Page 123 of Play the Game
Cooper flashes me that wide grin I love so much, bending down so our faces are inches apart. “We both are. But don’t forget I love you most.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why does it always have to be a competition with you?”
Cooper barks out a laugh, leaning down so his lips hover over mine. “Pot, meet kettle. You are my favorite human on earth, Ev. I love you madly.”
Then, with a smile still on his face and our family gathered around us, Cooper kisses me with all the promise of this moment and every perfect moment still to come.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
COOPER
“Finally,” Evan says with a groan as she walks into our apartment. I’m right behind her with Emmy’s car seat in one hand and Evan’s hospital bag in the other.
“Happy to be home?” I ask, tossing her bag down in the entry and sliding an arm around her waist.
“You have no idea,” she says, leaning into me, dropping her head on my shoulder. “If I had to stay in that hospital for one more second, I was going to lose it. I need a shower, lunch, and my own bed, desperately.”
I set Emmy’s car seat on the floor, glancing down to make sure she’s still asleep before I turn Evan to face me, wrapping an arm around her waist and tangling my other hand in her hair, breathing her in. She winds her arms around my waist, sighing as she melts into me, and everything inside me settles. With her in my arms and our baby sleeping at our feet, everything I need in the entire world is right here within my grasp.
The happiness is so huge it stuns me a little.
I didn’t know life could feel like this.
“I’ll get you all of those things,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I just wanna hold you for a minute when it’s only us. There have been so many fucking people around the last few days. I’ve missed you, Rhodes.”
She huffs out a laugh, burying her face in my neck and pressing in closer. “I’m surprised all those people aren’t around right now. Seems like they would want to be here to, like, carry Emmy over the threshold or whatever.”
I laugh, because she’s not wrong. For the entire three days we were in the hospital, we were barely ever alone. Someone from my family or hers was always around bringing food or clean clothes or changing a diaper or taking the baby from us so we could eat with two hands or take a nap. I’m usually the one taking care of everyone, so being taken care of like this was a weird flex, but I loved it all and I know Evan did too. All those people are probably the only reason the two of us can stand up right now instead of keeling over from exhaustion. But for a few minutes, this is all I want.
Her. Me. Emmy.
Our family.
I lean back, cupping Evan’s face in my hands. “I asked them to give us some time alone. I’m sure they’ll be barging in here before long, but I wanted to be with you for a little first. Only you.”
Evan glances down at Emmy with a wry smile on her face. “I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be just me and you for a long while.”
I grin, looking down at our baby girl too. “Yeah, but she’s really tiny and cute, so I’ll allow it.”
Evan smiles, leaning in to press a kiss to my cheek. “I guess we should maybe buy baby things or whatever. She was born early, so we didn’t really get around to that. I think your mom, Cece, Jo, Hannah, and Amelia bought enough baby clothes and diapers and that kind of stuff to last a lifetime, but she needs aplace to sleep and I’m sure there are other things, I just don’t know what any of them are.”
I grin internally because she just handed me the opening I’ve been waiting for. I bend down, unbuckling Emmy from her car seat and lifting her into my arms, dropping a kiss on her tiny head and breathing her in. My heart expands with love for her.
I’m a dad.
It’s fucking great.
Holding Emmy with one arm, I lace my free hand through Evan’s. “Come with me.”
“Come with you where?”
I tip my head down the hall. “Guest room.”
With a shrug, she follows me as I lead her down the hall, coming to a stop in front of the closed door to my spare bedroom. I could say something, prepare her in some way, but thinking that the shock value will be way more fun, I stand to the side and push open the door, guiding Evan inside with a hand low on her back.
The second she steps into the room, she freezes, her hand gripping mine as she takes everything in. The three walls are painted a creamy off-white, and then there’s a bright green accent wall. A light wood crib with a colorful striped sheet stands along the green wall, with a big pink wooden sign over it that saysEmmy. There’s a matching dresser along one wall with a changing table on top, a fluffy yellow rug in the center of the room, and sitting in one corner is a fully stocked bookshelf and a massive, cozy reading chair piled with pillows in every color of the rainbow, a blanket tossed over the back.
“Her favorite place,” Evan whispers, voice raw and full of emotion. She turns to me, tears glossing her eyes. “How did you know?”
