Page 65 of That Thing You Brew
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Xavier did miss practice.The power returned around noon, and we were dug out a few hours later. I was sad to leave when the rideshare arrived but also excited to go to my new home.
Home.
That would take some getting used to.
Xavier’s apartment was nice. While he helped me unpack, he asked what I thought about staying here or buying a house.
“I thought you liked it here?” I asked as I hung a dress.
“I do,” he said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “For now. But … it’s not very family-friendly.”
I twisted to look him in the eyes. “You’re thinking long-term, right?”
He was quiet for a minute. “I’m thinking that we made a plan and it changed in a matter of weeks. What if our revised plan changes, too? What if we decide we want to be parents sooner than later?”
Xavier’s question surprised me. “Like, howsoon?”
He shrugged. “Whenever.” His eyes searched mine, and he leaned in to kiss my neck. “I want you all to myself for as long as possible. And we both have dreams to work toward. But when you’re ready, I’ll be ready. And a home with a yard would be nice. Especially if the yard is big enough for an outdoor rink.”
“I like homes with yards,” I agreed, pulling his head down for a kiss and resting it on my shoulder.
“Are you sniffing my hair?” he asked.
“Guilty,” I cooed, taking an overly dramatic breath in. “I love your strawberry-scented shampoo.”
He trailed his lips along the curve of my neck. “I love your vanilla lotion. Tastes like cake. Makes me want to?—”
I pressed my fingers to his lips. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Sir Zavey Baron von Schwann. Kisses only for the lady—for now.”
“As you wish,” he grumbled, swooping me up into his arms.
Our lips found each other’s once again. At this rate, it might take me weeks to unpack.
CHAPTER23
Xavier
St. Patty’s Day. My birthday. Our twenty-sixth day of marriage.
The last few weeks had been like that cliché about living in a dream, except I was awake. Penny had settled into the apartment, and we were settling into a routine. On the mornings she woke up early to open the Coffee Loft, I woke up early to drive her.
She had the idea to leave her car in the lot of her old apartment building to try to hide that she was living at my place. After work, her mom or Gabby would bring her here or I’d pick her up if I was in town and had a night off. I taught her how to drive my car, so when I traveled, she used it. But the black Audi was pretty recognizable to fans, so we’d let people think she was having car trouble.
The deception was taking a toll on her, even though she wouldn’t admit it. We both had our reasons for not letting our secret out, but they were starting to wear thin. I’d gotten to the point where I didn’t care what the fans thought about what I’d said when I was younger and stupid and not in love. And Penny hadn’t stuttered in weeks. She’d come home on Thursday all smiles from an admissions interview for a master’s in music program in Denver.
It was Sunday, and I’d woken up before my alarm. No practice today, but we had a big game tonight, and I wanted to get a workout in before church. I pulled on my gym pants and old Volts hoodie and sneakers, thinking about how cute Penny looked when she used my resistance bands when we spent time in “my office” together.
She was still sleeping. Tomorrow kicked off her spring break, and she’d stayed up late last night to finish a paper so that she could join me for away games this week. It was an easy week of opponents that were below the playoff line, so Noel was back playing with us since these teams with no chance of making it tended to be less violent and slower and thus less of an injury threat to him. So Gabby and Penny would meet us in Nashville on Tuesday night and follow us to New Orleans and Dallas.
Another routine I loved … watching Penny sleep. Every night, she braided her hair and piled it on top of her head, then cocooned herself in the blankets.
I still couldn’t believe she was here.
That she wasmine.
Mine, mine, mine.My love for her had me sounding like a lovesick pelican.
