Page 66

Xavier

I have a non-alcoholic beer in one hand and Vivienne in the other, her fingers laced tightly with mine and draped over her shoulder. Below us, a sea of people stretches across the streets as we ride atop an open-air bus, the celebration rowdy as we parade through downtown Denver. My teammates surround us, cheering, laughing, holding the moment high like the banners and signs that line the street.

World fucking champs.

And I feel every bit the champion that the commissioner's trophy says I am, but it's got nothing to do with baseball. No, it's her that makes me feel like I've conquered the world--the woman at my side. This victory, this life, is complete because of her.

One little thing is still bugging me: the bag at the end of my bed. She packed the afternoon after we won so she could stay the night and she's been living out of it for the last three days.

The bus rounds the corner and the Bandits stadium comes into view. The crowd is thicker here with families that have driven out from the suburbs to catch a glimpse of the team before we disappear inside the stadium. Parents hold children high on their shoulders for a closer look. We wave and smile and soak it all in before stepping off the bus and up to the barricaded area, where we stop to sign a few autographs.

Vivienne waits for me off to the side with our friends and I glance back at her, catching a breathtaking smile on her face. I take one last ball from a little girl with red hair and a gap tooth smile that can't be more than eight or nine.

I hand the ball back and jog over to Vivienne, sweeping her up in my arms and carrying her into the stadium.

When we step out onto the grass minutes later, confetti rains down around us. It's a lot like it was after the game, except I'm settled--more at peace. I pull her to the side to escape the fray of the celebration for a moment just the two of us.

"I love you so fucking much." My voice cracks. "After all this time, you've given me back what's been missing most of my life, a family. Me, you, Holland, that's all I need. And I don't want to go weeks without seeing you ever again. That bag on the floor isn't cutting it. I've only got one, maybe two years of baseball left, but that's too long to wait. Move in with us. Wake up with us every day. Be the family we choose."

"Seriously?" she asks, her eyes searching mine.

I'm sure her head is spinning because I've caught her off guard, but it feels right.

"You're it for me, so, yeah, I want you there with me and Holland."

She makes the happiest sound, her laughter spilling out as she squeals, "Yes!"

When she presses up on her toes, I lift her, sealing it with a kiss. "Thank god. I was nervous you'd think it was too fast or too much. I didn't want to push, but I want--"

"I want it too. All of it. The ring on my finger, siblings for Holland. Someday I want her to be mine, too."

"She already is. Just as much as I am." Legally, there will be paperwork and a hearing. The state of Colorado makes everything complicated, but the day she becomes my wife, she'll officially be Holland's mother. I'll make sure of it.

Until then, she's ours in every way that counts.