Chapter 13
New York
Two weeks later…
TD
There have been times in my life where I've been really happy—the day I was offered my first real coaching job, the first time a struggling player who I was supporting finally believed in himself, winning a playoff game that went to overtime, ending with my guys sweeping me onto their shoulders in pure, wild joy, the night in college my best friend and I drove to the coast on a whim and watched the sunrise from the back of his truck.
But nothing—absolutely nothing—comes close to the moment I first held each of my babies in my arms. That instant hit of love is more powerful than any drug.
Winning joint custody, though? That's a close second. I step out of the courthouse with my lawyer, and I'm floating on air. When the judge announced joint custody, it felt like a huge weight had finally been lifted off my chest.
"Thank you," I say to Leonie, the words wholly inadequate for the gratitude I have for all the incredible work she's done. "I can't tell you how happy I am."
"Oh, I think I have an idea. I'm glad we got a good outcome."
"You got the outcome. This is all you."
She smiles and touches my arm—lawyer equivalent of a hug?—says she'll send through the final paper, then jumps into a yellow taxi.
I take my phone out to share the good news with Tex when a figure drifts in close at my shoulder. "Oh my gosh, Tex!"
He waves his hands. "Surprise!"
"What are you doing here?"
"Please refer to my previous comment," he says, smiling, rocking on his feet. "I'm surprising you."
I'm completely lost for words. All I can do is bundle him into a hug and say, "It's good news. I got my girls."
"I figured when I saw you smiling from ear to ear."
I take him in again. He’s wearing a soft forest-green tee under a light-gray zip-up. The green sets off his light-brown eyes, making them look even warmer. His brown curls shift in the spring breeze, and as he smiles at me—open, friendly, and unguarded—it’s like something inside me finally settles.
"I can't believe you came here…for me."
He tilts his chin up with a casual shrug. "I actually came for a slice of New York pizza. You're just an added bonus."
My heart is racing, so overjoyed at the unexpected hit of double goodness, that I can't help but laugh. "I was just about to call you."
"You were?"
"Yeah. I wanted to ask if you'd mind throwing in my whites with yours."
He laughs, tapping his fingers against my stomach in a playful nudge. "Shut up."
"Make me."
His eyes twinkle knowingly. "Oh, I think I have a way."
We race back to the hotel room, and he was right, he does have a way. He spends the rest of the day, and well into the night, shutting me the hell up.