Page 47 of Knox
“This looks wonderful.” Mom beamed.
“Thank you, son. I can’t wait to dig in,” Dad said, taking a seat at the long dining table we rarely used.
“There’s no way you made all of this.” Noah piled his plate with enough eggs and bacon to feed more than one person.
“Yeah, everything actually looks edible,” Owen added, drenching his stack of pancakes in maple syrup.
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t sound so surprised. I’ve lived on my own for years. Meanwhile, you two still live close enough to swing by Mom and Dad’s for a free meal whenever you want.”
“Does your boyfriend have to put up with your jealous side too?” Noah shot back with a smirk.
“Knox doesn’t have anything to be jealous about when it comes to me. He knows he’s the only person for me,” Crew remarked.
I leaned over and gave him a kiss. He smiled into it, unbothered by the chaos that came with having all of us siblings together.
“Ugh,” Avery groaned. “There should be a no PDA rule when we’re eating.”
“Seriously. Some of us are trying to keep our food down.” Owen pretended to gag.
“All of you knock it off,” Mom cut in. “Your brother made us a lovely meal. Let’s eat it before it gets cold.”
I made a face at them while Mom and Dad looked down at their plates, causing Crew to laugh and shake his head.
For the next hour, the condo was filled with more food, overlapping conversations, animated battles between Grady’s T-Rex and Ella’s stegosaurus. Crew stayed close to me, answering my mom’s questions about his childhood in Tennessee and laughing at my dad’s jokes. He charmed everyone just like I knew he would.
At one point, Mom pulled me to the side and whispered. “I can tell he’s a good one, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy. That’s all a parent wants for her children.”
I kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom. He really is special.”
18
CREW
I couldn’t stop smilingthrough that whole series. Sweeping Atlanta was the start we needed, but having Grady in the stands kept me happy.
Each time I stepped out of the dugout and jogged toward the plate, I spotted him waving from the seats, wearing my jersey and a cap pulled low over his hair. His face would light up every time he saw me. When I waited in the on-deck circle, he’d climbed up on the seat, cheering his little head off. I couldn’t hear a thing over the crowd, but seeing him with my jersey on made me feel so lucky.
I wanted more of it, but after the final game in the homestand, Knox and I boarded a flight to Chicago with the rest of the guys.
Knox wheeled his suitcase into our hotel room and parked it by the bed. I placed mine near the TV. The hotels were always top-notch, but having stayed in so many of them, they all blurred together. Like most, this one had a king-sized bed under some piece of art that looked the same as every other hotelroom I’d been in, thick curtains hiding floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city lights, and a couch that didn’t look like anyone ever used it.
“Think this one’s got an overpriced steakhouse downstairs?” he wondered.
“That or something just as pricey.” I scratched the back of my head. “Might still go down there and order something—and not just room service. Let you pick up the bill,” I teased.
“That’s fine by me.” His mouth tugged up on one side. “I don’t mind treating my man to a big piece of meat.”
I grinned. “That sounded dirtier than you probably meant it.”
“Who says I didn’t mean it dirty?”
I snorted and rolled my shoulder, working through the usual tight spot that always settled in after too many days behind the plate.
Knox’s eyes followed the motion and he moved toward me. “You want me to work that out? Could have it feeling better in five minutes.”
“If you start on my shoulder, we’re not making it to dinner,” I teased.
He chuckled. “Wouldn’t hear me complain.”
