“Hey, you okay?” Charlie asked, her face creased with worry.
I put a smile on my face and pulled her in close. “Of course.”
It still hurt every day. I wished that I had just gotten that one chance, but it wasn’t meant to be and I made peace with that a long time ago. Besides, my life would be so much different now if I had kept playing baseball. I probably never would have met Charlie. I might have been traded and sent away from my brothers. There’s so much I would have missed out on. This was the way it was meant to be, and I wouldn’t change it for any of my past dreams.
She leaned her head against my shoulder again and stared up at the sign with me. It was like she was taking it all in, even squeezing my side like she knew I needed the comfort. I smiled down at her, grateful that I had her on my side.
“You guys ready for this?” I asked, grinning at them. The first place we stopped was the food stand, because there was no way we were sitting through the game without food. Then, after finding our seats, I took Oliver to the gift stand and bought him a Cubs t-shirt and baseball cap. The hat was a little big on him, but he was cute as hell in it. We returned to our seats where Nathan and Charlie were talking. Taking my seat next to Charlie, Nathan on the other side of me, we just enjoyed the beautiful day.
By the time the game started, we had already each had two hot dogs and by the end of the third inning, we’d had way too many nachos. The game was exciting, but having Charlie and her kid, hell even Nathan being there, was the best part of the day. Sadly, the Cubs lost, and we waited for the stands to clear out.
“Why aren’t we leaving?” Oliver asked.
“Traffic,” I said absently, staring out at the field. I was doing my best to conceal my surprise, but it took everything in me. My phone rang and I grinned when I saw it was Jared. “I think we can head out now.”
But instead of leading them out the front, I headed to the locker rooms. Jared met me in the hallway, grinning as he shook my hand. “Hey, man. It’s good to see you.”
“You too. You’ve gotten fat since you got out of the game,” I said, tapping him against his still taut stomach.
He grimaced and bent over like the tap hurt. “Yeah, but not as fat as you.”
Charlie looked at me strangely. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer. “Jared, this is my girl, Charlie, and her son, Oliver.” A throat cleared over my shoulder and I rolled my eyes playfully, tugging Nathan in closer. “And this is Nathan. A huge pain in the ass, but he’s a good guy.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you.”
“You’re Jared Thompson,” Nathan said starstruck.
Jared grinned. “Yeah, I am.”
“You’re like, my hero.”
“Ouch,” I grimaced, holding my chest. “That hurts, man.”
“This guy…” Nathan just stood there, shaking his head in awe.
“I’ve been out of the game a while now. Younger, faster guys have taken over my position and played better,” he said good-naturedly. Then he bent lower and looked at Oliver. “I hear you’re new to baseball.”
Oliver nodded, someone awe-struck himself.
“I don’t suppose you’d like an autographed baseball?”
His eyebrows shot up. “From you, mister?”
Jared huffed. “Me? Hell, you don’t want a baseball signed by me. How about from the entire Cubs team?”
Oliver gasped and nodded. Nathan stepped forward, tugging on my jacket. “Can I get one too?”
I was laughing. It was hilarious to see both of them acting like they had run into their heroes.
“I can do you one better,” Jared said to Nathan. “How would you like to meet the entire team?”
Nathan gripped me tighter. I was pretty sure he was about to pass out. Oliver was jumping up and down, screaming in excitement. Charlie was trying to calm him down, but it wasn’t doing any good.
“Alright,” Jared grinned. “Let’s go meet the team.”
* * *
“That was so amazing,” Oliver said as he yawned again. I was standing in his bedroom door as Charlie made sure he got tucked into bed. The kid was so wound up that she had to physically put him in the bed. He was still holding the baseball signed by all the team, only giving it up when Charlie pried it out of his hands and put it on the nightstand.
“Will?” Oliver’s tired voice said.
“Yeah, bud?”
“Can we go to another game?”
“Sure,” I smiled. “Anytime.”
“How about tomorrow?”
“Maybe not tomorrow. We have to spread out the games over the summer.”
He grumbled something, so I slipped away, giving Charlie some privacy as she got him calmed down enough to go to sleep. I leaned against the wall in the hallway, my head tilted back against the wall as I listened to him recount the entire day to her. A grin was plastered on my face. It was the perfect day. I wanted more days like this, just my family, even if that included Nathan. He was pretty cool to hang out with.
“Hey,” Charlie said, wrapping her arms around my waist with a big grin. “Looks like you were a big hit today.”
“Well,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “You know, I just know how much Nathan loves baseball.”
She smacked me on the chest and I faked a wince. “You know what I mean. Oliver thinks you hang the moon now.”
“I’m just glad he had fun.”
“You know he’s going to do everything possible to convince you to play baseball with him every day.”
“Oh, twist my arm,” I said sarcastically.
“You don’t mind?” Her voice had a hint of wariness, like she thought I might actually not want to do that. It was time to set that straight.
I took her hand and led her into the living room, pulling her down on the couch with me. “Charlie, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m crazy about you and your kid. And Nathan. I know it freaks you out to think about the future and all the possibilities, but I never want you to doubt how I feel about you. So, at the risk of you breaking up with me yet again, here it is. I love you, and I’m beginning to love that kid in there. I want you in my life from now on. I want to buy a house with you, that you can call ours. I want to marry you and spend my nights making love to you. I want to spend more time with Oliver and I want us to be a family, and add on to that when you’re ready. I know marriage scares you, but I’m here to stay. You can’t push me away again.”
She pursed her lips together, like she was thinking about how this could go, like she was actually scared about what I just said. “Well, I guess if that’s the only way I can get you, I’ll take it.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “But you might have to build on an addition to the house for Nathan. He’s a little obsessed with you.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “If I do, what are you gonna give me in return?”
“Well, I might be persuaded to think about the possibility of adding on to our family.”
“Huh. Interesting.”
“What?”
“Well, you’re willing to add on to the family, but nothing about a wedding.”
“I don’t want a wedding,” she said quickly. “Not that I wouldn’t accept a proposal from you, but I’ve already done that. I’m not interested in doing it again, if that’s alright with you.”
I sighed dejectedly. “Damn, and here I was thinking that we could get married in the middle of Wrigley Field.”
She slapped me on the chest and laughed. “Shut up.”
“Seriously, lifelong goal. Or as my brothers would say Goals AF.”
“How about we keep our goals simple for now?”
“Like what?”
“I’ll work on not freaking out about having to marry a boy again-“
“Man,” I corrected.
“And you can work on finding a place where we can live.”
I grinned at her, the biggest smile I’d ever had. “So, does that mean that when I ask you, you’ll say yes?”
“That means that you have me for the rest of your life. And you’re going to have to coach a little league team with Oliver’s dad.”
My mouth dropped as she stood from the couch. That was definitely something we were going to have to talk about. “Now, wait just a minute-“
But then she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor, looking over her shoulder at me, and all thoughts went out the window.
Also by Giulia Lagomarsino
Thank you for reading Will and Charlie’s story. You can read more about The Cortell Brothers in the next book, coming in February, Priceless Ink!
Are you a new reader? See where it all began with the For The Love Of A Good Woman series. And continue with some of your favorite characters in the Reed Security series! Or follow the individual links down below!
Did you start in the middle? We’ve all done it! Find your place in the series and start from there! There’s no need to question which book to start with. These books are best read in order. All books are available in Kindle Unlimited! For The Love Of A Good Woman:
Jack , Cole, Logan, Drew, Sebastian, Sean, Ryan
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Sinner, Cap, Cazzo, Knight, Irish, Hunter, Whiskey, Lola, Ice, Burg, Gabe, Jules, Sniper, Jackson, Chance, Phoenix Rising, Alec, Storm, Wolf, A Mad Reed Security Christmas, Rocco, Coop, TNT, Nightingale, Parker, GoodKnight
The Cortell Brothers
Maintenance Required, Collateral Damage, Wanted Dead Or In Love, Textbook Approach
Textbook Approach: A Small Town Romance Page 32