“That smells good, anything I can help with?” Justin asks, dropping a kiss to my cheek.
“I’ve got this under control. You just sit there and look good,” I tell him.
Justin
“The Indianapolis Lightning’s Justin “JJ” Johnson was once known as the player of the team. When a daughter was dropped on his doorstep last spring, JJ made an abrupt one-hundred-and-eighty-degree change, becoming a family man, one that is about to marry the woman he refers to as the love of his life. He sat down with one of our reporters for an exclusive interview.”
I read over the headline and subsequent article that will be released tomorrow. This time, I was involved from start to finish and know what this article will say, and I know exactly what images they’ll be printing, all of them approved by Riley and me.
“Justin, tell me what your favorite thing about being a dad is?”
I can remember back just a few short weeks to when I sat down for this interview; the memories come flooding back to me as I read over my quotes. “Oh, wow. There’s so much that has happened in the last ten months. Sometimes it is hard to believe that it's been ten months since Evie came into my life, but yet, at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday. I have to say, the best part is just watching her grow. Watching her experience things for the first time. The first time she called my fiancée, Riley, Mama, both of their eyes lit up. It was an extraordinary moment for the three of us. Riley has been the only mother figure that she’s known, and that wasn’t something that we made light of, but it was also the moment that I knew it was time to propose, so I did. Right there in bed, with my two girls, bed head, and morning breath. It was perfect.”
“Riley started as your nanny for Evie, is that correct?” the reporter asked.
“That’s correct. Riley is also my best friend, Derek Smyth’s, little sister. The night that Evie’s mom brought her to my house and then just left; the first person I called was Derek. I knew that he or his wife, Jillian, would know what to do with a baby, seeing as they had two kids of their own at the time. Not ten minutes later, Derek arrived, but with Riley, not Jillian. She swooped in and calmed my daughter down. She stayed the night and took care of her like she was her own. That morphed into me hiring her to be Evie’s nanny. I obviously don’t work a normal eight to five work schedule, so trying to hire someone was going to be challenging. Riley had just moved here to be near her family and hadn’t found a job yet. She offered to watch Evie on a trial basis to make sure the arrangement worked for both of us. Long story short, I’d say it worked out just fine.”
I remember answering that question, as well, smirking at my honest answer. Riley joined us shortly after that, answering a few questions on what it was like to be attacked verbally in the tabloids and by jealous female fans. It was a bit hard to listen to her retell what she went through. But as much as I hate that part of things, it’s part of our story. It helped make us stronger, made us turn to each other more.
“Hey, baby?” I call out, putting my iPad down after I finish reading over the article. I’m one hundred percent happy with the outcome and hope she is, as well.
“Yeah?” she asks, peeking her head around the door.
“Did you read this yet?” I ask.
“Not yet, was it good?” she questions.
“Yeah, I really like it.”
“Good, I’m glad. I was hoping that you would. We poured our hearts out to them, so I’m glad they got it right,” she tells me as she walks over and sits down on my lap. I wrap my arms around her torso as hers go around my shoulders, one of her hands threading into my hair.
“So, I was thinking…” she says, trailing off.
“What’s that?”
“What if we went and got married at the courthouse before you leave for spring training?”
“But what about the destination wedding? I thought you wanted something this fall?”
“I did, but,” she says, reaching behind me to grab something I didn’t even know was there. She hands me a little T-shirt and I hold it up so I can read it.
“Big Sister in Training.”
“Are, are you pregnant?” I ask, absolutely astonished.
She just nods her head yes, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I took a test yesterday morning, and it was positive. I took, like, five more just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and they were all the same.”
“Fuck, yes!” I growl, pulling her in tightly and burying my face in her neck. “I can’t wait to watch you grow with this baby. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you so much, all three of you,” I mumble into her neck before pulling back to lay one on her lips.
“So, I take that as a yes?” she asks a moment later.
“I’ll marry you today if that’d make you happy,” I tell her honestly.
“I don’t know that we can do it that fast, but I thought before you have to report for camp in a few weeks.”
“Then, consider it done,” I tell her and mean every word.
Justin
Five days later
“To my wife!” I toast along with our small group of family and friends who we invited over for an intimate wedding reception at our house. “The best woman I know, the one I get to love and drive nuts every day for the rest of my life,” I say, and everyone laughs, knowing that I’m probably not lying.
I pull her into my arms and then lead her out onto the makeshift dance floor for our first dance as husband and wife. While the song plays in the background, I hold her close. “I have one last surprise for you tonight,” I tell her just as the song ends.
“What’s that?” she asks, pulling back enough to look up at me. Pregnancy sure looks good on her, and she isn’t even showing yet.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you,” I tease her. “But it is inside. I’ll give it to you once everyone is gone.”
“Your cock isn’t a surprise; I already know I’ll be riding it later,” she boldly tells me, causing that appendage to stir in my slacks.
“That’s not what I was referring to,” I bark out. She’s gotten bolder over the months, telling me precisely what she wants in the bedroom, and I’m all over that shit.
“It’s something else. Something from Evie and me,” I tell her.
“Well, now you have me curious. Can you just give it to me? The suspense is killing me.” She starts to whine.
“I guess,” I tell her as I lead her inside the house. I grab the Manila envelope from the counter and hand it over. “Open it,” I tell her.
I watch as she slips her finger under the flap, opening it up and pulling the papers out. I watch as her eyes widen as she reads over the pages. I know exactly what they say, what they’ll mean to her. The significance they’ll have to Evie and to me, in a way.
“You want me to adopt her?” she asks, tears already pricking her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.
“I do. You’re Evelyn’s mom, Riley. Might as well make it official with the courts, and now that we’re married, it will make the process even easier.”
“Yes!” she cries. “Where do I sign?”
“Last page, where the tab is,” I tell her as I watch as she flips to the last page and signs her name across the line. “I also got word from my attorney that Erica signed the paperwork terminating all of her parental rights, so we never have to worry about her coming back and trying to take Evie from us. It's just the three, well, four of us, from here on out.”
“I’m stunned silent. I don’t even know what to say,” she says.
“You’ve already said everything I needed to hear,” I tell her, pulling her into my arms and kissing her. I sink into her mouth, tasting the sweet hint from the sparkling cider that she drank during the toast instead of the champagne we served our guests.
“Do you know how long it will take for me to become her mom?” she asks once we break apart.
“The wait is over, you’re already her mom in all the ways that matter most.”
Did yo
u love Derek and Jillian? Read more about them in The Perfect Pitch!
Stay tuned for book three in the Indianapolis Lightning Series coming in 2021!
Coming Soon
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Rumor Going ‘Round
Lyrics & Love Series Book 3
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Also by Samantha Lind
Indianapolis Eagles Series
Just Say Yes
Scoring The Player
Playing For Keeps
Protecting Her Heart
Against The Boards
The First Intermission
The Hardest Shot
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Tempting Tessa
Until You ~ An Aurora Rose Reynolds Happily Ever Alpha Crossover Novella
Until Her Smile ~ An Aurora Rose Reynolds Happily Ever Alpha Crossover Novella
Lyrics & Love Series
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Drunk Girl
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The Perfect Pitch
Acknowledgments
To everyone who has supported me, thank you! Thank You for the impact you have made on my life and my writing. Please know that I appreciate you all!
xoxo,
Samantha
About the Author
Samantha Lind is a contemporary romance author. Having spent the first 27 years of her life in Alaska, she now calls Iowa home, where she lives with her husband and two sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading, watching hockey (Go Knights Go!), and listening to country music.
Connect with Samantha in the following places:
www.samanthalind.com
[email protected]
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The Curve Ball (Indianapolis Lightning Book 2) Page 21