Epilogue
DAKOTA
I’d thought that getting pregnant during my training program would put a stop to my career, or at least derail it quite a bit.
But being married to a star football player with lots of teammates who needed help investing the millions they earned each year meant that my job was secure for as long as I wanted it.
And on top of that, the owners of the company were all deeply devoted family men. They made it clear that they would work with me to make sure I was able to take care of my family while excelling at my job. Which was a lucky thing since Ames didn’t wait long to get me pregnant again.
I loved working with the guys on the Nighthawks, especially the rookies who’d never had that kind of money before.
Too many professional athletes ended up without any kind of safety net because they somehow managed to spend more than they earned, but not my clients.
Even the guys who got drafted last made out well by taking my advice and letting me handle their investments.
And my daughter often acted as though she might follow in my footsteps with how she liked to lecture the players.
“No spend your money, Unca Brady.” Renata wagged her finger to emphasize her point.
“Not even to buy you a pony?” Brady asked, crouching down to be eye level with my three-year-old daughter.
Renata’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “Oooh, yes! Buy a pony!”
“Are you that easily bribed?” I picked up my little girl and set her on my hip.
She clapped her tiny hands against my cheeks and shrieked, “Yay, pony!”
“No pony for you, sweetie.” I cast a baleful look at Brady when she sniffled. “Although Uncle Brady is going to feel as though he was kicked by one for suggesting it to my very impressionable and excitable baby girl.”
“Sorry, Dakota.” He flashed me an apologetic smile and held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I should’ve thought before I opened my big mouth. My only excuse is that my head is a mess with Prentice being moved to the IR list and what it could mean for the team…and me.”
Prentice had been the starting quarterback for as long as I’d been with Ames, and I couldn’t remember him missing a single game.
The injury to his shoulder a couple of weeks ago was big news to the whole team and all of their fans, but even more so for Brady because he was one of the backup quarterbacks vying to fill the spot until Prentice could return.
“I suppose I can cut you some slack under the circumstances.” Renata began to wiggle in my hold, and I set her down so she could race over to one of her friends as fast as her little legs would take her.
“But only if you get her a stuffed pony so she doesn’t ask you about buying her one for the next year.
My baby girl is like a dog with a bone when she gets something in her head. ”
Brady threw his head back with a laugh. “She’s not the only one in your family who’s like that.”
Ames strode across the backyard of the Long Island home we’d bought after we got married and slid his arm around my shoulders to pull me against his side. Glaring at his teammate, he growled, “Quit flirting with my wife and go find a woman of your own.”
“C’mon, man. You know I wasn’t flirting with her.
” Brady rolled his eyes and jerked his chin toward me.
“Even if I didn’t already know Dakota was head over heels for you for some inexplicable reason, the giant rock on her finger, three-year-old, toddler, and baby in her belly make it more than clear that she’s taken. ”
I pressed my hand over my rounded stomach with a laugh. “Let’s be real, nobody is trying to flirt with me when I’m this big.”
“You are so wrong, baby.” Ames shifted our position so I was pulled against his chest and his hands cradled my cheeks. Staring down at me, he murmured, “And I’m more than happy to prove exactly how sexy you are when you’re days away from having my baby.”
“And that’s my cue to go find someone else to talk to,” Brady muttered before walking away.
Twining my arms around my husband’s neck, I shook my head with a sigh. “You can’t keep scaring my clients away like that.”
“We issued an open invitation to this barbecue to anyone on the Nighthawks, so he’s here as my teammate, not your client,” he corrected with a smirk. “And I only do it to the single guys.”
I quirked a brow. “Are you sure that’s the story you want to stick with after what happened last week with your best friend?”
At the reminder of how he had practically peed a circle around me after Dempsey and I had gotten into a lengthy discussion about his investments at dinner—with Skye almost glued to his side—he flashed me a sheepish grin.
“Okay, so maybe I get a little territorial around anyone with a dick, but can you really blame me when you’re so damn gorgeous? ”
“I suppose not when you put it like that.” I pressed against the back of his neck so I could brush my lips against his. “Just so long as you know that you have nothing to worry about. I’m so in love with you and the family we’re building together.”
“I know, but I’ll never take you for granted, baby.
” He claimed my mouth in a deep kiss that had his teammates whistling.
He ignored all of their teasing and added, “Not a single day goes by where I don’t thank the universe for putting me in the right place at the right time so I could steal you away from your blind date and make you mine. ”
It had taken several years, but I was finally as well versed in football terminology as my best friend. “We might’ve begun with a false start, but no referee worthy of his stripes would’ve thrown a flag. You swooping in that night was the best play you could’ve made because it brought us together.”