The Long Ball
Page 17
“Run, baby, run!” Bethany cheered from the sidelines for me.
Or was it for him?
It was hard telling these days. She was wrapped around the other guy’s finger.
Just as I was about to call my timeout because this game wasn’t going my way, Brock lifted his little foot and kicked with all his might, landing a goal squarely between the goal posts.
“Yay! That’s my boy!” Bethany ran out into the lawn and scooped the little guy in her arms, showering him with kisses. “You’re going to be a soccer star just like Daddy someday, huh?”
I stood watching her hold my boy, all three years old and three squirmy feet of him. He was long and lean. I could already tell he was taking after me.
I smiled widely as I approached, circling Bethany and Brock with both of my arms and planting a kiss at the curve of her neck.
“You look beautiful.”
“Stop.” That same familiar blush creeped up her cheeks.
“Five years married and this little guy later and I can still make you blush.” I spread a palm around her protruding belly.
“You never cease to amaze me, that’s for sure.” Bethany covered my hand with hers while she held our son in her other arm.
Just then Brock started squirming. “Let’s play again!”
Bethany set him down, and he powered off across the lawn, kicking the soccer ball as he went. He was all boy that was for sure.
“What about Juliette?” My wife looked up, her eyes sparkling with love and tenderness.
“I love Juliette.” I grinned, feeling my heart grow wider and deeper for the little person I hadn’t even met yet. If she was anything like her mom, she would be a beautiful, smart, independent little thing.
The very first moment I’d met Bethany, she’d given me a gift, and I hadn’t even known it. She’d taught me what passion was, what striving for love was, instead of always striving for the game.
I’d been thrilled when all the studying had finally paid off, and she’d graduated with honors to move on to get her sports medicine degree. She’d been assisting the team these last few years, and it’d been a dream having my little family travel with me, cheering me on from the sidelines. But now with the little princess on the way and the little guy in school, I wanted roots. I wanted to settle down.
I wanted the hectic schedule to end so I could focus on what matters most: my family.
“I see that faraway look in your eyes, Jenson Abbott. Don’t even think about it.” She tapped me on the chin and planted a kiss there. “Over my dead body you’re retiring. We’ll make this work. We can hire a tutor for Brock, and you know Taylor loves tagging along for away games to play nanny.”
“It doesn’t help when she and Luc are sneaking off every damn time I look around,” I grunted.
“You sound like an old man.” Bethany wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close. “You’re not ready to retire. You love soccer.”
“The only thing I love more is you and our family.”
“And you’re lucky enough to have us both.” She pressed up on her tiptoes and took my lips in a long, sweet kiss.
It’d taken me a while to bend Bethany, but once she’d come around, there’d been no looking back for us.
From the start, she’d stolen my heart, and she’d owned every beat of it ever since.
THE END.
Acknowledgments
First, I have to thank my ever so loving and patient husband. You truly are my HEA, babe. <3
Thank you to Aria's Assassins for keeping my fire burning. I am forever grateful for your love and cheerleading!
I can't thank the ArdentProse team enough. You ladies make my life so much easier and I love you for it!
To my ladies...the ladies that love to get lost in books about true and last lasting love... THANK YOU!!! Writing books you love is what keeps me going. You are my rock stars!
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