“Speaking of touchdowns, let’s do this,” I say and lead everyone back out to the lawn. It’s getting hotter now that the sun is high above us, but we have a cool breeze coming off the Sound.
“What’s the score?” Isaac asks.
“Fourteen to six, we’re winning,” Jules announces with a triumphant smile. “I know, you’re not used to losing, but you’re going to be okay.”
“I’m going to drop kick you into next week.” I glare at her, but it has no effect on her whatsoever. She knows I’m a pushover.
“Right.” She smirks, then leans in to kiss Nate on the shoulder. “I like it when you wear a tank top.”
“Do you?” he asks, securing his hair at the back of his neck.
“Yeah. You don’t often. You’re usually all suited up. I like seeing your tattoos.”
“If you’re done flirting with your husband, we can get this game going.”
She just smiles happily and walks to her place in the line. One thing’s for sure, my baby sister is a pain in my ass.
And probably my best friend in the world, outside of Meg.
We play for the next ten minutes without either team scoring. There are some choice words between Nate and Matt, but then they start to laugh and all is well again.
But on the next play, Luke throws the ball to me, and I catch it, but when I turn to run with it, I twist the fuck out of my knee and fall.
Hard.
Shit.
“Time’s up,” Jules announces with a happy little dance. “We won!”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter and cringe when I straighten my knee. Damn it. Not that I’ll let anyone else see that it’s killing me, but it hurts. Our first game is next week. I can’t have an injury.
So, I stand, walk without limping, which is a huge undertaking by the way, but I’m used to it because I do it almost every week for the TV cameras. I approach the food table for another buffalo slider, and make it look like nothing’s wrong.
Meg is watching me with concerned brown eyes, but I just shrug and throw her a confident smile that I don’t necessarily feel all the way to my core. I need a break from prying eyes, and to evaluate just how much damage I’ve done.
“I’ll be right back,” I say with a quick wave and walk inside, through our house, dodging little girl toys on my way to our bedroom.
I walk right into the bathroom and sit on the toilet seat, extending and contracting my leg, taking stock of how much damage I just did.
I’m sure I didn’t tear anything. I’ve had that happen before, and it hurts like a sonofabitch. No, I twisted it. It’ll swell, but it’ll recover in a few days If I stay off of it and ice it.
I hope.
I reach for some Icy Hot and rub it into the joint, and the muscles around it, sighing as it starts to work a little magic.
I stand to wash my hands, and then rub my wet hands over my face. Looking at myself in the mirror, I sigh deeply.
I injure far easier than I did when I was younger. And let’s be honest, I’ve been lucky. With only two concussions and one dislocation on my medical resume, I know that it could be far, far worse.
But that’s just it. I don’t want to get to a point in my career where I’m forced to quit because of injuries. Not only is it easier to get hurt these days, but it takes me twice as long to heal. And it hurts far worse than it ever used to. Now I know what they mean when they say I’m too old for this shit.
I’m not twenty-five anymore. I’m staring down at my late thirties, and I’m grateful that I’ve had football for this long.
Most don’t.
Hell, 99% don’t.
I want to have time to enjoy my family. Erin will be small for such a short amount of time. I feel like I’ve already missed so much as my nieces and nephews have grown up.
I’m sick of missing everything. Family comes first.
I stare at my reflection for another moment and then sigh, finally admitting what’s been right in front of me for the past two years.
“Maybe it’s time.”
Meg
I love having the family over. I don’t care that it’s a lot of work. I did it right this time and hired the caterer, as well as asked my housekeeper to come yesterday to get everything spruced up so I didn’t have to.
Chasing after a baby is exhausting. She’s still little, but she’s demanding and sometimes everything is just plain overwhelming.
So I’ve learned how to ask for help, and that’s made a huge difference.
Because I’m not gonna lie. I’m damn exhausted.
I walk over and plop down in the chair next to Leo and Sam, crossing my ankles and resting my arm over my head.
“Hey.” I smile over at them. “How are you guys?”
“We’re great,” Leo replies, taking a bite of Sam’s food. “How are you?”
“Fine.”
Leo takes his glasses off and watches me with narrowed blue eyes, making me frown.
“What? I’m fine.”
“You look tired.”
“Thanks. I think that’s the same as saying you look like shit.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s kind of the same thing,” Sam agrees, nodding as she chews on a champagne-soaked berry. Damn, I wish I could eat some of those.
“Whose side are you on, sunshine?”
“No sides,” Sam replies with a laugh. “I’m just agreeing with Meg.”
“Yeah, taking her side,” Leo says and slaps Sam on the ass, making her jump and her cheeks turn pink at the same time.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish, Leo Nash.”
He grins at her, then turns back to me. “So tell me what’s going on.”
“Oh my God.” I sigh in exasperation. “There is nothing going on.”
“I know you,” he reminds me. And he does. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother, and I love him like crazy.
Even though he drives me crazy.
“Leave her alone,” Sam says. “Do you think you can get a sitter for Erin Thursday night?”
“I’m sure I can. What’s up?”
Leo grins as Sam eats another berry.
“The band’s coming up from L.A. and we’re going to have dinner at our place,” Leo says. “We’d love for you and Will to come. Bring your guitar. We’re going to write some songs.”
“Why don’t you look excited about this?” I ask Sam, who won’t look Leo in the face as she bites her lip.
“I’m excited.”
Leo and I exchange a look. “Yeah, I can clearly see this is your super excited face.”
She laughs and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Leo promised after the last world tour that he would take some time off. Having the guys up to start writing songs just a few months later isn’t really taking time off.”
“I told you, we aren’t recording. We don’t have anything planned for the foreseeable future.”
She nods, but doesn’t look convinced.
“When you’re in a band, it’s like being part of a close family,” I begin, hoping to give her some new perspective. “We know how that is. You spend weeks, sometimes months with the same people, day in and day out. And then, when the tour is over, you all go your separate ways, and you feel a little lost.”
“Do you feel lost?” Sam asks Leo, dragging her fingertips down his cheek.
“I want to see them,” he replies as he shrugs one shoulder. “Writing a few songs doesn’t mean we’re going back out on the road next week.”
She sighs, and then smiles. “I know. I’m just selfish with your down time.”
“I get it, trust me.” I reach over and give her hand a pat. “I live for the off season when Will isn’t traveling with the team all the time. He’s good about making sure the turn around time is short, but it’s still demanding.”
Sam nods and offers me a happy smile. “Thanks.”
“I’d love to come see the guys,” I continue. “I’ve started writing a few songs, but ha
ven’t finished anything. Maybe you can help me.”
“You’re writing again?” Leo’s smile is wide. “Since when?”
“Since I was pregnant with Erin. The hormones made me creative, and I started several pieces.”
“I’m excited to hear them,” he replies.
My stomach growls, making me scowl. I just had two sliders not even thirty minutes ago. “I’m going to go find food.”
I stand and walk away, tired and hungry, and resigned to this being my lot in life for the next nine or so months.
Not that it’s a bad lot in life. Not at all.
As I walk past the pool, it occurs to me that I haven’t seen Will in a while. Maybe he went inside?
I pass the food and head indoors, walking through the living room and stepping over Erin’s things. I should have picked them up this morning, but I was too tired, and not a little nervous about the news I’d just received.
I wander back to our room and find Will in the bathroom, leaning on the sink and breathing deeply. His shoulders are so damn broad, his dark blond hair longer than usual. His back narrows to a tight waist and the sexiest ass this side of the Mississippi.
Or that side, for that matter.
“Are you okay?” That gets his attention. He whirls around and takes me in, from head to toe, the way he always does when I walk into a room.
It just never gets old.
A slow smile slips over his lips as he advances toward me.
“I’m great.”
“I saw you fall earlier. Do you need help?”
“It’s nothing.”
But something in his eyes shuts down, sending off warning bells. Before I can ask him about it, he walks me backwards toward our bed.
“Will, we have more than a dozen people out at our pool.”
“Exactly.” He shuts and locks the door, and walks toward me, his blue eyes hot with lust, and everything else completely escapes my head. “They’re out at the pool, and none of them cares where we are.”
“They might come looking for us.”
He slowly climbs over me on the bed, pinning me beneath him. He fists his hands in my damp hair and kisses me for all he’s worth.
And trust me when I say he’s worth a lot.
His tongue slides along mine in an ancient rhythm of lust and love, and I am helpless to do anything but hold on to the waistband of his swim trunks and enjoy the ride he’s decided to take us on.
God bless him.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he murmurs against my lips as his hand glides up my bare skin. “But I need to get you out of this bikini.”
“Be my guest,” I purr, and watch in fascination as his eyes dilate.
He pulls the string at my hips, and the bottoms fall away, then he does the same to the top. I’m naked in one-point-six seconds flat, and Will’s mouth is on my breast, gently sucking my already hard nipple.
He learned with the last pregnancy to be gentle with my nipples, and he hasn’t grown out of the habit, thank God. His hand travels from my other breast down my belly to my sensitive core, where he lightly flicks my piercing back and forth, making me practically come out of my damn skin.
“Will, my God.”
“I’ll never get enough of you,” he growls. He’s leaving open-mouthed kisses over my skin on his way south, and when he plants that magical mouth on my clit, I swear to Jesus, I see stars.
My hips buck, giving him the perfect opportunity to slide his hands under my ass, holding me up so he can feast on me.
And feast on me he does, until everything is a kaleidoscope of bright color and I’m freefalling through the craziest orgasm I’ve had in months.
Before I can catch my breath, Will kisses his way up my side, then slips easily inside me. I’m so fucking wet, I’ll have to change the bed later, and I don’t give even one fuck.
Sex with Will gets better every time.
And how, exactly, is that possible?
He flips us easily, steadying me over him, and I happily ride him until we’re both gasping for breath and he sits up, wraps his arms around me, and succumbs to his own orgasm.
I brush his hair off of his forehead and kiss him softly.
“Always so good,” I murmur.
“God, I love you, Megan. More every day.”
I smile, my heart expanding with gratitude and love for this man.
“I love you, too.”
I wasn’t always able to say that. It frustrated the hell out of both of us. But now, I say it every chance I get because he deserves to hear it a million times a day.
He gently lifts me off him, and then we set to work getting redressed and cleaned up.
“Megan.”
“Hmm?” I glance up to find him staring at me with serious blue eyes. “What is it?”
He sighs, his hands on his hips. “What would you say if I told you that I think it’s almost time that I retire?”
Holy shit.
I do a happy dance. I scream YES!
I cry and thank God.
All in my head.
“Well, you know that I’ll always support anything you decide when it comes to your career.”
And it’s true. I will. Because I love him, and he would always do the same for me. He has done the same. I didn’t want to be a stay-at-home mom, even though we could definitely afford for me to be. I love my job as a nurse at Seattle Children’s, and when Erin was three months old, Will completely supported my decision to go back to work and hire a nanny.
He didn’t even bat an eye.
So how can I be anything but supportive in return?
“Tell me what you really think.”
“I just did,” I reply. “I will honestly support any decision that you make. If you want to retire after this season, I’ll be fine with it. If you want to play for five more years, I’ll be good with that, too.”
But I’ll worry, every single day. I see the toll football is taking on his body. I know that even Will Montgomery can’t sustain this forever.
But it absolutely has to be his decision.
“We’ll talk about it more, but I’m leaning toward this being my last season.”
He rubs his hand over his mouth, as if he can’t believe that he just said it aloud. I hurry to him and wrap my arms around his waist, lay my head on his chest and hug him close.
“I love you so much. You’re an amazing football player, Will. Nothing will ever change that.”
“Yeah. I just want to go out on my terms, you know?”
I nod and smile up at him. “I get it.”
“Let’s not talk about it with the family yet. I still need to talk to my agent and the organization before we make any concrete decisions.”
I push up on my tiptoes, offering him my lips. “Thank you for including me in this decision.”
“You and Erin are my life, Megan. You’re the most important.”
I feel tears prick my eyes, and I bury my face in his chest again, take a deep breath, and tell him what I’ve been dying to say all day.
“I know that the three of us would prefer you were with us more.”
He pauses, then grips my shoulders and pushes me back to look me in the eyes.
“The three of you?”
I nod and swallow hard. “I found out this morning, I’m pregnant again.”
His jaw drops, making me giggle.
“I know Erin is still so small, and these babies will be close together, but it looks like the unexpected happened,” I continue, and I suddenly find myself lifted into the air, and he’s stomping through the house to the pool. “Don’t tell everyone. I’m only about five weeks along. Anything could happen.”
“Fuck that,” he growls. “I’m telling everyone.”
He marches outside, and dozens of eyes turn to us.
“I have an announcement,” Will says. “We’re going to have another baby!”
Chaos ensues. Will’s brothers all rush over to boost me onto their shoulders, as if I just saved
the game with the winning run.
It’s weird, but it’s funny, so whatever.
I’m finally put on my feet, and all of the girls immediately surround me with questions and hugs and not a few tears.
“Here,” Will says, interrupting. “Let’s get her a seat in the shade.”
“I’m fine.”
He glares at me, making me laugh. I shrug and sit in a shady spot, and Jules, Nat, Stacy, Brynna, Sam, Nic and Alecia join me.
The guys are laughing and high-fiving, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“They’re cavemen.”
“Oh yeah,” Nat agrees, nodding. “But they’re the best kind of cavemen.”
“A second baby, so soon,” Jules says. “Oh, my heart.”
“And oh, my body,” I reply with a groan. “This wasn’t planned. And Nic, please don’t be offended. I know you—”
“Stop,” Nic says, holding up her hand. “I’m great. In fact, Matt and I will be adding to our family soon.”
Jules smiles and the rest of our jaws drop. “Well, we clearly need more information,” I say.
“Nope, this is all about you,” Nic replies. “And you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’m sure it was a surprise,” Sam says.
“Shocker of the year,” I agree. “I mean, I’m all for having another baby, but Erin will be barely a year old when this one comes.”
“You’ll get through it,” Natalie assures me, just as Will arrives with a plate of food, making my stomach growl again.
“I don’t have broken legs,” I remind him. “I can get my own food.”
“It’s pamper time, Megan,” he says with a wink, then returns to chat with his brothers.
“Cavemen,” I mutter again, but Alecia shakes her head.
“Do you know how many women out there wish they had a guy who treated them half as well as ours do us? Trust me, I work with women, and it’s a lot. I’d say we’re pretty lucky.”
I smile as I watch Will glance my way, wink, and then reply to something Nate just said.
“I never dared dream I’d be so lucky,” I reply softly. “Honestly, you guys. This is more than my imagination could have come up with.”
“Same,” Sam says with a grin. Her voice is gruffer than usual, as she blinks away tears. “I may not want babies of my own, but I sure am grateful that y’all keep popping them out so I can spoil them like crazy.”
Indulge With Me (With Me In Seattle Book 10) Page 4