“I’m…” she tilts her head, “cautiously optimistic. He really seems… different.”

  “He does,” I say, agreeing.

  I gesture for the baby, and Alyssa slowly slides her into my arms. “Hey, honey.” I kiss above her ear. She looks up at me with those tiny eyes. I breathe in the perfect, clean scent of her head and Alyssa smiles.

  “Okay,” I say. “Time to go.”

  “Yes, please,” Alyssa says. “I’m so tired.”

  “Oh, I’m not talking to you.”

  She stares at me. “What?”

  I turn toward the front door. “Grandma, she’s all yours.”

  My mother lunges out onto the porch. “I have been waiting all day for this,” she says.

  I hand Courtney over to her and turn back to Alyssa’s horrified face. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “No, Junior.” Her eyes constantly watch the baby over my shoulder. “I really can’t handle another surprise today.”

  I smile. “Just one more.”

  “No.”

  “Ally, get in the van.”

  She furrows her brow. “The van?”

  I look at my parents. “Mom, Dad… we’ll come pick the baby up in the morning.”

  Her face turns pale white. “Wait. In the morning—?”

  “Ty…” I hold out my hand as Ty and Grant step out onto the porch. “Keys, please.” Ty tosses them at me. I hand mine off to Grant. “Try not to scratch it, okay?”

  “Try not to get the van dirty.” Grant smiles. “I just replaced the sheets.”

  Alyssa’s eyes shift wildly as Grant and Ty walk straight toward our car. “Okay, hold on—”

  “Maggie…” I shake my head at her in the house. “You don’t get a job. You’re too drunk.”

  She scoffs. “I am not!”

  “Nate, get my sister home.”

  “Already on it,” he says, handing Maggie a large glass of water.

  “And you…” I point at Alyssa’s confused face. “Get in the van.”

  “That’s not our van anymore,” she argues.

  “It is tonight.”

  “No, ours has fully functional safety features and a car seat for our kid who was supposed to be in bed a half-hour ago.”

  I grab her shoulders and spin her around. “Get in the van.”

  She digs her heels in. “What about Courtney?”

  “Courtney will be fine. Get in the van.”

  “Junior—”

  “Van.”

  She grunts with frustration before stomping toward the van.

  I turn back around and place one more kiss on my daughter’s head. “Be good, baby.”

  “Have fun, you two,” my mother says, unable to look away from the tiny life in her arms. “Drive safe.”

  I follow Alyssa down the driveway and climb into the van, an experience that actually feels a little more nostalgic than I thought it would. I haven’t driven this thing in months — not since I sold it to Ty in order to upgrade to something a little more baby-friendly.

  We drive off down the street.

  I glance over into Alyssa’s withering stare and laugh. “She’ll be fine!”

  Alyssa taps her foot against the floor. I can’t help but trail a line up her bare legs to the hem of her skirt. “Where are we going?” she asks.

  “Patience, woman.”

  “Junior, come on—”

  “You don’t remember what today is, do you?”

  She pauses with a creased brow. “No…”

  “I’ll give you a hint,” I say. “One year ago today, you touched my dick.”

  Her eyes go wide. “Oh, my god. You’re right!”

  I nod. “So… in honor of that wonderful occasion, you and I are going out.”

  “Has it really been a year?”

  “Yes.”

  “It feels longer than that.”

  “The year or my dick?” She slaps my arm. “Also, I forgot to ask. Do you like pizza?”

  She smiles. “I’m quite fond of pizza.”

  “How about Skee-ball?”

  “I might have a decent memory or two of Skee-ball.”

  “Good.” I smile back. “Let’s go have some fun.”

  CHAPTER 50

  JUNIOR

  Alyssa throws her head back, laughing hard.

  My heart beats faster.

  “That’s two wins for me, and…” she playfully leers at me, “and zero for you? Is that correct?”

  “Who knew you had such a hidden talent for busting balls?”

  “It’s my specialty.”

  I gather the tickets from the machine. “One more game?” I ask, glancing around the nearly abandoned arcade. My nerves skip, torn between delaying the inevitable or ripping that bandage off.

  She holds back a yawn. “Sure, if you want.”

  I smile. “Or would you like to go home and get some rest?”

  “Would you mind?”

  “Not at all.” I feel a rush of panic, but it quickly goes away while I look into her eyes. “Come on.”

  I take the tickets to the counter.

  Frank grins at us. “Nice haul tonight, Junior.”

  He feeds the tickets through the counting machine. The numbers tick up and I stare at Alyssa’s gorgeous face as my pulse skips faster toward the next moment.

  “Looks like…” Frank turns to the prize wall and points toward a line of teddy bears. He fires a wink at me. “One of those.”

  “She’ll take one.”

  Alyssa laughs. “The last one is covered in baby drool now, so we can definitely use a new one.”

  Frank pulls the bear off the wall and hands it to Alyssa. “For the lucky girl.”

  She’s absolutely right — it’s hard to believe it has been a whole year since I first brought her here. Back then, it was just a fun night out with a pretty girl that hopefully ended in copious amounts of casual sex. Back then, that’s as far forward into the future as I could think. Tonight is different.

  Very different.

  Alyssa squeezes the bear, grinning just like she did before. It’s the same bear with light brown fur and extra soft padding. It doesn’t take her long to notice the one difference between this one and the one tucked inside our daughter’s crib.

  Her finger slides along the red ribbon around its neck until it touches the diamond ring hanging there waiting for her.

  She pauses, her face blank, until it finally sets in. “Junior,” she whispers.

  I lower to one knee and her jaw drops.

  “Ally, I know we talked about this already—”

  “Junior, what are you doing?”

  I take the bear, untying the ribbon to free the ring. “I want to talk about it again.”

  She says nothing as I take hold of her left hand, but her fingers tremble.

  “I love you, Alyssa Pierce,” I say. “I’ve said that to you every single day since November, but I still don’t think you believe me.”

  She blinks. “That’s not true.”

  “It’s okay, Ally.” I lay my hand over hers. “I don’t blame you. Life hasn’t always been fair to you. Trust doesn’t come easy.” Her eyes water. “I’ve always said I’d wait for you — and I still mean that — but I want you to hear this.”

  “Okay,” she says with a nod.

  “You told me once that you always wanted a normal, boring family. I want to give you that.” She chuckles, wiping away a tear as it falls. “You deserve that more than anybody. You’ve already given me the most perfect, gorgeous daughter. I owe you the world. I will spend the rest of my life making sure that happens.”

  “Birthday cards and Christmas cookies?”

  “All of it.” I slide the ring onto her finger and breathe a silent sigh of relief as it fits her perfectly. “You’ll never feel lonely or ignored ever again, Alyssa Pierce.”

  “Promise?”

  Her lips curl as she waits for me to say it.

  I draw an X on my chest. “Cross my heart.”

  More tears fall, but she laughs. I stand to wrap my arms around her, embracing her as close to me as possible.

  “I love you,” I whisper in her ear. “Marry me. I’m nothing without you.”

  She wipes her eyes. “Well, when you put it like that…”

  “It’s true. Do you really think I would have won all those games without your incentive?” She buries her face in my chest again, shaking hard with laughter. “I swear, Ally, there is not a single thing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  “Oh, really?” she says. “Sounds like you’ll need my incentive again this season if we expect to keep your stats up.”

  I point at her, realizing the mistake I’ve made. “Now, hold on. I didn’t mean—”

  She steps out of my arms and grins. “Too late now, just Junior.”

  I wince. “I hate it when you say it like that.”

  “Win the game next week and I’ll stop.”

  “Ally.”

  She spins around with her teddy bear and walks toward the exit. “Keep up, just Junior.”

  “Ally.”

  I growl with a grin, struggling to catch up with her as she exits. She plows through to the parking lot and I follow her back to the van.

  “Can we maybe talk about this first?” I ask.

  “I think we’ve talked enough,” she says, sliding the back door open. “Words won’t get us anywhere. Moans and grunts, however…”

  I bite my lip. I glance at the mattress, then at her. She smiles.

  “Does this mean I still qualify for admission?” I ask.

  “Well, you’re not a loser… yet.” She lowers herself inside and lies back against the pillows. “Might as well take what you can get while you can.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Anything I want?”

  She refuses to say, but her eyes tell me everything. I’m not about to argue with that seductive smirk, so I hop inside the van and slam the door closed behind us.

  Her hands instantly fly to my belt. My cock springs to life, pressing hard against my zipper. She licks her lips and her little blue eyes flick up at me. After the eventful and stress-filled year we’ve had, I’m happy to see her as playful and beautiful as ever tonight.

  The diamond on her finger shimmers in the soft lighting as she reaches into my pants.

  “Wait…” I pause, grabbing her hand. “You haven’t said yes.”

  Alyssa’s eyes fall to the ring. “Oh,” she says. “Yeah. Sure. I guess.”

  “You guess?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  She bends, lowering her mouth toward my groin, but I pull her back up.

  “Excuse me,” I say. “I nailed that proposal.”

  She wrinkles her nose. “It was all right.”

  “You cried!”

  “I sniffled a little.”

  I straighten up. “Say yes.”

  Her lips curl. “Maybe.”

  “Okay, that’s it…”

  I push her onto her back while she squeals with laughter, not lifting a hand to stop me while I travel down her body. I hook her panties beneath her skirt and pull them down to her ankles.

  “I’m going to make you say yes,” I growl. “And then, I’m going to do it again.”

  I spread her knees wide, positioning myself between them while I kiss her again. She tugs at my belt, her kiss full of that sexy, primal urge I love so much.

  It has been months since we’ve been alone this way. Just two kids getting it on in the back of a van without a care in the world. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it, but I wouldn’t trade what I have for anything else in the world.

  I enter her, filling her. She gasps in pleasure. She holds onto me, wrapping her legs around my waist, urging me to take her. There’s no way in hell I’ll ever deny her.

  I get to work, and she purrs in my ear. My entire body surges with hers, blending passions until we feel nothing else.

  I sit up, pulling her along with me to straddle my waist. She cries out in pleasure before settling against me again.

  She crushes her lips on mine, each of us moaning and fucking until we can hardly breathe. Her nails dig into me and her body goes tense, just moments away from wreckage.

  I gaze into her perfect eyes. I fall in love all over again with the way she twitches with passion as she moans my name.

  She kisses me as she comes, counting on me to hold her steady, but I can barely keep myself together.

  I fall onto my back. She collapses with me onto the mattress, gently quivering against me as we both ride our climaxes to the end.

  “Well?” I ask, laying kisses along her forehead.

  Alyssa smiles, pausing for a moment to catch her wild breath.

  “Yes,” she says.

  EPILOGUE

  ALYSSA

  Five Years Later

  I pull the blanket off the back of the sofa and drape it over the giant beach ball taking hold of my stomach. After a few seconds of fidgeting to get comfortable, I end up giving up completely.

  “Alyssa, are you even listening to me?”

  Grant’s voice is barely audible through the speaker on my phone resting next to my head.

  I grab it and hold it to my ear. “Yeah, I’m here,” I say. “I’ve officially reached the stage of this pregnancy where nothing is ever good enough and I want to launch myself off the nearest skyscraper.”

  “Oh, boo-hoo.” He laughs. “You get to lie around all day in Suburbia and eat bonbons with my adorable goddaughter. I’m the one who has to deal with actual children.”

  I chuckle. “Louise isn’t that bad.”

  “She’s no you.”

  “Well, I’ll try to schedule my next procreation so it doesn’t interfere with your plans, Grant.”

  “Thank you. That’s all I ask.” He sighs. “When does Lover Boy get back again?”

  I glance out the window at the quiet street corner. Snow tumbles down from the sky, covering the black street with a fresh layer of white.

  “I’m picking him up from the airport in the morning,” I say. “Did you watch the game on Thanksgiving?”

  “You ask that as if I had a choice. Ty has been emailing me highlights from it for two days straight.”

  “He’s just proud of his favorite client.” I shift again on the couch, feeling a harsh cramp taking hold of my lower back. “Is Ty home yet?”

  “No, I think he’s got some conference this weekend in Dallas or somewhere. No one told me marrying a sports agent would mean spending so many holidays alone.”

  I throw on a pout and look out the window again. “I feel your pain.”

  “At least I have my ingenue… while she’s not gestating.”

  I laugh. “I’m sorry!”

  “It’s all right. I’m only kidding. If that kid is anything like the one you already have, it’ll be worth it.”

  I slide a hand over my belly. “I agree.”

  A taxi pulls to a stop on the corner outside. I squint to get a better look through the thick, falling snow.

  A man steps out from the back seat. He’s tall with wide shoulders. Handsome and—

  I gasp. “Oh, my god!”

  “What?” Grant asks. “Is there baby? Is baby happening?”

  I rock back and forth, gaining momentum to push myself off the couch. “It’s Junior!”

  “What? Where?”

  “Outside.” I hobble to the front door and throw it open, not caring about the cold, invading snow. “A taxi just dropped him off.”

  Junior looks up at the house and grins, no doubt getting the exact reaction from me as he planned.

  “Oh,” Grant says. “It’s the old I caught an earlier flight to surprise you trick. I love that man.”

  “Back off. He’s already taken,” I say, watching as Junior pays his driver and grabs his suitcase off the ground.

  “Well, bed him well. He’s earned it. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here in the city, drinking Chardonnay alone, and crying over Louise’s headshot.”

  “Bye, Grant.”

  “Bye, Alyssa.”

  I lower the phone as my husband climbs the porch in front of me. Junior pauses a few feet away and drops his suitcase, his eyes never leaving my face.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  “I caught an earlier flight to surprise you,” he says.

  I throw myself at him. He opens his arms, embracing me and laughing in my ear.

  “I guess that’s okay?”

  “It’s more than okay,” I say, my voice muffled against his chest. I feel the tears threatening to take over already, but I defeat the hormones before they spill over. “Come on. It’s freezing out here.”

  Junior grabs his suitcase. I brush the snow off his coat as we step inside.

  “Okay.” He kicks the door closed and motions for me to twirl. “Let me look at you.”

  I sigh and spin in a slow circle.

  “My god,” he mutters.

  “What?”

  “You’re huge.”

  My jaw drops. “Excuse me, sir. This is all your fault.”

  “I’ve been gone two weeks. Not two months.”

  “Welcome to the ninth month, Junior,” I say. “I don’t know if you remember it from last time, but it sucks.”

  “Oh, it’s all coming back to me now.“ He chuckles. “Soon it’ll be Lamaze practice drills and midnight runs for strawberry ice cream and curly fries.”

  I raise a brow. “Are you complaining?”

  “No.”

  “Then, shut up.”

  He laughs and tosses his coat onto the rack by the door. “Who were you talking to so late?”

  “Who do you think?”

  He snorts. “Grant.”

  “Yup.”

  “What’s he up to?”

  I return to the living room. I ease onto the sofa and try to reach for the blanket on the floor. Junior bends down and grabs it for me. “Thank you. His directorial debut goes live next week…” I sneer, “with my understudy.”

  Junior lays the blanket over me before sitting down beside me. “You’ll be back up there before you know it, Ally,” he says. “Just focus on this right now.”

  I take a deep, slow breath. “I know. I’m fine. I worry about Grant, though. I’m out for the whole season and Ty is never home.”