “Daddy’s here for the dating ultrasound. Excellent.”

“Jasmine,” I warn.