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CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

LULLABY PLAYLISTS

POPPY

The weather is perfect outside for our impromptu party. We’re at Bowie’s house—I still haven’t agreed to move in with him. I don’t know what I’m waiting for…I want to move in with him. I guess part of me just still needs to be sure he’s all in this for me and not just because I’m having his baby. I think he is, but he hasn’t exactly made any bold declarations about his feelings yet. Still…everything he does makes me feel like he’s in this for me.

I know how I feel about him. I’ve gone and fallen in love with Bowie Fox.

I mean, who could blame me? It was basically a foregone conclusion, right?

But I’m trying so hard to maintain my wits. After all, I have pregnancy brain, so I’ve needed to be extra smart and mindful to combat that.

Yeah, there is no thinking smart when it comes to Bowie. I just love him, and I really hope he doesn’t break my heart.

Henley and Tru are the first to arrive and I hug Tru. She’s wearing a fitted dress and I can finally see the baby bump that she insists has been there for months.

“You look so gorgeous,” I say.

“ You do. Girl, you are radiant.” She squeezes my arm when we pull apart and then the others arrive and there’s a flurry of hugs.

“I’m so glad you decided to do this,” Penn tells Bowie. “I’ve missed you guys. You’ve been a little quiet lately,” he says, looking between the two of us.

Everyone’s been so excited about the two of us dating, but we’ve hardly all been together at the same time since the funeral. Bowie’s seen the guys and I’ve seen the girls, but everyone’s been traveling a lot too, with it being the offseason. Now that Becca knows, not to mention that I’m starting to show a little bit, we can’t keep the baby a secret any longer.

“She’s kept me busy,” Bowie says, glancing at me.

I laugh, feeling my cheeks heat, which makes everyone laugh.

We dig into the food and I’m taking a bite of salad when Bowie taps on his glass. Everyone turns to look at him, surprised that he’s done something so noisy. He’s zero decibels compared to everyone else in this group .

“I just wanted to say…the word is out. We’ve told our families, Becca knows…about the baby. We don’t have to skirt around the topic anymore when she’s around. We heard the heartbeat a few days ago and everything seems good.”

“Becca got her wish,” Weston says, sounding choked up. “She’s gonna be a big sister.”

“I still can’t believe you’re having a baby.” Rhodes wipes his eyes and just holds his arms out to Bowie and me. We step forward and he hugs us both. “I can’t wait to meet this little person,” he says.

“Let me at ‘em,” Henley says, and Rhodes lets us go so Henley can hug us.

“There must be something in the water,” Penn sings. He stops and points at Henley. “Your podcast is about to take a shocking twist...Baby 101 for Pro Athletes.”

Henley laughs. “Despite the three kids and one on the way, I still don’t feel qualified most days.”

“That’s crazy talk. Fatherhood tips. Newborn advice. Diaper-changing best practices. A lullaby playlist.” Penn holds his arms out. “You’re welcome.”

We all laugh.

“I’d listen,” I say.

“Hell, so would I,” Rhodes says.

Henley sighs. “Right, and then listeners would expect me to rhyme ‘onside kick’ with ‘onesie quick’.”

That cracks me up and Elle’s head falls back too. “I can see you guys dancing to that right now. Can Tru and I choreograph something for a newborn slash football rap?”

Tru snorts. “I am so here for this.”

“This has to happen,” Sadie says.

“And Bowie can guest-star demonstrating swaddling techniques,” Weston says.

“That’s your area of expertise,” Bowie says .

When Becca walks over with the rest of the kids to see what everyone’s laughing about, they all congratulate her.

“I’m a sister!” she yells. “My baby likes dinosaurs. Delightful!” She lets out a bubbly laugh and turns to give me a huge hug when she hears me laughing.

“Oh!” Bowie says, nodding sagely. “That is delightful.”

Rhodes nudges Bowie. “Look at her go. She’s ready to teach that baby everything.”

Becca turns to Henley’s girls and makes sure they heard about the baby. They congratulate her and come over to hug me and Bowie too.

After they’ve gone back to play across the yard, I lean my head against Bowie’s shoulder.

“How are you, little mama?” he asks.

It melts my heart every time he calls me that.

“Everyone’s so happy for us,” I say softly. “I can’t remember ever feeling so content.”

He brushes a kiss against my hair. “I can’t tell you how good it is to hear you say that.”

I turn and put my hand on his face, leaning up to kiss him. When we reluctantly pull apart to the whoops and cheers of our friends, I stand on my tiptoes so he can hear me loud and clear.

“I’m not going anywhere, Bowie. You know that, right?”

His eyes flit between mine and his hands grip my waist tighter. “How soon can we clear everyone out of here so I can show you just how much that means to me?”

I press my lips together. “I’ll hang around after they’re gone, no matter how late they stay,” I whisper.

His eyes are full of promise when I lower to the ground.

The music in the background shifts to a slower song, and everyone chatters, the sunshine hovering overhead making everyone glow. Tru and I share a smile when Henley pretends to groan about the guys’ baby-related podcast episodes, as Penn looks over at us proudly.

Becca twirls around the yard with the girls, and Levi and Caleb run after them trying to keep up. Martha sits on the sidelines, keeping Becca in her sights. I watch them, wondering what our child will look like. They’ll be surrounded with love, that’s all I know.