Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
She burst out laughing, but it turned into a sob.
“That’s you too,” I told her. “Laughing and crying at the same time. I love how your emotions show up on top of each other like that. I love everything about you, Mabel Jane Buckley.”
When she held her arms up, I pulled her closer, gently pressing my lips to hers before holding her to my chest, careful not to jostle her too roughly. “I feel like maybe I didn’t wake up yet,” she said, her voice muffled in my coat, which I hadn’t even bothered to remove. “I’m scared to open my eyes.”
“You don’t have to be scared.” Releasing her, I put two fingers beneath her chin and lifted it. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I’m here, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She smiled, and her dimple about broke me. “When do you have to go back? How did you even get today off?”
“I took a personal day,” I said. “Don’t worry, I didn’t miss a game. Just a practice. But I did promise to be in Philly by tomorrow morning.”
Her eyes glistened. “You really took a day off and drove all the way up here just to tell me you love me?”
“Yes.” I grinned at her. “But I’m getting a little anxious to know how you feel.”
Color rose in her cheeks. “Joe, you know how I feel.”
“I want to hear it.”
“I love you too,” she said.
“You’d better,” I told her. “Because I am not easy to live with. I hog the remote, I leave kitchen cupboard doors open, I take my shoes off anywhere I feel like it, and I take up all the space in bed.”
“You really want me to live with you?” she asked.
“Yes! I’d carry you out of here right now and force you to come back with me today if I could. I don’t want you living alone anymore. And I don’t want to be without you.” I took her hands again and held them in my lap. “We’ll figure this out, cupcake. It’s you and me from now on. But I know your family and friends are up here. And if you say you don’t want to move to Chicago, I’ll understand. I’ll finish out the season and move up here to be with you this summer.”
Her eyes widened. “You would?”
“Yes. Would you move to Chicago in the fall when I have to go back for the season, assuming Chicago renews my contract?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I would. And as long as I can find a doctor I like and trust down there, I’ll move before the baby is born.”
My heart bucked wildly. “You will?”
“Yes.”
“We will find you the best doctor in the city, cupcake.” I pulled her close again, kissing the top of her head. “I promise.”
A nurse knocked on the open door. “Hi there,” she said, smiling as she entered the room wheeling a cart with some machinery on it. “Just coming to check on you. How are you feeling?”
“Like a million bucks.” Mabel laughed as the nurse looked at the bruise on her temple. “Like I hit my head and woke up in dreamland.”
“Well, good.” The nurse smiled as she took her temperature and blood pressure and oxygen level. “Your vitals are all good. Let’s check that baby’s heartbeat.”
Mabel smiled at me as the sound of our son’s beating heart filled the room. “It sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“It sounds perfect,” the nurse said. “The doctor still wants you to stay overnight to keep an eye on that bump, but you should be good to go in the morning.”
I stayed out of the way, but as soon as the nurse was gone, I moved right back to her side and sat down. Took her hands in mine. “I wish I could stay all night with you.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s okay.”
Someone knocked on the door behind us. I looked over my shoulder expecting another nurse or maybe the doctor, surprised to see the dark-haired guy who’d held the elevator for me standing there. “Okay to come in?”
“Yes,” Mabel said, sitting up a little taller. “Austin, this is Joe. Joe, this is my brother Austin.”
I stood up immediately and held out my hand. “Nice to officially meet you, Austin. Mabel talks about you all the time.”
“Likewise,” her brother said. His grip was firm and friendly. Then he looked at Mabel. “How are you?”
“Doing great. Hey, can we get that crib you made to Chicago? I’m going to be moving soon.”
Her brother looked surprised. “Oh. Okay. Uh, yeah, sure. We can do that.”
Mabel smiled. “Thank you.”
Behind Austin, another wide-shouldered, dark-haired guy appeared. This one was even taller and held a little girl on his arm. “I heard,” he said, his brow furrowed in concern. “You okay, Mabel?”
“Yes.” She laughed and waved at the child. “Hey, Serena! Did you come to visit me?”