The Sweetest Game (19 page)

I laughed out loud when I realized why I’d been such a crazy freak lately. Thank heaven I had a reason for my incessant sob fests. I wasn’t going insane, I was just pregnant.

With a baby.

In my belly.

Holy shit.

What if I turn out to be a crappy mom? I wonder how far along I am?

I hid the tests in the closet and fell asleep waiting for Jack to come back. When the door burst open, I jumped, the sound scaring me half to death.

“Sorry, Kitten! My hands are full, that’s why I kicked the living shit out of the door here.” Jack appeared, his arms filled with what looked like grocery bags.

“What is all that?”

“I got you ginger ale for your stomach, plus a bunch of other stuff in case you don’t feel well. And then I got you a bunch of munchies and snacks in case you do. Do you feel better?”

“Much. How was the game?”

He grinned. “We won.”

“Did you throw?”

“Not until tomorrow, you know that.” He narrowed his eyes, looking at me closely before saying, “You’re acting weird.”

Jack couldn’t possibly know anything. I wasn’t acting weird; I was acting just like I always act.

Forcing an innocent look on my face, I asked, “How am I acting weird?”

“You have this look on your face. And your eyes …”

“What about them?”

He ran his thumb down the side of my face. “They’re hiding something, but they want to share,” he said as he lifted his eyebrows at me.

That’s it. He is magic. I knew it.

About to burst with excitement, I couldn’t stall any longer. “I don’t know how you knew that, but I do have something to tell you. It has to do with why I wasn’t feeling well earlier.” I pulled him toward the closet. “The reason’s in there.”

“Is there a guy in the closet?” He stepped back, his hands balling into fists. “There better not be a fucking guy in this closet.”

“What? No? I just hid something in here.” I rolled the door open and pulled one of the tests down from the shelf. Unfolding the washcloth from around it, I presented it to Jack like a crown jewel on a display pillow.

He peeked down at the test stick, his brow furrowing. “What is tha—” He stopped midsentence, his eyes huge. “Is this? Are you?” He looked at me, his face full of wonder, and I nodded.

Jack fell to his knees and pressed his head against my belly. He wrapped his arms around me and held on to me without saying a word, his breath hot through the fabric of my shirt. I’m not sure how long we stood like that, but it felt like hours. When he finally pulled his head from me, tears were falling down his cheeks.

“We’re having a baby?” He covered my stomach with both of his hands.

“Three tests said yes, so I think so.” I smiled down at him as he moved to sit on the floor.

He reached for me and when I linked my hands with his, he pulled me down across from him. “We’re having a baby.”

“Are you happy?”

“Are you kidding, Kitten? I’ve wanted to knock you up since the day I met you!”

“Liar!” I laughed out loud.

“Okay, maybe not the day I met you. But pretty soon after.” He reached for my face, palming it with both his hands. “I can’t believe you have our baby in your belly right now. He’s just in there chilling.”

I rolled my eyes. “Only you would call it a
he
already. And say that it’s
chilling
.”

“I love you.” He scooted closer to me, his lips frantic as he kissed all over my face. “I love you so much. Thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for marrying me. Thank you for becoming a part of my family. And thank you for growing our love child in your belly.”

“Our love child?” I snickered. “Jack Carter, you never cease to amaze me.”

“You’re the amazing one. I fucking love you. More than anything else in this world.” He lowered his head back to my stomach and planted a kiss over my top. “And I promise I’ll be a good dad.”

I reached for his hand and caressed it. “I know you will.”

He looked up at me and smirked. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

Smiling, I swatted his shoulder and said, “Well then, it knows.”

“Stop calling our son an it!”

“You stop calling it a him! What if it’s a girl, Jack?” My eyes widened at the thought. “Holy shit, Jack. What if it’s a girl?”

His head tipped back as he laughed full and hard. “Then I’ll kill any guy who comes near her until she moves out of our house.” He took a breath before continuing, “Which will be, never.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, knowing damn well that if we had a girl, Jack probably would go nuts every time she left the house. He reached for my hand and pressed it against his lips.

“And if we do have a girl, Kitten, I hope she looks just like her mom.”

My eyes filled with tears. “Stupid pregnancy hormones. I’m going to spend nine months crying.”

“Then I’ll spend nine months wiping your tears.”

I sniffed, wondering how in the world I’d gotten so lucky. I knew we’d been through hell and back, but all of those times felt so far rooted in the past in this present moment. We were going to have a baby, and I couldn’t think of anything more amazing or wonderful.

“Kitten?” Jack’s hands burrowed into his hair as he tugged at it. “You think I’ll be a good dad?”

I pressed my hand against his cheek. “I know you will.”

“No doubts?”

“Never,” I said softly, longing with all my heart to reassure his worried mind.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Jack, I get to live every day surrounded by your love. It’s deep, it’s passionate, and it’s intense. But it’s honest and true. I know you’ll love our baby the same way. No matter what sex it is.”

“Damn straight!” he proclaimed, rubbing my belly as if it were a Buddha. “There’s a little Carter in there. And I’ll do anything to keep you both safe, protected, and provided for. That’s my job.”

“See? Right there. What you just said. That’s how I know.” I placed my hand over his and squeezed lightly.

Jack pushed himself from the floor before reaching for my hand and pulling me up with him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me so tight, I could literally feel the love radiating between us. With a firm grip on my hand, Jack pulled me toward the bed and sat down before making room for me between his legs. I sat on the bed in front of him and settled in, feeling the muscles of his chest press against my back as he spoke.

“When are you planning on moving, Kitten? I can’t have you all the way across the country. I’ll go fucking crazy knowing you’re alone. I need you with me.” He planted soft kisses along my neck and shoulders.

“I know. I’ll hire movers as soon as I get back.”

“What about your work? Does Nora know you’re leaving?”

I turned my body to glance at him. “Shit! I forgot to tell you. Nora told me I could work on an assignment basis. I had to give her a resignation letter and everything.”

“So, what does that mean? Do you still get to do the shoot with Matteo and Trina after the baby’s born?”

“Yes, I just have to fly back to New York to do it. And whenever an assignment comes up that I’m qualified for and interested in, I just accept the offer. But I don’t have to accept anything, or I can accept everything.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Now that I’m pregnant, though, I’m not sure what I want to do.”

“What do you mean, Kitten? You want to stay home with our son?”

“Jack, stop!” I giggled and rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see, then turned my body around to face him. “But I think I do. Want to stay home, that is. Plus, I really want to be there for you and travel together as much as possible.”

Looking deep into his eyes, wanting to be sure he saw the sincerity in mine, I said, “You see, I had this epiphany on the train home the other day. You’re my home. I don’t want to be where you’re not. And I know those feelings are only going to magnify once the baby comes. I’ll want to keep our family together as often as possible. So, if my career sits on the back burner for now, I’m totally okay with that.”

Jack held a hand in the air to stop me. “Are you sure? You’re okay with not working? I know how much you love photography, and I don’t want you to resent me or hate me somewhere down the line. I’m in this for the long haul, Kitten. I’m not planning on ever letting you go, so I can’t have you hating me in five years.”

“I want to do this. It’s my choice. I want my family to come first, and you,” I choked back a sob, “you’re my family. I’m not saying I’ll never work again, I just don’t want to work for now. Priorities, babe. These are my new ones.”

Jack sighed. “God, Kitten, I want to fight you on this right now. I want to tell you that you’re wrong and stupid and should never quit working because you love it so much, but I’m too busy feeling so happy with everything you just said. Not because you’re giving up something you love, but because there’s no one else on earth I’d rather have raise our son than you. And if that means I get to spend more time with you at home, on the road, wherever—I’m thrilled.”

Then he cupped my cheek with his hand, looked deep into my eyes, and said, “Every moment with you is never enough; I always want more. And I always will.”

Hearing that, I broke out into tears again.

Fucking hormones.

One Month Later …

The following week, I’d hired movers to pack and move our apartment. Saying good-bye to not only the view, but the city and our friends, was extremely hard. I knew we’d keep in touch, but the reality was that it wasn’t the same once you didn’t get to see one another whenever you wanted.

Plus, I had fallen in love with New York City. It was harder to leave than I anticipated. I mourned the loss of my second home, a city that was so opposite from where I was from, but filled my heart in much the same way. Tears were shed, and not because I was pregnant.

Well, maybe a little.

The movers drove all of our belongings to a storage unit near Gran and Gramps’ place, where we all took turns stacking boxes into the rented space. Except Jack had everyone on strict orders that I wasn’t to move or carry much of anything, unless it was super light. So I ended up spending the majority of the day watching them do all the work. I felt like an ass.

Since Jack was already staying in his old bedroom at Gran’s, I joined him there until I could find us a house to live in. It was hard looking for a place while I traveled with Jack and attended all his home games at a new stadium.

I had to learn new faces, meet new wives and girlfriends, remember what it was like to drive in LA traffic again, all while battling morning sickness that usually turned into afternoon sickness, followed by night sickness. Aside from that, everything was great. When I told Jack that I needed to stay back from the team’s last road trip to look at houses, he begrudgingly agreed.

Jack claimed to understand, but said he didn’t like it. The only way he’d accept my staying away from him was if I finally found us a home to live in. As much as we loved Gran and Gramps, we desperately needed our own space. And with the baseball season coming to a close, I wanted to find one soon. We had such a limited amount of time before the season started back up again, that I longed to be as comfortable as possible as soon as I could. Plus with the baby coming, I needed to be settled.

What could I say? I’d always been a planner.

Jack hated not being near me while I was pregnant and had insisted I come with him on every road trip. He made sure I was catered to constantly, with whatever I was craving at the moment waiting for me when I checked into our hotel room, along with extra pillows, crackers, and a mini fridge chock-full of ginger ale.

Truth be told, I loved the way Jack doted over me and protected me. I felt safe with him; I always had. My thoughts drifted back to the night of the mugging when we were still in college. I remembered how scared I was, my body filled with shock, confusion, and sadness at everything that had transpired that evening. The emotion that impressed itself on me the most was the feeling that took over my entire being the moment I saw Jack. When he pulled me into his arms, I knew everything was going to be okay because he was there. I had relaxed instantly, allowing Jack to do what Jack does best: protect what’s his.

I loved traveling with him, but I was exhausted. And begging off that last road trip was worth it. So worth it. Because … I found this house.

Oh God, this house.

Swoon.

I felt lucky enough being able to move back home knowing that all our family would be here when the baby was born, but the house we just bought was another blessing altogether. The one thing we had missed the most while we lived in New York was the SoCal beaches. There were plenty of beaches in New York, but it wasn’t the same.

Hanging out with friends, surfing, and bonfires were part of growing up in Southern California. Not to mention the fact that the Pacific Ocean was one of my earliest photography obsessions. Looking for a place close to the baseball stadium, our families, and with a good school district for the baby, the Newport Beach area seemed like the best answer. Not to mention the fact I’d have daily photographic inspiration to keep my soul satisfied.