Page 90 of This Wild Heart

His hand touched my lower back, and when I glanced over my shoulder, he was staring down at the baby. “How’s he doing?”

“I think he might be the happiest baby in the world,” Sheila proclaimed.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if other people could hold that happy baby?” Harlow asked cheekily, rubbing a hand over her own pregnant belly—slightly smaller than Poppy’s.

Sheila sighed, about to hand him over, when Parker gestured that he wanted him. Leo was scrunched up when Parker picked him up underneath his armpits and held him up in front of his face.

“Better pay attention, little lion,” he said seriously. “Your first of many football games.”

Then he brought him in for a kiss on the cheek, one of his big hands spread wide over Leo’s little back when he briefly cuddled him against his chest, and I swear, every woman in the vicinity sighed. It wasn’t even logical, the reaction I felt inside of my body. My skin practically melted off my bones as he handed Leo over to Harlow and then straightened, looming over me slightly with a daring glint to his eye.

“You think you can guard me?”

I tilted my head. “If you’re as slow off the line as you were last season, yeah, I think I’ll do just fine.”

Cameron whistled. Sheila laughed in delight.

I brushed past him, shoulder glancing off the hard wall of his chest as I did, and he let out a low, rough laugh that had my stomach turning in a delicious coil. Ivy gave me a high five as I passed the truck.

“Aren’t you going to join?” I asked her.

She raised a perfectly manicured brow. “Absolutely not. Besides, someone has to be an unqualified judge from the sidelines.”

“You will be perfect at that, baby,” Cameron answered gravely.

Her response was a narrowing of her eyes, but when he snuck a kiss, she softened.

The teams started huddling up, and when I jogged over, Greer stuck her fist in the air.

“Yes, we have a ringer.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Me?”

“Oh yeah. Now his concentration will be shot to hell. It’s perfect.”

There were a few people on the field I didn’t recognize—some cousins that had been roped in, a few employees from Wilder Homes—and as a result, they’d managed to piece together a six-against-six lineup.

“Beckett isn’t playing?” I asked.

Greer glanced over at her husband, waiting on the sideline with folded arms. “Nah, only hard and fast rule we have is only one professional football player per team. Otherwise, it’s unfair. He’ll rotate in on the next one.”

“That’s the only hard and fast rule?” I laughed. “I mean, you can’t tackle, right?”

Greer’s face went deadly serious. “You do whatever you have to do to take that man down if he gets the ball.”

I blinked. “Oh. Umm, sure.”

Erik sighed, giving his sister an affectionate look. “Notwhateverit takes, Greer. We do have some limits.”

“No she doesn’t. She’s married to that oaf. If she needs to strip her shirt off to distract him, I’m on board.”

Erik looked over at me. “Please don’t do that.”

“I can assure you I won’t.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Good.” Greer was leaning down to whisper in Sage’s ears, and Erik dragged her back. “Quit teaching the kid to cheat.”

“I wouldnever.” Then she winked at Sage. Sage winked back, but it was basically a blink, because she couldn’t quite close one eye by itself.

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