Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (46 page)

“
Now
you ask?” She stroked his
handsome jaw. “The doctor said I should trust my instincts. And my
instincts
loved
this.”

He sat up and gathered her into his arms. “I
knew it could happen, but for some reason, I figured it would take
a while. Even though . . .”

She bit back a smile, knowing what he meant.
They still couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and never used
protection. Yet she too had been surprised, as though a Spurling
baby would just naturally wait another year or so. Let his—or
her—dad win that second ring.

And a McCall baby? There was no playbook for
that
scenario.

“Did you hear the heartbeat? Do you know if
it’s a girl or a boy?”

She eyed him lovingly. “I’d never do that
without you. And it’s too soon, Johnny. I only saw the doctor
briefly. To be sure before I told you. And I would have waited
another week or two, but leave it to Tess, right?” Her spirits
soared. “I’m glad she guessed because I’ve been
dying
to
tell you. To tell
all
of you. Especially Pop.”

“Let’s hope his heart can take it.” The QB
quirked an eyebrow. “He’ll want a boy. Baby Aaron, right? But I
don’t have a preference. Just a healthy kid. So try to ignore
him.”

“He has four grandsons,” Erica reminded him.
“So don’t be surprised if a little girl doesn’t steal his
heart.”

“Like Sophie? Remember her wedding? He cried
like a baby. Man, I can’t believe this.”

Erica’s eyes flooded with tears. “I can’t
wait to tell him. And
my
family. But let’s wait a few more
weeks, please? Just to be sure.”

“He keeps saying he wants to watch a
pre-season game with Tess. Probably that first Thursday night
game.” Interrupting himself, he asked, “Do we know the due
date?”

“Super Bowl Sunday,” she admitted with a
sheepish laugh. “But the doctor says first babies are notoriously
late.”

Johnny’s blue eyes flashed. “I’ll be there,
you know. Whatever happens.”

“You’ll be in that game, Mr. Spurling. And
I’ll be in the stands, cheering. After that—” She touched his cheek
reverently. “You’re all ours. Mine and the baby’s. So you’d better
get used to it.”

“It’s all I want,” he said, choking on a lump
of emotion. Then he glanced toward the door. “Do you think they’re
still here?”

“If they were, Bam would be in bed with
us.”

He chuckled. “You won’t be so lucky in the
delivery room, so enjoy it while you can.”

“So true,” she admitted, stretching her arms
blissfully overhead.
“Everyone
will be there. Hopefully not
as bad as the wedding. But Sean and Bam? Tess? Maybe even my
brother? I can’t imagine doing this without them. And you too,” she
added with a giggle.

He grinned. “I figured you were done with me
now that I donated the sperm.”

“I’m definitely keeping you around,” she
assured him, straddling his lap suggestively. “I like your moves,
Spurling. Plus, if this baby is anything like the other four
grandsons, I’m gonna need your muscles.”

His eyes twinkled, then he surprised her by
saying hoarsely, “Thanks for this, Erica. I know it wasn’t the
plan—”

“It was
always
the plan,” she told
him, her eyes filling with tears again. “We just didn’t know it. So
lean back and enjoy yourself, big dog. It’s time for
me
to
thank
you.”

• • •

After dinner, Tess and Sean went for a walk
in the woods, chatting occasionally, but mostly just being
together, hand in hand. Life was moving fast around them but it was
easy to slow things down. Feel the evening breeze. Hear the rushing
water in the distance. Appreciate finding each other.

On the way back to the house, Sean detoured
to the barn to find something in the storage room, so Tess
continued on to the house, showered, and climbed into his bed with
her journal and sketchbooks. Then she spent a little time on Carlos
Rorsch, who was hilariously easy to doodle with his commanding
posture and mind-probing gaze. Across the desk from him, a
stick-figure female with a ponytail had curled up in a fetal
position on a chair ten times too large for her. She wasn’t exactly
cringing. More trying to be invisible, which is exactly what Tess
had wanted as the interview grew more serious.

Too serious,
she decided now. The
offer was flattering in its own way, but all she really wanted to
do was write articles and hang with Sean.

But Erica’s going to need you more than
ever,
she reminded herself as she sketched her friend’s future
belly wistfully. The waist-long wavy hair balanced out the bulge
perfectly, and safely cocooned inside? Baby Aaron with a football
tucked under his arm and a Lancers L on his tiny helmet.

And just in case, she sketched a second
pregnant Erica with a little girl in the womb. They would probably
name her Abby after Johnny’s mom, but she took the liberty of
giving the baby a ponytail.

Why not?

“Hey,” Sean asked from the doorway. “Should I
come back?”

“No, no.” She held out her hand. “Come be
with me. I missed you.”

He ambled over, his smile tentative. “Don’t
you want to put the doodles away first?”

“Why? They’re mostly you anyway.” She felt an
ache of love as he climbed into bed beside her. “Did you find what
you were looking for in storage?”

“No, everything’s packed too tight. I’ll try
again later.” He grinned at the sketches of Erica’s belly. “Baby
Aaron, future Hall of Famer? And this little girl . . .” He
arched a teasing eyebrow. “There’s something familiar about
her.”

“It’s
my
fantasy, right?”

He took the sketchbook and leafed through it.
“These are pretty good, Tess. Hey, is that me?” He pretended to
scowl. “Sir Kiss-a-Lot? A guy has one harem and he never lives it
down.”

“See the lance? Because you’re a Lancer.
Little did I dream I was drawing it to scale.”

He chuckled and turned to the page where
Kerrie and Melody were playing tug-of-war with his arms. “Damn,
look at the poor guy’s face.”

“He looks pretty happy to me,” Tess teased
him.

As she watched, he continued to be a good
sport about the drawings until he reached the one of him and Rachel
labeled “The Most Beautiful Girl He Ever Saw.”

He winced. “I’ll stop saying that.”

“Why? It’s so you.”

“Meaning obnoxious?” His tone grew wistful.
“Rachel’s beautiful like a work of art. Look but don’t touch. I
dated her, right? But fooling around felt sacrilegious to me. To
most guys, I’ll bet. She needed a barbarian to get past those
gates.”

“Enter Bam. Literally,” she agreed with a
giggle.

“The point being, you have a different kind
of beauty. The touchable kind.”

“Nice save, Romeo.”

“Your body drives me crazy. But your face?”
His voice faltered. “It takes my breath away.”

As their gazes melded, warmth flooded them,
relaxing them, arousing them so completely, they had no choice but
to submit. So he shifted her body under his and said hoarsely,
“Tantric, right? Man . . .”

She thought she knew what was about to
happen. They would make love and it would be glorious. Instead, he
pushed her UH nightie up, nuzzled her breasts, then moved his mouth
down her torso. Hungry. Amorous. Nesting between her legs. Going
down on her with the laid-back expertise of the world’s most
accomplished surfer dude.

He had done it in San Francisco as foreplay.
But not like this. Making her arch against his mouth and beg him
not to stop as sensations built, flooding her with mindless
pleasure.

As much as she adored him, he faded into
nothingness when she climaxed. Even when he finally stretched over
her and made love for his own release, she could barely manage a
moan.

Totally spent, and in the very best sense of
the word.

When they were still again, entwined in each
other’s arms and legs, she told him gratefully, “That was
incredible.”

“Tantric,” he repeated proudly. “Too bad you
can’t draw
that.”

She laughed at the silly boast and assured
him, “I already did.”

“Huh?” Rolling her onto his side, he found
the sketch pad and paged through it again. Then he chuckled.
“‘Tantric Romeo’? Can I get a copy of this?”

“You can have the original.”

“I already do.” He sat up and admired the
drawing. “No photo in the world could capture this. You’re just so
happy here. So free.”

She sighed, knowing it was true. As much as
she loved that image of Sean—with sex beams emanating from his
gorgeous eyes—she valued her silly cocktail-waitress persona even
more. Not that she had ever been a cocktail waitress. But wasn’t
that the point?

“As long as I don’t spill the drinks on that
tray, I’m golden,” she agreed.

“Isn’t that the point? You can spill the
drinks and
still
be golden. It’s what I love about you.”

She no longer understood the metaphor. But if
he would love her even if she spilled the drinks?

Didn’t that mean everything?

• • •

A lot was happening that week, including for
Sean, who was meeting with Murf on Tuesday night to “ink” the deal
with X-Caliber shoes. Even better, Coach Riga had invited Sean,
Johnny and Bam to join him for a beer on Wednesday evening,
signaling his intent to share the game-elevating boot with the rest
of the Triple Threat.

Sean tried to downplay both events, but Tess
knew the anticipation was killing him in the very best way. Combine
that with their new sleeping arrangements and Erica’s pregnancy, it
couldn’t get any better. Still, when they whispered under the
covers as they dozed off, it was Baby Aaron—or Abby—who took center
stage, mostly because that kid seemed like a symbol of the miracles
erupting all around them.

And so, by the time she met Erica for book
club on Tuesday, she was hungry for details about the baby,
starting with the due date, then working their way backward to the
conception.

“It wasn’t Martini Night, was it? I can’t
live with that.”

Erica laughed. “It happened earlier, I
promise. And my doctor says I couldn’t possibly have hurt the baby
with six sips of gin during the first month. I just need to be good
from now on.”

“Zix zips?” Tess grinned. “I forgot about
that. You’re such a lush.”

Erica eyed her fondly. “I always wanted a
best friend. And here you are, right when I need you most.”

“Oh, my God, you’re
crying
again?
Hormone alert.”

“Stop it.”

Tess choked back her own wave of emotion.
“Guess what, Erica? I’ve solved the Rorsch conundrum.”

“Pardon?”

“I want the job as your assistant. Two days a
week for now, and as many days as you need once Baby Bammie is
born. Although FYI, I’d rather be the full-time nanny.”

She thought Erica would be pleased, but
instead she told her, “I talked to Carlos this morning. And he
raved about you. I mean,
really
raved. Which made me feel
guilty for holding you back. So we came up with a compromise.” She
leaned forward eagerly. “He’ll hire someone else to be my assistant
for routine stuff. And you can work for him. But when I need
someone for creative brainstorming, or just moral support, he’ll
lend you to me. And when the baby’s born you can step into my shoes
completely for a few months. So I can be home with the baby and
Johnny, then transition back. Isn’t that amazing?”

Tess fought a wave of panic. “But the other
job is still on the table, right?”

“What?”

“I like the new idea,” she said warily. “But
it’s overwhelming.”

“Oh! Of
course.
Carlos anticipated
that reaction. And we’re fine with it. But he says you should still
take two weeks to decide. And I agree.”

At that moment the meal arrived—salad for
Erica, burger for Tess—which gave Tess a moment to regroup. She
didn’t want
either
job, but had been willing to help out
during the pregnancy and infancy. Now they were shifting the goal
posts and she couldn’t keep up. Not with the articles, and the
move, and the love affair with Sean already on her plate.

“Let’s eat fast. Then shop for baby clothes,”
she suggested.

“I’m dying to. But it’s only been two months.
I don’t want to jinx it.”

“Oh, right.”

Her friend leaned forward eagerly. “Tell me
about you and Sean. You’re finally sleeping together. It’s so
wonderful. And you should have heard Bam! It was hilarious.”

“Seek help,” Tess drawled. Then she had to
smile. “It’s good. And yes, you get partial credit.”

“Partial?” The gray eyes twinkled. “Are you
moving to Portland?”

“Probably. But I’m not giving you my
address.”

“Stop it.” Erica’s voice grew hushed. “Are
you moving in with Sean?”

“Maybe. Eventually. Probably.” Tess sighed.
“I can’t resist him.”

“I know.” Erica surprised her with a
sympathetic smile. “Just take it slow.”

To Tess, that advice meant a lot. Then Erica
surprised her further by completely changing the subject. “Let’s
eat fast. Then we can drive out to Baby Eden and I’ll show you the
crib I want for the nursery. But not yet. So do
not
let me
buy it.”

“
I’ll
buy it and keep it in the back
of the RAV4. Just don’t tell little Aaron.”

Erica’s eyes gushed with tears. “I’m so lucky
to have you. You’re the only one who really gets me.”

“Well, Big John must have gotten you at some
point,” Tess teased her. Then she slapped a stack of twenties on
the table. “Come on. Let’s go buy some furniture.”

• • •

On her way home from Baby Eden, Tess stopped
by Gusty’s restaurant in hopes that the owner had implemented some
of her suggested changes. To her amazement, the beautiful bar had a
whole new vibe, and while she couldn’t take full credit, it did
seem her influence had been felt.