When It's Right

by Denault, Victoria

  We say goodbye to Mia and Hunter outside the restaurant and start up the hill toward Griffin’s car. Charlie begins to complain it’s too far. Without a word, Griffin lifts her up and plops her on his shoulders. Her grin lights up the evening sky. My dad used to lift me up like that too whenever I complained about being tired of walking. I used to love it so much that I’d fake complaints. Sometimes he’d give me the slyest smile, as if he knew I was faking, but he’d never deny me. Griffin’s grin right now reminds me of my dad’s, and it makes everything hurt in the most joyous way. He is so much like my dad with her, and it makes me want his babies. I’m not even scared to admit it to myself, but I’ll probably keep that revelation from him for a while.

  When we reach the car Griffin puts her in the car in her booster seat. I climb into the passenger seat as he reaches into the pocket in the back seat and pulls out an iPad and clips it to the back of my headrest. “You can watch Brave while we drive home.”

  “Awesome, Dad!”

  We drive in comfortable silence to my place. He casually rests his hand over mine on the center console. It’s easy and feels so natural, even with Charlie in the back seat and her movie echoing around the car.

  Griffin pulls up to the curb next to my building, turns the car off, and looks back at Sadie. “Say goodbye to Sadie, Charlie.”

  “Bye, Sadie!” she calls out, looking up from her iPad and waving to me enthusiastically.

  “I’m going to say goodbye to Sadie now, right next to the car, okay?”

  “Sure.” Her attention is already back on the movie as she starts to belt out one of the songs.

  We get out of the car, and I walk around to his side, so he doesn’t have to leave the driver’s side unattended. I look up at him, and I can feel that the grin on my face is huge. I reach out and touch his stomach, my hand low on his abdomen as I tug on the fabric of his sweater. “I had fun.”

  “I can tell,” he replies, and his smile matches mine. He reaches out and brushes my hair gently. “Everyone loved you, which I knew would happen.”

  I tilt my head and give him my best cocky grin. “Because I’m adorable?”

  He laughs, his head tipping back a moment. When he looks at me again, though, his expression holds much more than humor in it. “That and because I love you.”

  My smile softens, and my heart gallops. “I love you too.”

  He closes the space between us and kisses me. It’s not one of our normal kisses. This one is restrained because of Charlie and gentle because we just confessed something so raw and so real to each other that we’re both in need of tenderness.

  “I have to go,” he whispers softly, pulling me in for a hug. The only thing he does better than give orgasms is hugs. They’re everything. “She is precariously close to missing her bedtime.”

  “Drive safe,” I tell him as I let him go.

  “I’m going to text you later,” he says as he opens his car door and starts to get in. “So I can hear you say that again.”

  I grin and blow him a kiss before silently mouthing the words again. He mouths them back. I head up the walk and into the building and turn to wave to him as he drives away.

  I take the elevator up to the apartment, even though I swear I could float there without it. He loves me. And I love him. And even if this world gets harder…somehow it’ll always be easier because of that simple truth.

  Epilogue

  Sadie

  Three months later

  A week ago, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a phone call. The best type of phone call: Dixie crying tears of joy because Eli had asked her to marry him. And now, tonight, Dixie and Eli’s engagement party is in full swing. Half the Thunder team is here, my entire family and even Eli’s parents came, and they actually look happy. Jude insisted on hosting it at his place. And Winnie insisted on cooking for it. I sip my wine and glance around the room. Life is good.

  “Winnie wants to know if you can help her in the kitchen,” Ty says. I hadn’t realized he had walked up beside me. “Something about how only you can help her with the secret wing sauce.”

  I smile at him. “Okay. How are you, Ty?”

  “Good.” He nods. “Happy to be here.”

  He smiles at me and wanders off toward the back of the room where Jude is standing with Levi and some of their teammates. Ty’s been in town for two weeks, and I haven’t caught Winnie and him fighting once. Hopefully this means they’re back on track.

  I head to the kitchen, where I find Winnie pulling a tray of wings out of the oven. She glances at me. “Oh, good! Can you grab the special sauce?”

  I nod and grab the mason jar of sauce she mixed back home this morning. It was on the counter beside the stove and Ty could have easily done it, but she clearly wants me here for something else. I hand her the jar as she carefully slides the wings into a big metal bowl. As she takes it she smiles at me. “Sorry to pull you away from Griffin.”

  “He’s on the front porch with Dad,” I explain, and Winnie’s head flips up and she looks at me in shock. “I know. Dad said he needed some air and asked Griffin to wheel him out there.”

  “What do you think that’s about?” Winnie asks. “Think he’s asking for your hand in marriage like Eli did?”

  “God, no,” I reply firmly. “It’s only been three months. Relax there, Win.”

  She winks. “Crazier things can happen.”

  “If you can wait over a decade, I can wait at least a couple of years,” I say without thinking. Oh, fuck, I hope this doesn’t set her off again with Ty. Luckily, she just shrugs, so I dare to keep going on the subject. “Things are good with you and Ty right now, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Winnie nods as she tosses the wings in the sauce. “I guess I just…I’m tired of feeling hurt.”

  I don’t know exactly what that means, but I don’t have time to ask because Dixie comes bursting into the kitchen. “Why is your boyfriend in a deep conversation with Dad?”

  She heads straight for a bottle of red on the counter and refills her glass before turning to me for an answer.

  “No idea,” I reply. “Mom and Dad met Charlie last week, so maybe it’s about that.”

  “How did that go?” Dixie asks, but Winnie answers before I can.

  She turns to Dixie with a big smile on her face. “It was the cutest. Charlie and Griffin came over for dinner, and Charlie was so polite and sweet. Mom and Dad were in love with her and so was I. She wants a skateboard and a dog for her birthday, which is an archery-themed party.”

  “She sounds fun. When do I get to meet your stepdaughter?” Dixie asks, and my head spins to stare at her, my hair slipping around my face. “Relax. I know I’m jumping the gun. I won’t say it in front of Griffin or anything.”

  “I just want to be careful with this situation,” I say quietly. “I mean, you know, Charlie seems to like me, and Lauren and I are civil, but, well, baby steps.”

  I walk over to the fridge and grab a bottle of white out of the door and refill my own glass. “Anyway, I think I’ve convinced Griffin it’s okay to get her a dog. We’ve been scouring rescue sites. He really wants one for her, but he’s worried about his schedule. I talked to Mom and Dad, and they said they’d be fine if I helped out with the dog and brought him to our place when Griffin’s away with the team.”

  No one is speaking, so I glance up and stare at them staring at me. They’ve both got goofy grins on their faces. “What?”

  “I just fucking love that you are in love,” Dixie exclaims.

  I blink. “Guess what, weirdo? I love that you’re in love too.”

  “Aww…I feel a group hug coming on!” Winnie turns away from the bowl of wings and opens her arms. Dixie and I walk into them.

  “Dixie’s right, though, Sadie,” Winnie adds as we hug. “You’ve always been everyone’s rock, and it’s just nice to know you have a rock now too. You deserve it.”

  I feel my eyes get watery. Luckily, Jude shows up in the doorway. “Oh, God, did I just wa
lk in on some kind of sorority moment? Gross.”

  “You ruin everything,” Winnie jokes with a dramatic sigh as we pull apart.

  “Make with the food, chef,” Jude barks back at her. “The supplies are low out there.”

  “It might be the off-season, but you should probably stick to salad,” Winnie snarks back at him, and she swats at his hand when he tries to steal a wing.

  He manages to steal a wing anyway. Winnie pours the wings onto a platter and carries them out before he can steal another. Dixie grabs the bottle of wine and follows. I can’t help but smile as the cushion-cut solitaire on her finger catches the light. Eli picked a bold, beautiful ring, perfect for bold, beautiful Dixie.

  “So Griffin and Dad are on the porch together. Alone,” I tell Jude, and he nods as he finishes the wing. “Any idea what that’s about?”

  “Dad’s probably thanking Sully for putting up with you. You know, thanking him for taking you off his hands,” Jude replies, reaching for a napkin to wipe his hands. I smile brightly at him but flip him the middle finger. He laughs. “I could tell you what I really think is happening out there, but you’ll get all weepy and this is a party.”

  Now I’m intrigued—and little worried. “What are you talking about?”

  Jude opens the fridge and grabs a beer. He turns back around, leans on the closed fridge door, and twists the cap. “He’s probably telling Griffin how much he likes him. How well he fits in this family and how well he fits with you, his sweet, good, strong, and beautiful pumpkin.”

  My eyes are watering again. “He’s not.”

  “You’re right he’s not saying it,” Jude replies and his face grows dark. “The tablet is saying it, but they’re Dad’s words, even if they can’t come out of his mouth anymore.”

  My dad lost the ability to speak about a month ago. He’s been typing what he wants to say into a tablet that speaks for him. Jude sips his beer. I stare out toward the front door. “Should I go rescue him?”

  “It’s not a crisis situation, Sadie.” Jude laughs at me. “It’s a good thing. Let them talk.”

  I glance at the front door again just as it opens and Griffin comes back in, pushing my dad’s wheelchair. I watch my mom walk over and take his place, wheeling my dad out of view toward the dining room. Griffin glances around the living room and then glances down the hall, sees me in the kitchen doorway, and he comes straight for me. He bends down and kisses my cheek as he enters. Jude slips by him out of the kitchen, leaving us alone.

  “Everything good?”

  “Yeah.” He smiles at me. “Let’s grab more of my guacamole. Supplies look low out there.”

  He lets go of me and moves to the fridge to pull out a bowl full of guacamole he made for the party. I’ve learned Griffin is incredible in the kitchen, which is great, because I’m not. I lift one of the giant bags of white corn chips off the counter and pull it open. Griffin takes a chip as soon as I open the bag and dips it into the guacamole, then turns and holds it up in front of my mouth. “Taste test?”

  I take a big bite of the chip. The guac is delicious. “Perfect. Just like you.”

  “Sweetheart, you are way too good for my ego,” he replies and drops his head to give me a quick, light kiss when I’m done chewing. He doesn’t pull away afterward, though, looking me in the eye. “Are you okay?”

  I nod. “Yeah. Today is a good day. I love a party and we need all the reasons possible to create happy moments.”

  “It’s bittersweet,” Griffin remarks softly. I bite my bottom lip and nod, and he pulls me into a hug. I rest my cheek on his chest and close my eyes and let the warmth of being in his arms seep into every part of me.

  “I’m focusing on the sweet part,” I whisper, and I feel his lips on the top of my head. “He might not be here for the wedding, but he knows Eli is the right one. He saw it with his own eyes.”

  “He just wants you all to be happy,” Griffin says. “And he says that I make you happy.”

  “You do.” I lift my head off his chest to stare up into his deep, dark eyes. “I’m glad he knows it.”

  “I told him I love you,” Griffin says softly. “I hope I wasn’t supposed to keep that a secret.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck. “I love you too, and I couldn’t hide it even if I wanted to.”

  He dips his head and kisses me again, long and slow.

  “Ew. Gross.”

  We break apart as Jude is back, standing in the doorway acting like an overdramatic teenager. I roll my eyes and let go of Griffin. “Thank God you interrupted us now, I was just about to ask him for a quickie. A second later and I would have been bent over the—”

  “Why do you do that?!” Jude yells, a look of pure horror on his face. “He’s my coach!”

  “I’m Eli’s coach,” Griffin corrects but turns to me. “But he’s right. Please stop using sex with me to torture your brother.”

  “I have to use any means possible to torture him,” I explain with a shrug as I pour the tortilla chips into a bowl. “It’s in my genetic wiring.”

  “Feel free to beak up with her,” Jude tells Griffin in a fake-serious tone. “I can have her banned from Thunder games so you won’t ever have to see her again.”

  “Unfortunately it’s too late for that,” Griffin tells him as he follows me out of the kitchen, carrying the bowl of guacamole. “I’m in too deep. There’s no way out for me. And to be honest, I’m okay with that.”

  My heart swells at his sweet words despite the fact that Jude is groaning. Griffin has fit into this family like he was always there. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like without him. And thankfully, I don’t have to.

  Look for Winnie’s book, NOW OR NEVER, coming in early 2019.

  About the Author

  Victoria Denault loves long walks on the beach, cinnamon dolce lattes, and writing angst-filled romance. She lives in LA but grew up in Montreal, which is why she is fluent in English, French, and hockey.

  Learn more at:

  VictoriaDenault.com

  Facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaDenault

  Twitter: @BooksbyVictoria

  Also by Victoria Denault

  The San Francisco Thunder Series

  Score

  Slammed

  Hometown Players Series

  One More Shot

  Making a Play

  The Final Move

  Winning it All

  On the Line

  Game On

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