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“Was that too overwhelming?” I ask quietly as we slip into bed. I don’t want to wake Fallon by talking too loudly, but she’s in her little sitting room and I’m certain she’d sleep through it anyway. She’s a good sleeper when she’s asleep, and she’s started going for three to even four hours at a time now.

She shakes her head. “It was perfect. They do those dinners weekly?”

I nod. “I guess they rotate whose house it’s at, and this week it was Luke and Ellie’s turn.”

“That’s so fun,” she says. “It’s just what I always wanted, you know?”

I nod. “Yeah. Imagine growing up with any siblings at all, let alone two of them.”

“Imagine being Kaylee and having to deal with Luke and Jack as your brothers and the type of mischief they must’ve gotten into when they were younger.”

I chuckle as I think to the two men I really admire. They’ve both taken to mentoring me, and I can’t thank them enough—especially after I married Savannah, Jack’s ex-girlfriend and Luke’s ex-wife. Especially after Luke tried to warn me about her and I didn’t listen. “They’re good guys.”

“I love those three women. They’re all so welcoming. So genuine,” she says.

“The four of you share a bond that not very many other women have.” I reach over and take her hand in mine.

“We get to sleep with hot football players?” Her tone is anything but innocent, but she still hasn’t been cleared for sex after giving birth.

I’m waiting not so patiently.

I’m also taking a lot of cold showers.

“You’re all losing us to the game in a few weeks. Well, not Ellie anymore since Luke retired, but still. He’s around a lot.” I flip off the dim light on my nightstand then slide under the covers to get comfortable. “Did you hear him say he’s coming to California with the team for consultations during camp? He’s not coaching, exactly, but he’s lending a hand. Plus he can work with the rookies he’s signed to his agency.”

“So he’ll be gone, too?” she asks.

“Try not to sound so disappointed,” I say dryly.

She giggles. “Are you jealous?”

I wrap a hand around her waist and draw her in closer. I press a soft kiss to her lips. “A ring on your finger letting the world know you’re mine before I head off to the season would make me slightly less jealous.” I buck my hips toward her, and she moans.

“Don’t you dare get me going when I haven’t been cleared.”

I laugh. “Sorry. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I’ll find an OB tomorrow and make an appointment so we can get this show on the road. Are you serious about the wedding thing?”

She shifts subjects so abruptly I get a mild case of whiplash.

“Yes,” I say. “I wanted to marry you back in May. It didn’t pan out, but I don’t see any reason to wait this time.”

“What about the weekend before camp?” she suggests. “I should be clear by then so we can...um— consummate .”

If the lights were on, I can guess her cheeks would be pink. I chuckle, and then I push her hip down and prove why I’m called one of the most agile wide receivers in the league as I hover over her half a heartbeat later.

She moans softly.

“I can’t wait to consummate with you,” I murmur.

“Maybe the baby can have a sleepover in Ellie’s room that night?” she suggests.

“I think that’s a great idea.”

The next day, I get a call from Richard Redmond. Tessa is downstairs with the baby bonding with her new friends and I just got out of the shower.

“I have some news on your ex-wife,” he says.

“Oh?”

“Her probation was revoked and she’s been sentenced to twelve years—ten for the extortion crimes, two for violating her probation. It’s unlikely she’ll actually serve that long, and the judge was lenient since she pled guilty,” he says.

“Thanks for letting me know,” I say. Twelve years, or however long she ends up actually serving, isn’t long enough, but it’s better than her being free in the world to commit more heinous acts against innocent people.

When I head downstairs to tell Tessa, a look of relief crosses her face, but it’s soured almost immediately.

“What?” I ask.

“I guess I just feel like we’re safe until she gets out. But then what? Will she want revenge?” she asks.

I shrug. “Let’s not invent things to worry about, okay? Maybe all the hard time will force her to take a look at her life decisions and stop blaming everybody else for what she’s done.”

“Maybe,” she agrees out loud, but the tone of her word doesn’t sound very convincing.

Still, I’m glad she’ll be off our grid for however long she will be.

The next week is a flurry of activity. I head to the weight room with Luke, Jack, and Ben as if I’m a member of their extended family. Ellie set up a desk for Tessa in her home office, so she has a place to work, and their nanny, Elizabeth, is excited to have a newborn added to the mix. On a daily basis, she was already watching Luke’s kids, Emma and Nolan; Jack’s kids, Ava and JJ; Ben’s twin girls, Hailey and Holly; and Josh Nolan’s boy, Warner, who’s around the same age as Nolan and JJ. Josh and his wife, Nicki, live literally across the street from Luke and Ellie.

It’s a female-dominated group, but the three older boys still run the show, and poor Elizabeth is basically running a preschool out of the Dalton’s home. Any more kids and they’ll need to hire help for the help.

And in between getting ready for the upcoming season (me) and learning all about publicity (Tessa), we’re planning a wedding on a very tight schedule.

There was an opening at the Cosmopolitan, and I grabbed it. I loved the Venetian, but there are too many memories there now to try a second time.

And so the Saturday before the Aces take off for California, I will wed the woman I love in the exact same place where Josh Nolan married his wife just a couple short years ago.

We’ll be by one of the gorgeous pools at sunset, and I can’t wait.

When Tessa is cleared for sexual activity at her doctor’s appointment four days before the wedding, we decide to wait.

We’ve waited this long. It’ll feel like we’re both virgins again on our wedding night, and that sounds pretty fucking hot—losing my virginity to the same girl twice in one lifetime. Taking hers twice in the same lifetime, too.

And the best part of all is that my dad has agreed—again—to be my best man. My parents and Janet are flying out so they can be at the wedding—again—but this time, Savannah won’t be able to stop it since she’s started serving her sentence.

I wonder briefly about Brandi and what she’s up to, but she never struck me as strong enough on her own to cause any real damage. She fed information to Savannah, and she got kicked out of the club for it—a club that was a large part of her life. That might be punishment enough for her, or maybe she’ll show up again.

Like I told Tessa, though, I’m choosing not to invent things to worry about.

Instead, I’m focusing on our future…and it’s looking awfully bright.