Page 130 of Play the Game
Hannah
I’ll have Noah make lattes. Rob dropped off pumpkin spice syrup last week since we are all basic bitches.
Jo
It’s fall, y’all.
Me
I’m pretty sure I’m not “it’s fall, y’all” basic.
Amelia
I mean…aren’t you?
Me
Fuck, fine. Yes.
Jo
Gotta run. Jordan just got home from his night shift and he’s all sexy and disheveled, so I need to climb him like a tree, asap.
Hannah
What did we say about oversharing, Jo Jo?
Jo
That I always do it and you should stop expecting me not to?
Amelia
Well, if we’re oversharing, El just pulled up the fic Evan posted last night and started reading it, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be occupied for the next hour or so.
Hannah
Oh my god, you posted it? Brb gotta go text Noah and tell him he better not read it until he gets home from the hospital.
Jo
Okay, well, I love this for all of us.
Ten a.m. Bitch mountain. Donuts and coffee. Don’t be late.
As I set my phone back down on the nightstand, I hear Cooper’s footsteps and the creak of Emmy’s door, and then his deep, rumbly voice filters in through the closed bedroom door.
“Hey, Emmy Girl.”
I grin at her soft screech, imagining her lifting her head up and giving him her drooly smile through the bars on the crib and his answering grin.
“I know, I’m happy to see you, too,” Cooper says, smile in his voice, and I hear the shuffle of him picking up Emmy from her crib. “Let’s be quiet, okay? Your mom was up late last night writing, and we want her to get some sleep. She finished another story, and between you and me, I think it’s her best one yet. You’ll have to take my word for it, though, because you’re banned from reading anything she writes until you’re at least eighteen.”
I chuckle into the pillow, reminding myself to tell Cooper the story of how I stole my first spicy romance novel from my live-in nanny’s shelf when I was twelve and never looked back. He’ll be appropriately horrified imagining Emmy doing the same, and that will be delightful for me. My chuckle fades, though, my heart flipping when Cooper continues talking softly to Emmy, and I imagine her staring up at him, big blue eyes wide, while he takes off her swaddle and changes her diaper.
“You have the best mom in the world. She’s so smart and talented and an absolute certified badass. I know maybe I’m not supposed to say that word around you, but I don’t care because that’s exactly what she is. She’s the most amazing person I’ve ever known, and we are the luckiest because we get to be loved by her. No one loves as hard as your mom does, and she picked us.” There’s a pause, and I hear a tiny giggle and Cooper’s answering chuckle. “Okay, all clean Emmy girl. Let’s get you a bottle and have ourselves a little couch snuggle.”
Cooper’s voice trails off as he pads down the hall, and suddenly, they are both way too far away. Tossing back the covers, I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and pull my hair into a ponytail, tugging on myunladylikesweatshirt and shoving my feet into my pink slippers before heading to the living room. When I get there, I pause, leaning against the doorframe andtaking in the scene that has my heart rolling over in my chest and a wave of love washing over me.
