Night Games (28 page)
Authors: Collette West
The look Chase gave me in that moment is one I will never forget. It was tender and sweet, full of longing and hope. His heart understood what was most important to mine. It was such a telling gesture, letting me know without a shadow of doubt just how much he loves me.
“Nan it is then,” I said, reaching for his hand as he sat on the bed with us, drinking in every detail of our new baby girl.
“She’s got quite the grip on her,” he laughed when she wrapped her tiny hand around his finger. “She’s going to have a wicked curveball when she gets older.”
“So you’re making her a pitcher already?”
“A starting pitcher, the ace of the staff. She definitely has an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. softball team in her future.”
“Nuh uh. Save the expectations of living up to your name for the son I’m planning on giving you.”
“I thought you said you were going to castrate me so I couldn’t fucking do this to you again.”
“That was said in the agony of labor. I’m better now.”
“Glad to hear it. You had me worried there.”
“After seeing the beautiful little person we made, of course I want to try it again. Isn’t she gorgeous? I’m so glad she has your eyes. I hoped she would.”
“Don’t most babies have blue eyes when they’re born? I kind of wanted her to have your brown ones. I’m kind of partial to them myself.”
“Be serious. Why would you want my dull old brown eyes for her? And don’t you dare go calling yours plain old blue. They’re way beyond that,” I told him. “When you first looked at me behind that net at Beaver Field, I thought my heart was going to stop because they were so unbelievably breathtaking.”
“You never told me that before.”
“Well, I’m telling you now. Did you hear that, Nan? Your father has the most spectacular eyes I’ve ever seen, and yours are going to be just like them.”
“If we’re talking about first impressions, then I have to say the kindness in your eyes is what got me.”
“Ha! I knew you wouldn’t say it was because you thought I was ridiculously hot.”
“That too. That’s a given. But no one ever looked at me like you did. The fire in your eyes was undeniable. Like you saw through all the bullshit and just saw me. And even without all that, you still liked what you saw.”
“Wow. That’s like…the most touching thing you ever said to me.”
“It’s true.”
I smiled at him, his words penetrating the deepest regions of my heart. They’re words I’ll carry with me for the rest of life. Tugging on his tie, I pulled him closer.
“I’m so glad you sent Noah after me.”
“Well, I’m glad you wandered into Buster’s Crab Shack after I got you kicked out of Beaver Field.”
“And you thought you had game?”
He chuckled as his lips met mine, but we were quickly interrupted by the baby cooing in my arms.
“C’mon, Nan. Cut your father some slack. He’s gotten better.”
“Yeah, Nan. Thanks to your mom over here.”
“What do you think, Nan? Should we keep him?”
“Well, you better. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
“Looks like we’re stuck with him. But I guess he’s not that bad. I mean, he was almost named Sexiest Man Alive. That has to count for something.”
“Grey?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks…for giving me this life.”
“I’ve only been in love with you since I was sixteen. So I think we’re pretty much even.”
“I thought my knee injury was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but you know what?”
“What?”
“It’s what brought me to you…and now I can only look at it as a blessing, not the curse I thought it was.”
“Chase Whitfield’s all grown up.”
“Yeah, it only took me thirty plus years.”
“I think we’re meant to find the people who are supposed to help us through our darkest moments. And after my mom died, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you, Chase. I was spiraling down to a deep, dark place, and you pulled me out of it. God knows where I would’ve ended up if not for you.”
“We’re pretty good together.”
“Whoever thought I’d turn New York’s most eligible bachelor into such a doting family
m
an?”
“Only you, Grey. Only you.”
About the Author
Collette West grew up as somewhat of a jock-nerd hybrid. Entering the world three weeks premature, her dad nearly missed her birth because he had seats behind the dugout for a sold-out, highly-anticipated match-up between two of baseball's biggest rivals. Not to be outdone, her book-loving mom taught her how to read by the time she was three. A love of the game coupled with an appreciation for the written word were instilled in Collette's impressionable brain from a young age. No wonder her characters believe in the philosophy: sports + romance = a little slice of heaven.
Splitting her time between the Pocono Mountains and Manhattan, Collette indulges her inner fangirl by going to as many games as she can from hockey to baseball and downloading every sports romance novel in existence onto her iPad. When she's not clicking away on her laptop, she enjoys walking her dog in Central Park, satisfying her caffeine craving at the Starbucks on Broadway and keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. But above all, she loves dishing with her readers.
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