Page 91 of Play the Game
COOPER
“You okay in there?” I call through Evan’s closed bedroom door.
“Fine,” she spits out, her voice a little strained and breathless. “Be right out.”
I shove my hands in the pockets of my tux pants and glance over at the aquarium where McDreamy, McSteamy, and Nick are pressed up against the glass, eyeing me with watchful expressions. “What do you think, guys? I should go in there, right? She sounded like she needs help, but she’s not an ask for help kind of girl.” Their smirky faces are givingIf you’re too stupid to know, we’re not telling you,and I roll my eyes. “Some friends you are.”
I got to Evan’s apartment half an hour ago to pick her up for the Boston Children’s Hospital Winter Ball, and she yelled out that she wasn’t ready. I haven’t seen her yet, but I can practically feel the anxiety radiating from her bedroom. Every instinct I have is pushing me to barge in there and fix it. To tell her again that she’s beautiful and perfect and that her parents’ opinions don’t mean shit. Except, of course, they do, and I can’t fix that, so instead I’ve spent the past few days watching her anxietyspiral higher the closer we got to the ball, without being able to do a single thing about it except show her exactly what she means to me, with the hope that it will drown out her parents’ voices in her head that loom so large.
When I hear a curse and a thud from her room, my feet are moving before I realize it. In three seconds flat I’m through the door, and the first thing I see is an extremely disgruntled Evan sprawled on her back on her fluffy white comforter. Her golden hair is spread around her in thick, silky waves, her eyes glowing with whatever makeup magic she conjured, and her body is covered in a gold silk dress that sparkles under the overhead lights and drapes softly over her belly.
She’s so beautiful it hurts, my breath clogging in my chest as I take her in, and I think that no one, in the history of ever, has ever been as lucky as I am to call this woman mine.
I grin down at her. “Whatcha doing down there, Ev?”
Evan practically growls at me. “It’s none of your business. Are you going to help me up or what?”
I trail my eyes over her body. “Sorry, I need a minute because you look fucking amazing.”
She glares at me, and I know she means it to be menacing but it’s not, because her jaw is tight and her eyes are covered in a sheen of anxiety. “Admire me later. Help me up now.”
I lean down and pull her up to stand, then cup her face in both my hands. “I’ll admire you any damn time I please. Even when you’re lying on a bed because you fell on it trying to zip your dress.”
Evan’s mouth falls open. “How did you know that?”
I smile, kissing her nose. “You’re all dressed except for your zipper. It’s probably harder to twist around than it used to be, and you already have your heels on, which don’t really help with balance. I just surmised.”
“He just surmised,” she mutters, closing her eyes and dropping her head back. “Why do I like you again?”
I chuckle, turning her around and pressing a kiss to the baseof her neck, and then to her lower back, before I grasp the zipper, kissing a path up her back and sliding the zipper up slowly as I go, purposefully grazing her skin with my fingers and grinning when she shivers. When the zipper reaches the top, I press my front to Evan’s back, spreading my hands over her hips and leaning in to speak into her ear. “You like me because there is no one on earth who understands you the way I do. No one in the whole entire world who will care for you and worship you the way I will. You like me because we were put here in the same place at the same time to be each other’s missing pieces. Tell me what’s worrying you, baby.”
“What makes you think something is worrying me?”
Turning her around, I cup her face in my hands again, rubbing my thumbs over her cheekbones, sliding my hands around to the back of her neck. Leaning in, I press a kiss to her forehead. “I can feel it. I know you’re worried about tonight. Seeing your parents for the first time in months. Talking to them. So, talk to me, Ev. Tell me what you’re worried about so I can help you.”
“I don’t need saving,” she mumbles, but I can feel the relief underpinning her words.
Leaning in, I press my mouth to hers in a soft kiss. “And I’m not here to save you. I’m here to stand next to you. To share your burden so you don’t have to carry it alone.”
Evan blows out a breath, spinning around and facing the full-length mirror on the back of her open closet door. She studies herself with a critical eye, resting a hand on her belly in a gesture that is all protectiveness and has my heart pinching in my chest. “I look fucking pregnant, Cooper. There’s no getting around it. I tried to find a dress that would hide it, but at almost thirty weeks, that’s just too damn much to ask of a dress.”
I choose my words carefully, taking a step forward to stand behind her. “You do. How does that make you feel?”
She tilts her head to the side. “In general? I’m more okay with it lately. Don’t get me wrong, pregnancy is a whole entiresituation, and there’s nothing particularly beautiful about it, except the fact that I want to fuck you all the time. That’s pretty beautiful.”
Laughing, I gather her hair up and press a kiss to her neck. “Beautiful and really, really hot.”
Our eyes meet in the mirror, and she gives me a sly smile. “Maybe we can do some of the beautiful things later.”
My cock thickens in my pants at the thought of sinking inside her later, running my hands all over her body. Hearing all the sounds she makes when she comes for me. “Oh, you can count on it, Rhodes. Do you want to tell me the rest?”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I fell over trying to zip up my dress earlier because a pregnant body can’t contort in any sort of way, and then I couldn’t get up because at almost thirty weeks pregnant, my center of gravity is in a location I am not currently acquainted with. I see myself every day, so I guess I somehow missed exactly how pregnant I look, but this was a big fucking wakeup call. I’m about to see my parents for the first time in forever, and I think maybe I made a mistake avoiding them for the past few months instead of just coming clean. Somehow, I got it in my head that they wouldn’t make a big deal of it if I told them in public, but they’ll know the second they see me and it’s going to be a complete disaster.” Her eyes meet mine again. “They’re not like your parents, Cooper,” she says, her voice begging me to understand. “They won’t accept this easily, and they won’t be happy about it. I’ve been dealing with them for my entire life, so I’m used to it, but now I’m about to toss you straight into the line of fire right along with me.”
I consider her words, understanding that, while she may be used to it, the way her parents treat her hurts, and anything that hurts her is entirely unacceptable to me. Leaning my head against hers, I keep our eyes locked in the mirror so she can see how serious I am. “Rhodes, there is nowhere on earth I would rather be than right where you are. If that’s the line of fire, thenit’s my favorite place because you’re there with me. I want to stand with you and watch you conquer the world and help you fight your battles if you need a hand. I promise you that I’ll be with you tonight no matter what.” I study her, hoping I’m right about this. “And I promise there is nothing your parents could say or do that would change the way I feel about you. About us.” I slide my arms around her waist and splay my hands over her belly. “About all three of us.”
It's the first time I’ve directly made reference to the baby in relation to Evan and me, to the family that I hope we’re making together. When I see the emotion flash in her eyes, love for both of them gusts through me, strong and true, with Evan and me twined together right at its center. She is my forever. I have never been surer of anything in my life.
“Promise?” she asks, in a voice tinged with relief.
