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“Yes, it is, Mommy. Everything is a contest.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered dramatically, “Everything.”
Chapter 14
Violet
“I don’t want to wear a coat, Mommy,” Love Bug complained as we left the hotel room. “No one will be able to see my cheerleader outfit!”
Inwardly sighing, I took her hand and walked with Brady to the bank of elevators. “Too bad. It’s in the negatives outside. Once we get to the stadium, you can take the coat off.”
“But this hat is messing up my hair!”
“I’ll fix it again when we get there,” I promised.
“But Daddy won’t see how pretty they were before!”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose, silently praying for patience with my child. She’d woken up grumpy as fuck. Luca had already left before she could give him a good-luck kiss that morning—even though she’d given him at least a hundred when he’d tucked her in the night before—needing to get to a team meeting and then deal with pre-game media interviews. As the star defensive player, he was the one everyone wanted to talk to. Without him, Tennessee wouldn’t have made it to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.
It wasn’t going to be an easy game, though. The other team had a powerful defense as well, and their offense was better than ours. Luca had his work cut out for him to keep them from scoring.
“Daddy will see after the game,” I assured her. “And then we’ll have a party with all your cousins back in the room. Then tomorrow, if Daddy wins, what are we going to do?”
“Fly to Disney!” she said, jumping up and down excitedly as we waited for the elevator. But it only lasted for a few seconds before she was back to being grumpy again. “Why did you say ‘if,’ Mommy? There is no if! Daddy is gonna win.”
Pressing a hand to my already aching back, I bent so we were on a more even eye level. “I’m so happy you have such faith in Daddy’s skills, Love. But it’s not just Daddy who has to play a good game. If we don’t win, you have to promise not to be upset or throw a fit. Daddy will already be sad, and we need to be his support team to make him feel better if Tennessee loses.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “But onlyifDaddy loses. Which he won’t. Because I’m gonna be cheering him on the whole game. My cheers always help him win.”
Considering Tennessee had gone undefeated all season, it wasn’t surprising that she thought so highly of her ability to help the team score and hold the other team’s offense back. But even Luca had been a bit nervous about facing Wisconsin, especially since they were undefeated as well, but they also had something rare to their advantage.
Home field.
The stadium that hosted the Super Bowl each year was decided years in advance, but it must have given Wisconsin the motivation they needed to kick ass on the field. Their quarterback had been on fire all season, and even though the two teams didn’t play each other during this regular season, they had faced off against each other in the past. The last time, we’d annihilated Wisconsin, but that was before they’d gotten their current QB.
Stepping into the elevator, Brady hid his smile as we descended to the lobby, bypassing the other floors since we were on the top floor where the penthouses were. The moment the doors slid open downstairs, we walked into chaos. All of our family was waiting on us, and their noise level was enough to give anyone a migraine.
“Love Bug!” Grier skipped over to us, wearing the same cheerleading outfit I’d had made for any of the kids who wanted to wear them. Where Love Bug’s top read “Daddy” on the back, Grier’s and everyone else’s read “Uncle Luca.” For the kids who just wanted a jersey to wear, theirs read “Uncle Luca” as well. All the adults were simply wearing his jersey from the team’s store.
Excerpt for me. I had on the stinky, grass-stained jersey Luca had worn at the AFC Championship Game two Sundays before. Luckily for me, it was big enough to hide the ever-growing bump beneath, and I’d gotten some cute maternity jeans that didn’t look like pregnancy clothes at all. Paired with the thick coat I wore, my pregnant belly was well hidden. I didn’t want the press talking about us expecting when they should only be focused on the teams and what happened on the field later.
“Why aren’t you wearing a coat?” Love Bug grumbled.
Grier shrugged. “Mommy said I have to before we leave, but it was hot in here waiting for you. You were taking forever.”
“My pigtails wouldn’t stay up,” my daughter complained. “And then Mommy made me put on this stupid ski hat, and now they’re ruined again.”
I rolled my eyes at how dramatic she was being. “Do we really want to be late for your daddy’s game because you’re being a brat?”
“Am not,” she mumbled.
“Are too!” I argued, sticking out my tongue at her when she glared at me.
“Wow, the sass coming from this direction is diabolical,” Uncle Jesse said with a laugh as he joined us.
“Tell that to your granddaughter,” I complained, pointing down at my child. “I am too tired for her drama right now.”
“Poppy, tell my mommy she’s the one who is dramatic. I only want to look pretty for Daddy and cheer him on. She’s messing up my hair and making my clothes all wrinkly from this coat. And if she’s so tired, maybe she should have taken a nap after lunch like Auntie Dallas suggested.”
Dropping my head back on my shoulders, I glared up at the ceiling, thanking whoever was listening for the fact that I was not pregnant with twin girls. One was enough. I’d been so happy when the ultrasound tech had announced the babies were boys. No one else knew yet, not even Shaw or my mom, but Luca and I had already decided on names.
