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I wish we could lie here forever, but I know we can’t. It’s opening day, and I’m sure he has things to do and rituals to tend to.

It’s in this moment as I lie naked in his arms that I realize I don’t know what those rituals are. We know each other pretty damn well, but there are new sides to him that I’ll learn as we move through this first season together, and then I’ll learn new things about him when he becomes a daddy, just like we will learn new things about myself when I become a mom.

And each new detail I learn is like uncovering a new gift about him.

I turn in his arms to look at him, and he shifts a little before leaning down to kiss my forehead.

“Morning,” he murmurs, his voice sleepy and raspy and oh-so-sexy.

“Morning.” I lean forward and press a kiss to his chest.

“Move in with me,” he murmurs.

“Okay.”

He leans back and looks down at me in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really. I want to wake up like this every morning. Well, every morning that you’re home.”

He tilts his head down to indicate he wants to kiss me, so I press my lips to his.

“Me too,” he says, and he tightens his grip around me.

“Plus I don’t really want to be around when my dad and Joanie are making up.” I make a face, and he laughs.

“They’ve got the club for that.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Thanks for the reminder. And I’m not totally leaving my dad’s place. I might need help at the beginning when you’re out of town and I can’t travel, so it’ll be nice to have a place where we can go if we want to.”

He nods as if he gets my meaning about who we is. “Joanie will be around, and you two will probably have plenty to talk about. And I’m sure my mom would come out to visit, too.”

“I would love that.” It’s the truth. Really. I hit the jackpot with my potential future mother-in-law.

But Cooper can’t say the same, and the thought makes me sad. I wish I had the type of relationship with my own mother where I’d want her to come stay with me to help with my newborn, but I don’t.

And that’s okay.

“Hey,” he says softly.

I glance up at him, and I love how he knows me so well. He doesn’t have to ask me what’s wrong because he already knows.

“You have a huge support team behind you, Sunshine. Whether that includes people society tells us it should include is irrelevant. We do us, and everyone else can fuck right off. But if you have a relationship you want to work on, then I’m behind you and holding your hand as we put in the work together.”

Tears heat behind my eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” he says playfully.

I lean my head on his chest with a small chuckle. “Happy opening day. Do you have any traditions or rituals you need to get to?”

“You know, I had some when I used to play, but as it turns out, they didn’t really work. So I’m scrapping that idea, and my new tradition will be to get a kiss from my girl before every game and maybe take a quick run around the bases during warm-ups.”

“What about when I can’t be at the game?”

“Then we’ll video chat before the game so I can kiss the camera.”

I giggle as I imagine his lips moving toward the screen and kissing him back over a video chat. We’ll do what we have to do, though. We both want to put in whatever it takes to make this work, and I’m confident we’ll go the distance because of that.

“What if you have a game and the baby’s on the way?” I ask.

“Then I take the day off.” He shrugs as I get all teary-eyed at his sweet sentiment. “I call in sick. It’s just a game, and some things are more important. Plus the collective bargaining agreement says I get three days of paternity leave.”

I laugh as I smack him in the chest. “And here I thought you were just taking the day off for me.”

“Even if there was no agreement, I’d still take the time to be there for you both.” He reaches down and sets a hand on my stomach, and my chest warms with love.

So much love.

The kind of love I wasn’t expecting but plowed straight into me anyway.

“So are you allowed to have sex on game day?” I ask.

He laughs. “You know, there’s been a long standing myth in professional sports that you shouldn’t have sex on game day, but the truth is that it can actually be beneficial. It might tire you out depending on the type of sex, but it could also reduce stress levels, which makes some guys play even better.”

“Are you stressed?” I ask.

“Well it is opening day and I haven’t played on a pro field since the day I was injured, so there’s a little bit of nervous energy there.”

I shift and start to move down his body until that beautiful cock of his comes into view. “Then allow me to reduce those stress levels, my friend.”

I suck him into my mouth and give him the kind of blow job that leaves him panting, and after I swallow down his come, he just lies there with his eyes closed and a smile on his lips.

“Your mouth is magic and this is pure fucking heaven right now. Consider the stress reduced,” he says.

I laugh, and then we shower together and get a start on our day.

Just before we’re getting ready to leave, Cooper’s phone starts to ring.

“It’s Kaylee,” he says. His eyes light up as we both realize she doesn’t even know we’re back together, and she’s one of the ones who is most invested in us being back together. “You want to answer?”

I giggle and nod, and he swipes his phone.

“Hey Kay,” I answer casually.

There’s a pause on the other end as Kaylee presumably looks to see who she dialed.

“Gabby?” she asks.

“What’s up?”

“I’m so sorry. I meant to call someone else…” she trails off awkwardly.

“Was it me?” Cooper asks.

We grin at each other.

“Cooper?” she asks, confusion still in her tone. “Are you two…”

“Back together?” I fill in. “We sure are. And he knows about the baby.”

“He knows…” she trails off again.

“Wait, Kaylee knew?” Cooper asks. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I just found out like two days ago!” she protests.

I giggle. “We work out together a few times a week and it was kind of obvious when I didn’t want to do kickboxing or rowing.”

“I’m a smart cookie. I put two and two together,” Kaylee says. “So how did this happen?”

“It’s a long story, one Gabby can share with you later since I need to get home to do brunch with my family before heading to the stadium. But yes, we’re back together, we’re having a baby, and Gabby is moving in with me.”

“And I’m keeping my room at my dad’s place so I have somewhere to go when Coop’s out of town and I’ve got the baby,” I add. “Do you think Kate could help us add a nursery section to my bedroom?”

“I’m sure Kate would love to help,” Kaylee says. “Wow! I am so, so happy for the two of you.”

“We’re pretty damn happy, too,” Cooper says, reaching over to grab my hand.

“I love you guys. I just called to tell Coopster good luck on opening day. These football fans will be cheering loudly for you from home.”

“Thanks, Kay,” Cooper says. “And we love you, too.”

He ends the call, kisses me like he needs my mouth to survive, and we head toward the car to join his family for brunch.