Page 30 of Goal Line

He has a point.

Colt

I’m just saying, the friendship line can be crossed quite easily by two consenting adults.

Walsh

Sure can. So be careful, Hartmann. The last thing you need right now is to piss off Coach. And messing with his only child would be...a bad choice.

Luke

You all are the worst.

Luke Hartmann renamed the group Assholes.

“So, do you think we need to establish some ground rules or something?” Eva asks as we walk through the Public Garden on our way to the Neon Cactus.

“About tonight?” I ask, bringing my hand to her lower back to steer her around some tourists who stop right in front of us to take pictures of the swan boats on the lagoon. The Public Garden is beautiful this time of year. Nothing beats the late spring when the tulips are all in full bloom, but summer in the Garden is beautiful, too. Tonight, it’s breezy and warm, and the hanging branches of the weeping willows sway above us as we take the path up to the footbridge that spans the narrowest part of the lagoon.

“I guess. Like, are we just acting normal? Or are we trying to play this off like we’re interested in each other so they’ll start to suspect something and not be shocked when we announce we’re married?”

I have a feeling, based on the earlier text exchange I had with my teammates, that they already suspect something’s going on and will be looking for any clues. Given how hard it is for me to keep my hands off Eva whenever she’s around, I don’t think we need to pretend. Eva’s so used to how affectionate I am with her that I don’t think she notices. But my teammates will.

“I think that the last thing we want to do is have myteammates raising alarm bells that could get in the way of our plans.”

I still can’t quite believe that I convinced Eva Wilcott to marry me. And honestly, I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this.

On the one hand, it allows me to make sure she’s taken care of and eliminates some potential obstacles to her achieving her dreams. She would never have been able to afford the kind of nanny who can both live with her and travel when she competes after the baby is born. I’d do that for her if I could, but I know she’d never let me give up my career for hers. However, I can afford the healthcare and childcare she’ll need.

I’d be lying, though, if I didn’t say I’m nervous as hell about how I’ll manage my emotions and my physical response to her once she officially moves in. The thought of having her in my space all the time, but not being able tohaveher the way I’ve always wanted her? It’ll be torture.

Still, I don’t regret the offer. It might be torture for me, but it’ll save her. Plus, I’m positive we’ll make a great team when it comes to raising this baby.

“Okaaay,” she says, dragging out the word. I wait, knowing there’s something else she wants to say. “You know what we didn’t decide yesterday?”

I think back to our conversation in my condo before I took her home to Newbury Falls. “No, what?”

“Are we putting an end date on this marriage?”

I try not to react physically, even though it feels like she just slapped me. “I didn’t think we were?”

Grabbing the hem of my button-down, she stops walking and pulls me to the side of the bridge. We’re right at the top,where people often stop to take pictures or enjoy the view, and as she steps back to the railing of the bridge, I rest my hands on either side of her, boxing her in.

“Luke.” My name quietly rolling off her lips has a shot of longing traveling up my spine. “I don’t want you to bestuckwith me, and with a kid who isn’t yours, just because you’re a nice guy.”

Using the fingertips of my right hand to push her hair behind her ear, and balancing my weight on my left, I lean down so I can quietly say, “I think I already told you, there’s no one else in the world I’d want to do this with. I’mchoosingto be stuck with you.”

I glance down and don’t miss the way the goose bumps spread across her cleavage.Good.I want her to be somewhat affected, given what she does to me.

She doesn’t move her head, doesn’t turn to look at me, where I’m frozen with my face right next to her cheek. Her voice is hollow when she asks, “What if you change your mind?”

“I’m not going to change my mind. But if something happens and either of us wants out, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

She sighs. “We could always tell people that we realized we were better off as friends.” Glancing over then, she gives me a small smile—the kind that turns her lips up slightly but doesn’t crinkle the corners of her eyes like a happy smile would—as I pull back slightly.

Even while I know that I shouldn’t get my hopes up and that agreeing to bejust friendsis the safest option, there’s no world in which I believe that. I’m not marrying her because Iexpect this to turn into more. But if somehow it did, I’m pretty sure my life would be complete.

“We’re going to have a baby together, Evie,” I say as I cup my hand and run it along her belly, feeling the slightest bump beginning to emerge. “And we’re going to do what’s best for this kid.”