Page 11

Hayden

“Yes, sweetheart, I saw it too,”

I said into the phone, smiling at Autumn's excitement bubbling through the line. “Bailey Hill was amazing, wasn't she?”

“She was so pretty! And her dress sparkled everywhere!”

My daughter's voice was breathless with wonder. “Uncle Darren said she's the biggest star in the whole universe!”

I laughed softly. “Well, I'm not sure about the whole universe, but she's definitely a big star here on Earth.”

“When I grow up, I want to sing just like her!”

“Is that right?”

I caught Adam's eye across the suite, and he raised an eyebrow, clearly overhearing our daughter's newest career aspiration. Last week it had been an astronaut, and the week before that, a veterinarian. “Well, you certainly have a beautiful voice.”

“Uncle Darren says I'm tone deaf like Daddy.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as Adam's expression shifted to mock offense as he held a sleeping Jace in his arms. “Your daddy has many other talents,”

I assured her, watching as Adam rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

In the background, I could hear Darren's voice calling Autumn for ice cream. “Mommy, I gotta go! Uncle Darren says we can have sundaes!”

“Don't eat too much,”

I cautioned, though I knew it was hopeless. My brother spoiled Autumn rotten whenever he watched her and he’d already broken the first rule of letting her stay up for Bailey’s performance. He didn’t care; he flaunted it by letting her call me. “We'll see you tomorrow, okay? Be good for Uncle Darren.”

“I will! Love you to the moon!”

“And back again,”

I finished our little ritual. “Sweet dreams, baby.”

“Not yet! The game's not over!”

She reminded me, scandalized that I'd suggest bedtime before finding out who won the Super Bowl.

“Right, of course. Just one scoop of ice cream, then, okay?”

But she had already hung up, no doubt racing toward whatever elaborate sundae my brother was concocting. I shook my head, pocketing my phone as Adam made his way over to me, still holding Reign’s son.

“Let me guess,”

he said, sliding into the seat next to mine and I automatically snuggled in. “Darren's breaking every rule we set before we left.”

“Sugar at nearly midnight? What gave it away?”

It was getting late and the Walker kids were feeling it. It wasn’t just Adam holding a sleeping child. Reign, Chloe and Devin’s mom all had a child each sleeping on them, with Matty also taking his uncle duties seriously and holding Georgia while she slept on his shoulder.

Britt was right next to him, stroking Georgia’s hair, looking at the little girl adoringly. Her eyes were welling and she was exuding happiness without even realizing. Those two had so much love in them just waiting to give to a child.

“Isn’t it crazy to think that just a few years ago, we were all trying to pass classes and get on with life?”

Adam whispered, rocking Jace softly. “Look at us now.”

I followed his gaze around the suite. “Feels like a lifetime ago.”

“In some ways, it was. We were different people back then with different dreams.”

“And yet, we all ended up here.”

I turned to look at him. “Still together. Still friends. Probably even closer now.”

“Well, I’d argue knowing what color glitter is in my jockstrap would be pretty close, so I’m not sure I can agree to that statement.”

I raised a brow. “Do I want to know?”

“No.”

His eyes softened as they met mine, and I was struck again by how lucky I was to have found my way back to him. We'd been so young when we first met, too caught up in our own insecurities to recognize what was right in front of us. It had taken years and other relationships for us to finally find our way to each other.

“You know,”

I said, keeping my voice low so only he could hear, “Devin and Reign's kids are pretty incredible.”

Adam nodded as he looked around the rest of the room. “They’re something else.”

“Have you noticed how good Autumn is with them?”

I ventured carefully. “When they visited last month, she followed Georgia and Delaney around like they hung the moon.”

“She does love having playmates her age,”

Adam agreed, his tone casual, though I detected a note of something else beneath it.

I hesitated as I gathered my courage to talk about this. It wasn't exactly the ideal setting for the conversation I wanted to have, but something about tonight, surrounded by our friends and their families, watching the people we loved achieve their dreams, made it impossible to hold back.

“Do you ever...”

I paused, suddenly uncertain. “I don't know...want another?”

Adam stilled, and for a moment, I worried I'd crossed some invisible line. We'd talked about having more children, of course, but it had always been in the abstract. It was something for “someday”

when life was less hectic, and when we were more settled in our jobs.

But his face, when I finally dared to look up, held no surprise or resistance. Instead, I found a thoughtful openness that made my heart swell.

“For Autumn?”

he asked softly.

“For her,”

I nodded. “It would be nice for her to have someone to find shapes in the sky with.”

“Sounds a lot like we’re robbing her of our meet cute. Good idea.”

His smile softened before he threw a wink my way. It was how we’d first met all those years ago. I was looking at the sky for answers, he was standing on the grass offering them. I was just too young to realize he was the solution.

“But I have thought about it,”

he admitted. “More so in the last few months.”

“You have?”

I felt a flutter of hope in my chest.

He nodded, his expression softening. “Ever since we moved to Rome. Seeing how Autumn's had to adjust to a new place, make new friends... sometimes I wonder if having a built-in friend might make transitions like that easier for her.”

“And?”

I prompted when he fell silent.

“And,”

he continued, turning to face me fully, “I think if that's something she needs in life, something she needs to be happy and whole, then she'll get it.”

His hand found mine, squeezing gently. “If that's something we want for our family, then we should talk about it. Really talk about it.”

I leaned into him, relief washing over me. I hadn't realized how much I'd wanted to hear those words until they were spoken.

“Not exactly the place I'd planned to bring this up,”

I said with a small laugh. “Super Bowl luxury box surrounded by our friends.”

“Since when have we ever done anything the conventional way?”

Adam's smile was tender as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “It took us four years to admit we liked each other.”

“True,”

I conceded.

A roar from the crowd pulled our attention back to the field, where Tanner had just made an incredible pass, spinning away from defenders to gain significant yardage. The suite erupted in cheers, rousing the kids from their slumber.

“They're up by twenty,”

Adam noted, his coach's eye assessing the play as Jace wriggled out of his hold, ready to play with his siblings again. Their batteries had been recharged in that short twenty minute nap. “If they can hold the Rattlesnakes on this drive, they might actually pull this off.”

I watched him as his focus shifted to the game, his expression intent as he analyzed formations and tendencies. This was the Adam I'd fallen in love with—passionate, driven, utterly present in whatever captured his attention. The injury that had derailed his NFL career had been devastating, but seeing him now, finding new purpose in coaching, I knew he'd found a path that fulfilled him just as deeply.

“I'm proud of you,”

I blurted out.

He glanced over at me, raising a blond brow in surprise. “For?”

“For everything. For the man you've become. For how you've faced challenges.”

I shrugged, feeling suddenly emotional. “For being such an incredible father to our daughter.”

His eyes softened, understanding the weight behind my words. “And potentially to another little one someday?”

“Potentially,”

I agreed, a smile tugging at my lips.

He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to my temple. “I love you, Hayden. Whatever our family looks like moving forward, as long as you're by my side, I'm the luckiest man alive.”

“I think that title might go to Devin tonight if they win this thing,”

I teased, but I leaned into his kiss, savoring the familiar comfort of his touch.

“Nah,”

Adam said confidently. “He'll get the trophy, sure. But I've got you. No contest.”

Before I could respond, a blur of movement caught my attention. Two small bodies hurtled toward us, crashing into Adam's legs with impressive force.

“Uncle Adam!”

Georgia squealed as she darted over. “Did you see Daddy tackle that guy? Coach said he almost broke the turf!”

Adam chuckled, scooting over on the bench to make room for them. “I did see it. Your dad’s a beast out there.”

He gave me a wink over their heads. “But I’ve broken a few ankles in my day too, you know.”

“Yeah, but Daddy breaks people,”

Delaney said matter-of-factly, her voice full of admiration and absolutely no filter.

“Laney!”

Reign appeared behind them, looking both apologetic and amused. “That's not very polite.”

“Sorry, Uncle Adam,”

Delaney uttered, though the smirk on her face said otherwise.

Adam grinned. “No offense taken. Your dad is a legend.”

He leaned over to me as Delaney walked away and whispered. “Seriously, he’s a legend for the sheer number of kids he’s had in five years.”

I barked out a laugh and Adam held his hand out to me.

“Ready for whatever comes next?”

Adam asked, echoing the sentiment I'd been feeling.

I nodded, squeezing his hand. “With you? Always.”

Then I thought about it. “Unless it’s trying to take Devin and Reign on with how many kids we can have. That might be a little too much for me.”

The crowd roared again as Tanner completed another crucial pass, and we turned our attention back to the field, to our friends making history below. Whatever tomorrow held—new jobs, new homes, new additions to our family—tonight was for celebrating how far we'd all come, together.