Page 66 of Home Town Advantage (Fourth Quarter Fever #1)

“Privately. I’d happily propose in front of the world, but she’s fiercely protective of our privacy. When my season is over, I think I’ll take her on a nice vacation and do it there, away from any prying eyes.”

He takes another sip and then holds out his hand for me to shake. “I certainly couldn’t ask for a better man to look after my daughter. I know Finn would feel the same.”

I shake his hand in return. “I don’t know. He warned me away from her.”

We both smile, but he pulls me a little closer, so we’re nearly nose to nose.

“You were always brothers, but this will make it official.” His eyes lift as they take in the scene of our two families happily interacting before they meet mine again.

“He’s looking down with a giant grin on his face. I promise you that, son.”

I wake in the morning to Sulley doing that thing she does with her tongue on the tip of my dick, also known as the greatest sensation in existence. Opening my eyes, I look down at her. With a mouthful of my cock, she mumbles, “Mwy Chrms.”

I chuckle. “Merry Christmas to you too. It’s starting off extremely well.”

She smiles as her hand joins her mouth, stroking me until I can’t take it anymore, and I growl, “Get on your back. I need to fuck you.”

She allows my dick to slip from her mouth with a plop as she crawls up my body and rubs her pussy over my cock before bringing my tip to her entrance. “No way. You need to save your energy for the game. I’ll be calling all the plays this morning, QB1.”

At that, she slides down onto me. I watch in continued awe as her body convulses while taking mine.

Her lips are parted, her cheeks are flushed, and her nipples look like they could cut glass.

She’s so fucking hot, and this is the woman I get to wake up to every day for the rest of my life. How did I get so lucky?

After she makes good on her promise to fuck me, she practically bounces out of bed to get dressed. I lie there and watch her. Her enthusiasm is contagious.

She looks at me wide-eyed. “Get up, lazy. It’s Christmas morning. You have to leave for the stadium soon. I want to give you your gift.” She pinches her eyebrows together. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. It’s just been a really long time since I had a truly happy Christmas morning. Thank you.”

Her face falls as she walks over to the bed and rubs my arm. “I hate how much you’ve suffered. No more of that ever again. Okay?”

I nod as I take her hand in mine and kiss it. “Okay. Make sure everyone is together. I’m going to make a quick call. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Ah right,” she happily says. “Tell her I said Merry Christmas.”

As soon as I’m dressed, I pull out my phone and click on the FaceTime app. It starts ringing, and Maddie answers immediately. She’s smiling. “Good timing. She’s been begging for an hour, and we were about to give in.”

As she turns the phone, I hear her yell out, “Francesca, look who called.”

I see Francesca’s face as she jumps up and down. She gives me a huge grin. “Hi, Uncle Vance. Is it time to open my gift?”

I chuckle. “Hey, pumpkin. Merry Christmas. It’s time.”

She looks just above the phone. “Now can I have it, Momma? You said to wait for his call.”

“Yes, sweetie,” Maddie replies.

I see Curtis pull the new pink bicycle, with training wheels and no motor , out from their garage and into their living room. Francesca starts screaming with excitement. “This is the one I saw in the bike store. The one you said was too expensive, Momma.”

I hear Maddie say, “Uncle Vance wanted to buy it for you.”

Francesca brings her face right up to the phone. “Thank you! I love it!”

“I’m glad.” I study her carefully. “Did you lose a tooth?”

She nods enthusiastically. “Yes. I just lost my first tooth two days ago. I’m the first in my class to lose one,” she announces with pride. “Did you get my present?”

“Yep, your drawings are hanging on my refrigerator. I love them.”

“Momma hangs my drawings on our refrigerator too.”

“I understand why. You’re very talented.”

She grins adorably. “Momma said we’re going to watch your game today. Wave to me on the television, Uncle Vance.”

“I promise to do that. Have a great Christmas.”

“You too, Uncle Vance.”

The call ends, and I can’t help the smile on my face. She’s so cute. The past two months have gone well. Maddie and I have never gotten along better. I FaceTime with Francesca once a week. We’ve been building a real relationship for the first time in her life.

It took Sulley time, but she joined my last call. Francesca called her Aunt Sulley, and I thought Sulley would freak out, but she didn’t. She’s taking it all in stride.

I walk out to the living room, and both our families are sitting there happily chatting, enjoying their morning coffee.

Sulley looks at me. “Did she flip for the bike? ”

I nod. “She certainly did.”

Sulley appears nearly as excited as Francesca did as she walks over to me with a huge, flat gift. It looks like it could be a big picture frame.

I excitedly tear it open and am shocked by what I see. I look up at Sulley. “I’ve never seen this photo before.”

She smiles. “I don’t remember taking it. My mom found it in a box a few weeks ago, and I had it blown up.”

It’s a photo of me, Finn, and Sulley. It’s the day we carved McShea Brothers into the tree. The day we started the cabin. We’re right in front of the tree. She’s on his shoulders. I think Finn and I were about sixteen, which would have made Sulley eight.

As I look closer, I realize Finn and I are looking at the camera, smiling, but Sulley is looking at me. Staring at me.

She realizes the moment I see it. “Even back then, I loved you, Vance. It’s always been you. It will only ever be you.”

I wrap my arms around her and bring my lips to hers and whisper, “I love it, and I love you.”

MeeMaw hits my leg. “You should propose right now. It feels like the right moment.”

Sulley and I smile into each other’s mouths, and Sulley shakes her head. “Nope. Not until he wins the whole thing. Championship or bust, QB1. We’ll see how much you really want it.”

“No pressure,” I sigh.

She laughs, and it’s music to my ears.

I take her hand. “Come with me. It’s time for your gift.” I can’t believe I pulled this off.

We walk toward the plastic that I know has been driving Sulley nuts. The space was done a week ago, but I had to make it outwardly look like the construction was still going on so she wouldn’t go down there.

I tear it all away, and we walk down the stairs. “Just what I always wanted, a mancave," she says sarcastically .

I smack her ass. “Quiet woman, or I’ll tie you up and leave you down here.”

“Hmm, what will you do with me once I’m tied up?”

She’s giggling at her own joke when we reach the bottom of the stairs. She gasps and then breathes, “Oh my god.”

It’s a full-length basketball court. There are photos covering the walls.

They all revolve around basketball. Several are of her and Finn practicing together, and the rest are of her throughout the years up through their team championship photo this year.

Nancy sent me some of the memorabilia she hung onto, which is now sitting on shelves in plastic casing.

Some of her most important trophies, like her college basketball Player of the Year trophy and her WNBA Rookie of the Year trophy, are also sitting on shelves.

I point to the one open area. “I have a feeling there will be a lot more accolades coming. I left space for them.”

She looks around with tears in her eyes. “What about your mancave? I thought you needed your own private space away from me.”

I shake my head. “The last thing in the world I want is space away from you. I want you in my space all the time.”

She wraps her arms around me and kisses my lips. “This is incredible. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She toggles her head around the room. “I need to take it all in.”

She walks over to the wall and starts carefully examining all the photos. As I knew she would, she looks closer to a frame that I know is unfamiliar to her. It’s a sketch. A drawing of this very court signed Finn’s Fantastic Designs . She turns to me with confusion written all over her face.

SIX YEARS AGO

I’m sitting in my condo in Philly with a nearly empty bottle of whiskey. I look in the mirror. My eyes look like I haven’t slept in weeks. I don’t think I have. I’m not sure I’ve slept in months. Not since he died.

Francesa was born two weeks ago. She was a huge baby.

Everyone knew right away that she wasn’t Finn’s, and when the O’Sheas confronted Maddie, she confirmed it.

The look of heartbreak on all three of their faces will forever haunt me.

They thought they were going to have a piece of him, only to lose him all over again.

When I arrived at the hospital, my father begged me not to do it. How could I not? It was what Finn would have wanted. I owed him that much. I made a promise to him, one that I intend to live up to, no matter what it costs me.

I nearly vomited as the words left my mouth, telling them the baby was mine. The lie tasted so bitter that I wasn’t sure they would believe it, but they did.

Frank punched me in the stomach. Nancy slapped me across the face. I welcomed the pain. But it was Sulley’s face that devastated me the most. She hates me. She will forever hate me.

I sit down and look at the box Nancy sent me a few months ago. It’s some of his belongings she thought I’d want. I haven’t been able to muster up the courage to look through them, but I will now. Maybe there’s something I can send them to lessen the pain. As if anything could.

I open the box and see a handful of photos of him and me. I’ll cherish those forever. There’s a jersey and a few other items from our youth. The box is otherwise full of rolled-up paper. What is all this?

As soon as I unroll the biggest one, I realize what it is. It’s the house he was going to design for me. They’re unfinished sketches, but it’s very clearly what he and I had discussed I would want in a house. The bottom is signed, Finn’s Fantastic Designs .

They’re perfect. One day, I’m going to have the designs finished and build this house.

As I study them more carefully, I notice that the basement is unfinished. Besides a few measurements, there’s nothing there. I guess he didn’t get to it before he died. I wonder what he planned for that area. I guess I’ll never know.

I flip through more sketches. One is of the cabin. It’s an addition he planned to make there as his family grew. Family? Now he’ll never have a wife or kids.

I squeeze my eyes shut as more tears fall. I feel like I lost him all over again. That’s probably because I’ve lost the O’Sheas too. They’ve always been a second family to me, and now they’re gone. No more shared family dinners. No more Christmases celebrated together.

I flip through more sketches until a folder catches my eye. It’s titled Basement Options . Ah, this must be for that open space.

The first drawing is a traditional basement. The second is a game room. The third is a bowling alley. I smile. He loved to bowl. Most boring sport ever. We argued about that all the time. I’m convinced he did this one to fuck with me.

It’s the fourth drawing that stands out. I pull it out and study it carefully. It’s a basketball court. I wonder why he’d think I’d consider a basketball court in my house. I don’t play.