Chapter 29
Pizza is my love language.
Gage
I whistle as I walk up the driveway to Addy’s house. Today was a good day. Training went well. Tanner got his ass chewed out – always fun. And now I’m going to spend the evening – and night if I can finagle it – with the woman I love.
The door opens before I can reach it. “Gage!”
Mila throws herself at me and I easily catch her. “Helicopter!”
I whirl her around a few times before setting her down.
“I wasn’t done.”
I pinch her nose. “The word you’re searching for is thank you.”
“Thank you, Gage.” She lifts her arms up. “Again.”
Addy isn’t wrong about her sister destroying the world. She’s a terror. She’s also sweet and I’d love for her to be part of my family. Christmas morning with her would be a blast.
“Where’s your sister?”
“Which one? The nerd or your girlfriend?”
“It’s not nice to tease your sister about being a nerd.”
“But she is a nerd.”
“She’s also right here,” Penelope hollers from where she’s sitting on the couch, reading a book. Addy’s sister is always reading a book.
“Hi, Penelope. What are you reading?”
“It’s a book about man-made jewels. Did you know opals can be man-made? They’re referred to as opalite.”
“Are you interested in jewelry?”
“No. I’m interested in discovering ways we can stop the dangerous mining of jewels.”
“Good cause. When I was your age, I was interested in comic books.”
“Penelope reads at a college level. She’s already taken several college classes at Coastal State University,” Addy says as she enters the room.
“I should be able to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in less than two years. But I won’t.”
My brow wrinkles. “Why not?”
“Because there’s no one to drive her to all the classes she needs to attend in person. I do the best I can, but…” Addy trails off with a shrug.
And she obviously feels guilty for not driving Penelope to her classes more often. Which is utterly ridiculous. She sacrifices her time and energy for her siblings. More than anyone else I know would do. And yet she doesn’t think she’s doing enough.
“Are you ready to go? ”
Addy bites her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I should have messaged you. I have to cancel.”
“Why? What happened? Is everything okay?”
“Mom picked up an extra shift. Otis has football practice and a pizza party. There’s no one to watch my sisters.”
“I can watch myself. I don’t need a babysitter,” Penelope declares.
Addy fists her hands on her hips. “And what happened the last time I left you alone with Mila?”
“It wasn’t my fault.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Mila found a fox and decided to bring it home and make it her pet? It wasn’t your fault the fox chewed through the plumbing under the sink and the kitchen flooded? It wasn’t your fault he peed and pooped everywhere in the house?”
I bite my tongue before I laugh.
Addy glares at me. “Don’t you dare laugh.”
I raise my palms in the air. “I wasn’t.”
“But you want to.”
I shrug. “It’s kind of funny.”
“It’s funny when you don’t have to smell fox urine.” Her nose wrinkles. “It is the foulest smell in the world and I changed the diapers on these two.”
“Addy killed Foxy!” Mila yells.
Addy growls. “I did not kill Foxy. I returned her to her natural habitat.”
Mila stomps her foot. “But she was my friend.”
“Who shat all over the house,” Penelope mutters .
“Now do you understand why I can’t leave Penelope and Mila alone?”
I kiss her cheek. “I understand.”
I don’t like it. But I understand.
“We can reschedule.”
“No need.”
Hurt flashes in her eyes. “No need?”
“There’s no need because I’m not going anywhere. We’ll have a Netflix and chill night.”
She growls. “My sisters are here.”
I grin. “I meant it literally. We’ll watch a movie and relax with your sisters.”
“ Frozen !” Mila screams. “We can watch Frozen .”
Penelope slams her book shut. “Not Frozen again. You’ve already seen it twenty-six times.”
“Have not!”
“Have too!”
“Not!”
“Too!”
Addy whips up her hand. “Quiet now. Or no one’s getting dessert.”
“Do I get dessert? I promise to behave.” I bat my eyelashes at her.
She snorts. “You never behave.”
“And you love it,” I whisper.
She shivers before pushing me away. “Promise to behave or you have to leave.”
Mila rushes to me and wraps her arms around my legs. “Please stay, Gage. Don’t go.”
I raise an eyebrow in challenge to Addy. “I guess I’m staying.”
“Fine. But you have to help with dinner.”
“I’ll do you one better.” I whip out my phone. “I’ll order us pizza.”
“Pizza!” Mila screams. She releases my legs to twirl around the living room. She bangs into the coffee table and several cups fall over. “Oops.”
Addy sighs before kneeling down to pick up the cups. I nudge her out of the way. “I’ve got it. You pick out what kind of pizza you want.”
“Don’t you need to worry about making weight?”
“Weekly weigh-in was today. Which means today is my cheat day.”
“Do you have an answer for everything?”
“Yep.” I tweak her nose before picking up the cups and carrying them to the kitchen. She follows me.
“I’m serious, Gage. You don’t have to stay. Spending a night with my sisters isn’t exactly glamorous.”
I wrap my arms around her and haul her near. “I don’t need glamorous. I need you.”
She melts in my arms. “You definitely have the answer for everything.”
I press my mouth against hers and she opens on a sigh. I thrust my tongue inside and moan when her taste hits me. It doesn’t matter how many times I taste her; every time feels like the first time. I will never get enough of her.
She clasps my shoulders, and her fingernails dig into my skin. I—
“What are you doing?” Mila asks and I tear myself away from Addy.
“Um…” Addy’s light brown eyes fill with panic. “We were…”
“You were doing the same thing Otis does with his girls.”
Addy groans. “Otis has girls. As in plural?”
“Why don’t I order us a pizza? Pineapple okay with everyone?”
Addy glares at me. “I hate pineapple on pizza. It should be illegal.”
I chuckle. She can glare at me all she wants. At least she’s not worried about her little brother anymore.
Everyone gives me their wish list and I order the pizza. “Should be here in fifteen minutes. Now.” I rub my hands together. “What movie are we going to watch while we eat?”
Addy purses her lips. “We don’t eat in the living room.”
I squeeze her hip. “It’s Friday night. Let’s make an exception. I’ll help clean up.”
“You better, because I am not scrubbing cheese stains from the walls again.”
I bark out a laugh. “Let me guess. Mila strikes again.”
“It wasn’t my fault!”
While we wait for the pizza, we pick out a movie. Penelope refuses to watch Frozen . After much discussion, we settle on Yes Day.
“I’ll watch this movie but if anyone pressures me for a yes day, I’m going to initiate a no month,” Addy declares.
The doorbell rings and I stand to answer it before she can move.
“Holy mermaids fighting the pirates,” Addy says when I return. “How many pizzas did you order?”
“One for me. One for you. One for Penelope and Mila to share. And one for breakfast tomorrow.”
I set the boxes on the coffee table. I open the pizza for her sisters and place slices on their plates before handing them out.
“You’re good at this,” Addy whispers when I hand her a plate before sitting next to her.
“Good at what? Eating?” I stuff the slice into my mouth.
“Yes, but not what I meant.” She motions to her sisters, eating their food and watching the movie. “This. Being part of a family.”
My breath gets caught in my throat. A family is what I’ve always wanted. The one thing fame and fortune couldn’t buy me. I thought my dream of having a family had died. All the women I’ve dated before were only interested in my money. They certainly didn’t bother to attend my games.
“It’s what I’ve always wanted.”
She squeezes my hand. “Then, I’m glad I can give it to you.”
My heart jumps. Does this mean she’s falling for me the way I’ve already fallen for her? I hope so because I’m not letting her go.
The door bangs open and Otis trudges inside.
“Pizza party over already?” Addy asks.
He shrugs. “It was boring.”
He walks to the sofa and plops down next to me. “What are you watching?”
“Not Frozen ,” Mila pouts.
“Pizza. Cool.” He grabs the extra pizza box and dumps it on his lap.
“Plate,” Addy growls.
He rolls his eyes but he does grab a plate and puts a slice of pizza on it.
“It’s a good thing I ordered an extra pizza.”
“You don’t have to sound so smug about it.”
I’m feeling pretty smug. The woman I love is cuddled up next to me. Her sisters and brother have all accepted me into their family. There’s a lot to feel smug about.
All I have to do now is somehow convince Addy to make this a permanent arrangement. Because I love this woman. And when I care about someone, I’m loyal and committed. There’s no one else for me.
Addy is it.