40. Chapter 40
Chapter 40
LANE
The rest of the week passes in a blur as Teagan and the team get ready for the big game against Florida. While Teagan’s spending extra time conditioning and going over game tape, I’m preparing for Christmas. Even though we haven’t officially moved into the lake house yet, this will be our first Christmas here, and so I want it to be perfect.
My mind whirls with all the things I need to do. Buy Christmas lights, finish shopping for Sophie, decorate, plan the food . . .
The arm around my waist tightens, and the masculine rumble of Teagan’s voice turns my skin to gooseflesh. “Morning,” he says before pressing a kiss to the side of my neck.
I smile and sink further into his arms. Last night, I brought more of my belongings to the lake house and finished the last of the painting while Teagan helped me with Sophie. It didn’t take much convincing to get him to spend the night, and I could certainly get used to waking up in his arms.
“The door is still locked,” he whispers into the shell of my ear.
A shiver ripples up my spine as his hand slides up my waist, thumb brushing the underside of my breasts. “We could—”
“Mom!” Sophie’s voice calls out, amplified in the staticky sound of the monitor.
I turn my head into the mattress and stifle a groan while Teagan laughs. “Well, shit,” he says.
“Mom!” Sophie yells again.
“Duty calls.” I whip the covers off, padding my way to my overnight bag and grab a pair of joggers to slide beneath the oversized T-shirt I’m wearing, before calling out, “I’m coming!”
“Funny. That’s what you said last night, too.” Teagan props his head on his hand, a salacious smile curving his lips while he watches me with glittering eyes.
I swat at him with a laugh before I head for the door. “Meet us out front.” I motion toward the window.
He nods, watching me as I go.
Once I’m out in the hallway, I pad my way to Sophie’s room in my bare feet and swing the door open. “Hey, baby. Ready for some breakfast?”
She nods and rubs her sleepy eyes. “Can I watch a show?”
“Sure. I’ll put something on while I make pancakes. Teagan should be here soon, too. He promised to stop by before practice.”
It’s not entirely a lie. After all, he did promise to have breakfast with us before his game; he just never left.
“Do you think he’ll still be wearing his lucky bracelet?”
“Of course he will.” I pick her up and hold her in my arms. It won’t be too long before I can’t do this anymore because she’s too big or too old for cuddles.
I carry her into the living room, squeezing her a little tighter. “He hasn’t taken it off since the day you gave it to him. It’s probably why he scored last game.”
Sophie beams. “Maybe I should make him another.”
I chuckle under my breath, knowing I’ve opened a can of worms. If Sophie had her way, she’d make him a thousand more.
I can picture it now, his arm covered in brightly beaded bracelets from wrist to shoulder. “Well, it would probably be a little hard to hide since he has to keep them covered. They don’t like the players wearing jewelry.”
“Why?”
I sigh. I’ve explained this to her already, and she’ll ask why a thousand more times more before I’m through, so I pick up the remote and flick on the television, then sit Sophie on the couch.
The knock on the door sends a spike of joy surging through my chest, and I marvel at the fact I spent all night in his arms and I still can’t get enough of him.
I hurry to answer it, swinging it open to find him standing there with sleep-rumpled hair, wearing gray sweats and a hoodie. The dimples in his cheeks deepen when he sees me, and my heart softens.
“Teagan, you’re here!” Sophie yells from a few feet away. “Mom’s making pancakes!”
“Really?” He steps inside and I close the door behind him. “I had no clue. Looks like I arrived just in time.” He winks at me, and my insides turn to mush. “Pancakes are in my top ten foods.”
Sophie gasps. “Mine too.”
“Along with pizza and ice cream?” I laugh. “Obviously.”
Teagan walks up to where Sophie’s perched on the couch and offers her a fist bump. “That’s why we’re best buds. Because we like the same things.”
“I thought Mom was your best bud.”
“Uh, well . . .” Teagan’s forehead knots. “She is, but I guess she’s a special kind of buddy now.”
I press my lips together, suppressing another laugh, but surprise myself when I say, “Actually,” I glance at him, “Teagan is Mommy’s boyfriend.”
The words slip out without preamble and the second they do, my pulse kicks into high gear, wondering if I made a mistake telling her.
“Boyfriend?” Sophie gapes.
I nod.
Even though her concept of romantic relationships is limited, she has a vague idea of what a boyfriend is from being around Gabby who talks about all her failed relationships incessantly.
“Mmm-hmm,” I murmur, barely looking at her because I’m too busy focusing on Teagan whose eyes glitter darkly, a gleam of joy in their cerulean hewn depths.
“Teagan, is it true?” Sophie asks, staring up at him like she always does when she asks him a question?as if he hung the moon and the stars, and holds all the answers to the universe.
“Yep, it’s true.” His grin splits into a smile, and his dimples deepen as he straightens and makes his way toward me, pulling me into his chest for a hug. “Your mom is my girlfriend.”
He brushes a kiss against my cheek. “Thank you,” he whispers, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. “Is that okay?” he asks Sophie, stiffening slightly like there’s even a remote chance she’ll reject him.
Little does he know, Sophie loves him just as much as I do.
She nods, her curled head bobbing. “This is way better. Mommy can be your girlfriend, so I can be your best friend.”
A toothy grin splits her cherubic face, and if my heart wasn’t completely gone before, it is now.