Page 65 of Goal Line

“These look delicious,” I say as my mom hands out dessert plates.

“You should probably skip dessert,” she says in response as she keeps the plate meant for me stacked on top of her own before setting my dad’s in front of him and sitting. “You’re going to gain enough weight being pregnant, and sugar isn’t good for the baby.”

There’s a moment of silence, and my insides simmer with shame and embarrassment. She’s not wrong, but being called out like that in front of my husband and his family feels like she’s taking things to the next level. Normally, she keeps those kinds of barbs private, rarely even saying them in front of Dad.

“You know what,” Luke says, pushing his chair back suddenly, “we actually already have dessert plans.” He stands and effortlessly pulls my chair out from the table, as if I don’t weigh a thing. “We’re going to head out now. Thanks so much for dinner.”

I stare at the deck as we turn to leave and don’t even attempt to say goodbye for fear that my voice will crack and betray the fact that I’m about to bawl.

Luke wraps his arm around my shoulders and holds me to his side. As we round the side of the house and follow the path leading to the driveway, we can hear our parents’ voices rising behind us, and I’m glad we’re not there to witness—or partake in—the argument that seems to be breaking out.

“We have dessert plans, huh?” My voice is quiet, and my laugh is tight.

“If my wife wants cupcakes, she’s having fucking cupcakes, andno oneis going to make her feel bad about that.”

My stomach drops at his possessive tone. I like that a little too much. So instead of focusing on that, I say, “My mom’s not totally wrong, though...”

“Fuck that, Eva. You’re growing a baby. Yes, you’re also a competitive athlete and need to stay in decent shape. But more importantly, you need to do what’s good for you and the baby, and denying your body food—and an occasional treat—is definitelynotwhat you need right now.”

He kisses the top of my head, and my shoulders shake with laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“The way you just practically growled,If my wife wants cupcakes...”

As we approach the car, he turns me toward him, and putting his hands on either side of my shoulders, he boxes me in between him and the car.

Dipping his head down next to mine, he says, “If my wife wantsanything...it’s hers.”

Then he kisses my forehead and reaches down to open the door. As I get settled in my seat and pull on my seatbelt, I feel more than a little dazed and confused from seeing Luke transform from easy-going golden retriever to dominant and possessive in the blink of an eye.

Until a few days ago, I’dneverseen that side of him. I wish it wasn’t just one more thing to love about him.

Chapter Twenty-Six

LUKE

After years of being a night owl, I’m shocked by how Eva can fall asleep instantly like she does now. But the process of growing another human is exhausting, and napping seems like it’s practically a necessity. According to the pregnancy app, that’s more common in the first trimester rather than the second, but given that she didn’t know she was pregnant for so long and then couldn’t give her body a chance to rest, it makes sense that she’s playing catch-up.

Her practice schedule will start up again once Christopher arrives in a few days, but I’m hoping she can use this time to relax a little. I get that she doesn’t want to slow down too much for fear that it will impact her performance later, but there has to be a balance or she’s going to risk both her health and the baby’s.

Yet I’m not sure how much I can push on that issue—it’sneithermybaby normycareer. I don’t want to limit her choices; I only want to help her make good ones.

I glance at her sleeping on my couch, and then pick my phone up to reread the text message Charlie sent the two of us after we left.

Coach

I’m sorry about how dinner ended tonight. Please know that we all want what’s best for the two of you. While your news tonight came as quite a shock, I just want to say that I trust the two of you to know what’s best.

On the car ride home, Eva hadn’t been ready to respond so I respected that choice. But now it’s been hours since Charlie sent that message, and I feel bad not acknowledging that he reached out.

I’m still pissed as hell about how that all went down, but if it weren’t for Helene, the dinner would have actually been okay. Not stellar, but my parents and Charlie came around to our news pretty easily, and if it hadn’t been for Helene’s comment about the cupcakes, we might have left there tonight feeling okay about things.

None of that is Charlie’s fault, though.

Luke

Thanks, Coach. I appreciate your support as Eva and I adjust to being married and prepare to be parents. I’m sorry we kept you in the dark for as long as we did.