Page 134 of Goal Line
“Can I convince you to stop futzing with the flowers for a minute?” Luke asks as he comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me against him. It crosses my mind for half a second that he can probably feel the fat and loose skin left behind post-delivery, but after the awed way he watched me give birth and all the praise he’s lavished on me since then, I can’t find it in me to care.
“Sure,” I say, leaning my head back against his chest and closing my eyes. I’m so bone tired that I feel like I could sleepfor a week. But there’s no hope of that. Gigi’s still asleep in her car seat in the living room where we set her after walking in the door, but she’ll need to eat soon. Maybe next time she naps I can sleep too.
“I want to show you something before Gigi wakes up.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He unwraps his arms from me and takes my hand. “Come on. I have a little surprise for you.”
I follow as he leads me down the hallway toward the bedrooms, and I’m surprised when he stops at the guest room—the same one I was supposed to sleep in once we were married, but only spent a couple of nights in.
Pushing open the door, he leads me into a completely novel space. The room is painted in a soft cream with a sage accent wall, in front of which is an adorable crib with a gorgeous mobile above it. My gaze sweeps around the room, taking in every perfect detail. It’s reminiscent of all the photos I’d saved on the Pinterest board I’d been building before I was hospitalized, but it came together even better than I could have imagined.
I’m stunned and place my hand on my heart as I take in everything—this nursery clearly required a lot of coordination and effort.How in the world did this happen so quickly?
“Do you like it?” Luke asks.
My laugh sounds a little like a snort, and my eyes fill with tears. “It’sperfection. How...?”
“Everyone pitched in. Jules and Audrey designed it based on the photos you saved. I painted at night when you were in the hospital, and then the guys helped me get it all set up while you had your shower. Then the girls came in and goteverything styled afterward so it would be ready when you and Gigi came home.”
I sweep my thumb under one eye, and then the other. The fact that all our friends helped make my nursery dreams a reality makes it that much more special. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“I know. But Evie, youshouldhave been expecting it. You should already know that I’ll take care of every need—and want—you have. Not because you can’t do things for yourself, but because I will never stop doing whatever I can to make sure you’re happy.”
I turn and fold myself into his arms as he showers me with kisses on the top of my head. Then he takes a small step back and drops to one knee.
My breath catches when he pulls a ring box out of his pocket.What the hell is he doing?“We’re already married,” I choke out as more tears trail down my cheeks.
“I know,” he says with a wink before flipping the top of the velvet box open. “But you deserved a better proposal than what you got. You deserved to have the wedding of your dreams?—”
“All I wanted was you, Luke.”
He swallows hard and his nose flares as he takes a deep breath. “All I wanted was you, too. And Gigi. And this life we’re building together. But I never wanted any of thisunlessit was with you. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of, and I will never stop showing you how much I love you.”
“With jewelry?” I ask with a watery laugh. My eyes blur with more tears, because even though I’ve already had our baby, I still have an overload of hormones running through me. Or maybe this is who I am now? A sentimental sap,because I forever have someone showing me what it feels like to be adored and cherished.
“It seemed like the birth of our first child should be commemorated in some way.” He pulls an eternity band, encrusted in diamonds, from the box and holds it out to me. Setting the box on the ottoman by the rocking chair, he takes my hand in his. “In fact, I think I’ll get you a matching one every time you have a baby. You can stack them together.”
I laugh lightly and tell him, “If I have as many kids as you want, they’ll be stacked so high, I won’t be able to bend my finger.”
He shrugs. “You’ve got plenty of fingers.” He slides the ring onto the ring finger of my right hand, which is perfect because there isn’t much space on the finger with my wedding ring.
Sinking to my knees, I hold his face in my hands. “Thank you, Luke. For everything. For taking a chance on me?—”
“You and me together wasn’t chance, Evie. It was fate. There was no other possible outcome than this.”
“But to suggest we get married when I was already pregnant?—”
“Was the easiest, surest decision I’ve ever made. And it’s one I’ll never regret.”
“The way you made sure that she could beours,” I say, thinking about how he managed the paperwork and got Hans to sign it, all while I was in the hospital. The way his name is on Georgia’s birth certificate, the way he’s built and protected our family. “I’ll be eternally grateful that things turned out the way they did.”
He leans forward, wrapping an arm around my lower back and pulling me against him. And then he kisses myforehead and presses his lips to the bridge of my nose, before his lips meet mine. He tentatively sucks my lower lip between his and I open for him, wanting to taste him, to feel him everywhere. I know we can’t have sex for weeks still, but my god, I just want his hands and mouth everywhere in the meantime.
There’s a knock on the front door, and Gigi lets out a wail from the living room. Luke practically jumps back from me, scrambling to his feet and holding out his hand to pull me up right as she really lets loose. In a split second, Luke’s racing down the hallway to get to her.
“You don’t have to run,” I call after him.
