Heeding the slight pressure from the hand on her back, Julie walked further into the room. Her eyes went first to the framed paintings arranged on one of the walls, and then to the easels set up close to the windows. She turned back to Eric. “It feels like she just left the room and could return at any moment.”
He smiled gently. “Thank you, Julie. That’s what I was shooting for.” He stepped away from her and walked over to a desk resting against the wall. Opening a drawer, he removed an oversized spiral-bound book and held it out to her. “This is what I wanted to show you.”
She opened the cover, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw the pencil sketch of her own likeness. “You did this?” she asked in amazement.
He nodded. “I’m not nearly as gifted as my mother, but she was thrilled by my interest in something she loved. I didn’t draw for months after she died. I couldn’t. But gradually I realized that I felt closest to her when I was sketching. So I started back.”
Julie slowly turned the pages. There were dozens of sketches. The last one in the book was of her standing in the garden at the couple’s shower. “How can you remember in such detail something that only lasted a few seconds?”
“Because everything about you is stamped on my memory.”
She put down the sketchbook. Then she slipped her arms around his neck and pressed a feathery kiss on his mouth. Eric thought his heart was going to explode. He instinctively moved closer, his hands moving to her waist as he returned her tentative kiss with a more urgent one of his own. He became aware of music, more specifically, the soulful tones of Only the Lonely. With a sigh of regret, he let his hands fall away and dug the phone out of his pocket.
“This better be an emergency, Matt.”
A knowing laugh filled his ear. “I won’t keep you but a second. Jordan and Sarah decided they’re hungry. We’re going to go grab something to eat. You’ve got at least another hour to do what you were doing when I called. You can thank me later.”
“I’ll do that. See ya.” His eyes went to Julie. “They’re going to eat before they come back.”
“Jordan won’t mind that. He’d eat 24/7 if I’d let him.” She moved closer to him. “I know how much you value your privacy. Thank you for sharing this with me.”
“It doesn’t creep you out that I’ve been drawing you?”
Julie smiled. “I’m too much in awe of your talent.”
He took hold of her hand. “You know what compliments do to a man’s self-control, don’t you? We fall like a house of cards. For your own protection, we better take a walk.”
******
The breeze picked up considerably as they approached the lake. Eric maneuvered Julie around a tree limb lying across the path. “It smells like rain is coming,” he said.
She threw him a teasing glance. “You’re a weatherman, too, huh?”
“No, that’s just plain old fact. There’s an earthy aroma in the air when a storm is approaching.”
She glanced at the clear sky above their heads. “I hope you’re wrong. I don’t want it to rain out the game tomorrow. Jordan will be so disappointed.”
“I will be, too.”
“You really love baseball, don’t you? It’s not just a game to you.”
Eric let her precede him into the gazebo and then sat down next to her. There was something - or more specifically someone - he loved more. What was he waiting for? Why was he so afraid to speak the words that filled his heart? He couldn’t continue to be held hostage by the past. Julie wasn’t shallow and selfish like Sydney. She wouldn’t pretend to feelings she didn’t have.
“Baseball has been my solace for years; it kept me grounded when everything else went wrong. But like I told you before, it has limitations. It can’t satisfy my need for companionship. It doesn’t appeal to and entangle all my senses. It hasn’t been able to fill the emptiness in my heart.” He traced the curve of her face. “You’ve done all those things, Julie. I thought falling in love again would be difficult. I assumed trusting someone again would be challenging. You made both of those not only possible, but easy. These are just a few of the reasons why I love you.”
“I love you, too, Eric,” she whispered as tears trickled down her face. He gently wiped them away. “Something has been happening inside me ever since we met. It’s almost like my heart recognized what my mind couldn’t. I…I’ve never been in love before. I wasn’t prepared for how it takes over and changes everything.”
“You showed me that my dream of love could come true. That there was someone who shared my values and accepted me for who I am. Someone whose heart and soul I wanted to possess as completely as I wanted to offer my own. Someone who’s interested in forever.”
Julie smiled. “Anything less than forever isn’t love.”
He leaned closer and brushed his lips caressingly across her mouth. She trembled in response and pressed against him. The exhilaration of having his love so enthusiastically returned drove every other thought from Eric’s mind. For a little while, the only sounds were the lapping of water against the shore and the plaintive wail of a loon.
When at last he let her go, he was shaken to the core, unable to do anything but look at her. He caught her fingers and drew them to his lips. “I feel as if I’ve found something that I wasn’t sure even existed outside my own imagination.”
“I’m still trying to believe this is really happening.”
Eric laughed. “I can probably convince you of that fast enough. What worries me is whether I can talk you into marrying me. You’ve already had a sample of what being associated with me involves. It will only get worse when we go public.”
“Go public? You make it sound like we’re going to hold a press conference.”
“I was referring to the fact that nothing I do goes entirely unnoticed. Once I put a ring on your finger, you’re going to get your share of that attention.”
“A ring? Is this a proposal?”
“I’m easing my way in that direction. I figure you need time to get used to the idea.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “How much time do I have?”
“Four months or so. I know we can’t get married until Devon gets back.”
“That’s true.”
He gently pulled her to her feet. “You do realize that I’ll never be able to have another team mom. It will either be you or no one.”
Julie smiled as she went into his arms. “Isn’t that the way it should be?”
Epilogue
Julie woke to the aroma of coffee and bacon. The sunlight streaming through the window caught the gold of her wedding band. A smile crossed her face as she remembered what happened last night before she fell asleep in Eric’s arms. Two years of marriage had only strengthened their love for each other.
She rolled over slowly, the clingy material of her gown not able to conceal her condition. Their lives would change dramatically in the coming months. The gray and yellow nursery stood waiting for its future occupant. Eric had spent the last few evenings putting together the furniture and hanging the decorative letters of their daughter’s name on the wall.
The sound of footsteps accompanied by the slightly off-key whistling of All I Have To Do Is Dream took her eyes to the open doorway. Eric entered the room, a loaded breakfast tray in his hands.
“You’re supposed to be asleep like Cinderella so I can awaken you with a kiss.”
Julie laughed. “I think my sleeping-in days are over. Your daughter is an early riser.”
Eric set the tray on the nightstand and sat down on the bed beside her. A look of wonder lit up his eyes. “Is she moving?” His hand gently stroked her tummy. Lowering his head, he said in a soft voice, “Good morning, Nerina.”
“She’s gone back to sleep, but you don’t have to stop. That feels nice.”
A teasing grin appeared. “The food will get cold.”
“That’s never stopped you before.”
“You’re right.” He gave her a lingering kiss
. “Good morning to you, too.”
Julie skimmed her fingers across his chest. “It’s always a good morning when I wake up next to you.”
“You’re making it difficult to stay focused on breakfast.”
She chuckled as she picked up a slice of bacon. “What time do we have to leave for the field?”
“Ten-thirty. Are you sure you feel up to coming?”
“I’m fine. I’m not going to miss watching you coach in the championship game.”
“Please tell me you’re going to sit on the bottom row. I almost lost my mind watching you waddle your way up to the third row of the bleachers last weekend.”
She slapped at his arm. “I do not waddle.”
His smile grew. “Yes, you do, sweet thing.”
“Calling me that isn’t going to help.”
“How about me telling you that I love you?”
Julie grinned widely. “That will always work.”
He picked up her hand and cradled it against his face. “I hope so because you’re as essential to my life as my own heartbeat. You’ve given me more happiness than any man deserves.”
There was only one way to respond to that.
The End
I hope you enjoyed reading about Julie and Eric. This story grew out of my father’s love of baseball, something he passed down to me. If you liked this book, please consider leaving a review. Thank you very much!
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delaneycameron.weebly.com
Coming Early 2017: Love at Last (Finding Love, Book 6)
Other Books by Delaney Cameron:
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Team Mom: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (Finding Love Book 1) Page 18