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“Gage,” she mumbled. “I love our apartment. You don’t have to move out of the city just because I’ve mentioned some silly dream about—”
“It’s not silly, nerd,” I insisted as I dragged her onto my lap. “Every time you’ve mentioned it, I could see it as our future. I want all those things, too, baby.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I confirmed before kissing her softly. “We can go look at it tomorrow, and if the house isn’t exactly what you want, I’ll sell it and we’ll find the perfect place.”
“This looks perfect,” she breathed, throwing her arms around me and pressing her body into mine.
“You’re perfect,” I groaned when she sifted and her naked breasts rubbed against my chest. “Now, about those orgasms…”
EPILOGUE
RORY
When Gage announced to the media after the final game of his professional football career that we were headed to Florida with our daughter to celebrate his last championship ring, I thought he was joking. I should’ve known better. But when I padded out of our bedroom in search of him the following morning, I found him digging through Gracen’s closet while she played on the floor with a doll her uncle Russell had gotten for her birthday last year.
“What’re you looking for?” I asked, reaching down to tousle our daughter’s long, dark hair.
Gage looked over his shoulder and flashed me a quick grin before turning back to his exploration of the ridiculous number of clothes our three-year-old had. “Does she still fit in any of the swimsuits your mom bought for her last summer?”
My mom had turned into a grandmazilla after our gender reveal party, buying more pink, tiny newborn outfits than Gracen had been able to wear before she outgrew them. But that hadn’t bothered my mom. She just went out and bought Gracen an entire new wardrobe in the three-month size, which began the cycle of Grandma restocking her closet on a regular basis.And of her putting the pressure on Russell and Ridley to give her more grandchildren who lived closer to home.
“Definitely not.” I shook my head, my brows drawing together while I tried to figure out why she’d need one when it was freezing cold outside.
He reached for her pink rolling carry-on bag with a sigh. “We’ll just have to buy her new ones while we’re there.”
“I’m super confused.” I moved close so that I could peer down at the clothes he was stuffing into her suitcase. “Where are we going?”
“Florida, remember?” He reached out to palm the swell of my belly. “The pregnancy brain isn’t getting to you, is it?”
I narrowed my eyes, glaring up at him. The absentmindedness that I experienced while pregnant wasn’t something that I enjoyed. At all. “I didn’t forget what you said during your on-field interview last night, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Then why are you so surprised to find me packing for our baby girl?”
I huffed out a sigh. “Because I thought you were joking.”
“When have I ever played around about family vacation time?” he asked, dipping his head to brush his mouth against mine.
“Never,” I conceded with a soft smile.
Gage had dedicated his offseason to giving us his undivided attention, and he did his best to carve plenty of time out for us during the hecticness of the season too. Even during this past playoffs, when he was pushing hard toward his last chance to win a championship. Each day we’d spent together, he found new ways to show me how much he’d meant those words he’d said to Lennox about me being more important than the game to him—and that devotion extended to the family we were building.
“Damn straight.” He smirked at me. “Spending uninterrupted time with my girls isn’t something I take lightly.”
Placing my hand over his, I shook my head. “You won’t be able to say that pretty soon, geek.”
“I’ll always want to have time with my girls,” he promised, giving my belly a gentle squeeze. “When this one comes, we’ll just add boy time into the mix too.”
How sweet he was over our children never failed to melt my heart. Which made what I needed to say so hard.
I hated to disappoint him, especially when I knew he struggled a little with the idea of being retired when he was still in the prime of his life—just not in football years. Although he’d had offers to coach or broadcast, he still hadn’t decided what he wanted to do quite yet, beyond focusing on bringing our baby boy into the world in about four months.
As much as I loved the vacations we’d taken, the last thing I wanted to do in this stage of my pregnancy was to be around crowds of people while I was hot and sweaty from all the sunshine. “I’m not sure I’m up to a big Florida trip right now.”
“Don’t worry, baby. I figured you weren’t. That’s why I didn’t book any theme park tickets.”
Gage loved roller coasters almost as much as he did football, so that was quite the surprise. “Really?”
