40. Gemma
Chapter 40
Gemma
M y daughter— our daughter—was being adorable. Shifting my thoughts from mine to ours was a feat. I’d thought of Winnie as mine for the longest time. But I wanted to share her with Casey. I wanted to share everything with him.
Over breakfast, my brother and best friend had gone from awkward pauses to sly looks. I didn’t believe for a second that all that happened was two people accidentally falling asleep, but I wasn’t about to confront them in front of Winnie. Both because it was none of my business technically, and because all I could focus on was Casey.
His eyes held a spark of something mischievous, and the way he leaned casually against the counter made it clear he was about to say something big. With his arms crossed over his muscular chest, his shoulders looked even broader, and I got lost in salacious thoughts while I sipped my coffee. Without warning, he said, “Marry me.”
I froze mid-reach for a refill, a laugh bubbling out of me before I could stop it. “Well, I already said yes last night, so…”
He shook his head, stepping closer, his expression soft yet utterly serious. “No. Now.”
His words caught me off guard, and I tilted my head, trying to understand what he was saying. “ Now now?”
“Yes. Right now.” He took another step toward me, and the intensity of his gaze made my heart flip. He smiled as he peered into my eyes, like he saw exactly how his nearness made me feel. “Whitney said something in her last text that I can’t stop thinking about. She reminded me that we’ve only got the offseason before everything ramps up again. Once the new season starts, my schedule will be insane, and I won’t have time to just enjoy being a newlywed. I want to spend more time with you and our daughter before that happens, and I want to do that as your husband.”
I didn’t know what to say. It was crazy and spontaneous. Could I just go get married? Who does that? Pregnant people, that’s who. When I came down with a case of the pregnants, one of Nico’s complaints regarding her father was that I should be getting married to him.
It was regressive as hell, and a part of why he spent less than an hour in LA when he came out to yell at me. I told him in no uncertain terms I was not marrying Winnie’s father, and he started about how a child needs both parents. That was enough for me to tell him to leave. I was surprised when he did.
I was glad that we had worked that out. After that initial argument, he never brought it up again. I wasn’t sure if it had bothered him in the intervening years, but he’d kept his thoughts to himself. He probably sensed that was the only way he would get to visit his niece.
But getting married to her father now? No invitations, no big party…no guests to cause a problem, no huge expense… “Isn’t this kind of crazy?”
“Maybe. But do we care about that kind of thing?”
I huffed a laugh. “Not really.”
“So, let's get married,” he said, taking my hands in his. “Let’s use the offseason to be newlyweds, to enjoy each other without the world pulling us in a million directions.”
“But we need a marriage license.”
“Not if we go to Vegas.”
“Vegas?” I repeated, the word sounding almost absurd in the middle of my newly cleaned kitchen. I knew they’d cleaned up their act, but it was still Sin City. How could I bring Winnie there? Were there things for kids to do besides watch their parents get married?
He turned to Nico and Megan, who were perched at the table with bowls of Winnie’s concoction in front of them. “You two,” he said, pointing at them, “will you be our witnesses when we get married in Las Vegas?”
Nico’s brows shot up in surprise while Megan nearly choked on a spoonful of cereal. “Vegas?” Nico asked, a quick grin spreading across his face. “Hell yeah, I’m in.”
Megan smirked, shaking her head. “The moment you brought it up, you knew I was coming too, right? You get her, you get me, too.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Casey grinned and turned back to me, his hands still holding mine. “So, what do you think? Let’s get on a plane and get married in Vegas. Right now. I don’t want to spend another moment of my life not being married to you.”
Tears welled up, and I took a breath to say the only thing that came to mind. “Yes.”
He kissed me sweetly, making the world feel brighter. “You better get packing. I have some calls to make.”
“Calls?”
“Someone has to make the reservations, and you’ll be too busy overpacking to do them yourself.”
I cocked a brow at him. “What makes you think I’m an overpacker?”
“Just a gut feeling.”
I rolled my eyes at him and dashed for my room, my mind spinning with everything I’d need for an impromptu wedding. He might have been right about the over-packing thing. I fingered through hangers and drawers, pulling out dresses, shoes, and anything else I thought might work. My heart raced, but not with nerves. It was with pure, unfiltered excitement.
I was going to marry Casey. Not tomorrow, not next month— today. The thought sent a thrill through me, and I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “Okay,” I muttered to myself, tossing a pair of nude heels into my bag. “A simple dress, something classic. Oh God, do I even have anything appropriate for a wedding?”
A knock on the door startled me, and I turned to see Megan stepping through the frame, her arms crossed and a knowing look on her face. “All right,” she said, closing the door behind herself. “I need to ask—are you sure about this?”
“What do you mean?”
She gestured around the room, where clothes and shoes were strewn across every surface. “As much as I love the idea of shooting off to Vegas on a moment’s notice, you’re not exactly the spontaneous type, Gem. You’re already deep in planning mode. I can tell. This is all happening very fast for someone like you.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers curling around the edge of the duvet as I considered her words. She wasn’t wrong—I liked making plans and knowing exactly what was coming. As a single mom, I’d gotten used to trying to keep order on my own. Sometimes it worked out, and sometimes it didn’t, but having a plan was a comfort, even if it was just an illusion.
But as I sat there, my thoughts circling Casey and everything we’d been through, the answer came to me as clearly as if it had been waiting all along.
“It is fast,” I admitted, my voice steady. “But it feels right. Casey and I…we just fit. It’s like finding the missing puzzle piece—you just know when it’s right. Hell, the first night we were together, we were in bed in under an hour. There’s no timetable for love or marriage. I fell for him harder, faster, and deeper than anyone I’ve ever known, and it feels like it took us forever to get here, even though the real part of things happened in a blink. I think everything with us is fast because it’s meant to be. We have five years to make up for.”
Her expression softened, and I smiled, a thought hitting me.
“Kind of like how you and Nico?—”
“Don’t even start,” she interrupted quickly, cheeks flushing a deep pink. My best friend had never been an easy blusher, but when it came to my brother, she radiated with color. She admitted, “I like Nico, okay? I’ve always liked Nico. And yes, he hasn’t called me since you left town, and now…now there’s something between us?—”
“I knew it!”
She laughed. “But I’m not overthinking it. Whatever happens, happens. If it doesn’t work out, then we can leave things at me being your best friend and him being your brother. This doesn’t have to get weird or mean anything beyond what it is.”
I smirked, recognizing the familiar pattern. Megan couldn’t admit her feelings outright, but I knew. Whatever had happened to me and Casey was happening to them. The signs were obvious to anyone who knew them.
I couldn’t have been happier about it. “Sure,” I said lightly, zipping up my bag. “Whatever you say.”
In the living room, Casey and Nico huddled over their phones, scrolling through flights with the intensity they usually reserved for hockey. Winnie was happily playing with her toys on the floor, completely oblivious to the whirlwind unfolding around her. I wasn’t sure if she understood what any of this meant. When a wedding popped up in a cartoon, she watched it with little to no interest.
Would it be different if it was for her parents?
“Score!” Nico announced, holding up his phone triumphantly. “Flight leaves in three hours. Plenty of seats in first class, loads of time to get there, check in at the hotel and get you crazy kids hitched, along with all the other stuff you want to do. The hotel has the wedding package you wanted and, most importantly, availability.”
“Perfect,” Casey said, pocketing his phone. “Thank you, Nico.”
I didn’t know what I had expected, but it wasn’t that. “Flights already?”
“And hotel rooms,” Nico said with a wink. I was pretty sure that wink was for Megan, and I refused to think about it too much.
Casey crossed the room, took my bag from me, and set it down before pulling me into his arms. “Are you ready for this?”
“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”
His grin was infectious, and he kissed me deeply, making the world blur around us. My future husband had a magic mouth.
“All right, lovebirds,” Megan said, breaking the moment with a laugh. “We’ve got a plane to catch.”
“Did any of you geniuses think to pack a bag for Winnie?”
Casey smiled, walked around the corner to the foyer, and held up her Sesame Street suitcase. “All set.”
“I knew there was a reason I was marrying you.”
We called a rideshare for the airport drive. No sense in paying for parking if we didn’t have to. This whole fiasco would be expensive enough as it was. The rideshare was one of those big SUVs with plenty of room for all of us to stretch out. Nico and Megan bickered over who got to sit where, while Winnie chattered happily in the backseat. I leaned against Casey, trying to find something to tether myself to in such a wild moment.
Casey held my hand tightly, his thumb brushing over my knuckles in a soothing rhythm. He had a tan line there from the ring, and I loved what that meant. That I was worthy of it. Of him. I glanced at my fiancé, my heart skipping at the way his eyes sparkled with excitement.
This was happening. We were doing this.
For someone who had spent her whole life planning, overthinking, and second-guessing, the spontaneity of it all felt exhilarating. As I looked around at the people I loved—Casey, Winnie, Nico, and Megan—I knew, without a doubt, that this was exactly where I was meant to be.