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“Sit back down, Lexa Delvaux,” she orders. “You’re still recovering. You need to rest.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not,” she says, kissing my forehead. “You’re my patient, and you have to listen to me. And since I’m also your girlfriend, you have to listen to me anyway.”
I pout, but I obey. She smirks and gets the door. I hear familiar voices.
“Merry Christmas!” Raul says, entering the apartment. He’s holding a large box, and behind him Alycia is carrying a car seat with a sleeping baby in it. They’re both smiling, and so am I.
“Hey,” I say, waving at them. “Come in, come in.”
They walk over to me and we greet each other with hugs and kisses. Raul puts the box on the coffee table, and Alycia places the car seat next to me. I lean over and peek at the baby.
She’s so small and peaceful, wrapped in a pink blanket, a tuft of black hair sticking up. Her lips are slightly parted. She’s gorgeous.
“Wow,” I whisper. “She’s so beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Alycia says. “She gets it from her mom.”
I snort. “Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure she gets it from her aunties.”
Valentina grins and sits on my other side. She gently touches the baby’s cheek and practically melts.
“Hello, Nelly. Remember me? I’m your auntie Val. I love you so much.”
Nelly stirs a little, but doesn’t wake up. She’s asleep, oblivious to all of the love surrounding her. I can’t resist. I reach out to stroke her tiny hand. It’s warm and soft.
“Hi, baby,” I whisper. “I’m your auntie Lexa. I’m going to spoil you rotten. We’re going to be the best aunties ever.”
Alycia laughs. “I know you will. You’re both so good with her already.”
“Shouldn’t you be home resting?” It can’t have been easy to push out a baby only five days ago and be up and about already.
“We wanted to see how you’re doing,” Alycia says, nodding a yes to Valentina when she asks her about wanting hot chocolate.
“Determined to get back in record time,” I say, letting go of Nelly’s hand. “I feel fine. It’s not that bad. I mean, it’s annoying, and painful, but I’ll get over it.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Alycia says, and then frowns. “I don’t want you to overdo it, though. I want you to take care of yourself.”
“I will,” I promise. “I have Valentina to make sure I do.”
“I know you do, but still. I know how stubborn you can be and if you push yourself too soon, you can end up doing more harm than good.”
I nod. “I know. I won’t. I swear.”
Valentina and Raul come back with two more mugs of hot chocolate, and they sit on the floor, cross-legged, facing us. We all look at Nelly, who’s still sleeping, and smile.
“So, what’s in the box?” I ask Raul, pointing at the coffee table.
“Oh, that,” he says. “Well, since you’ve found yourself with a lot of time on your hands, I figured you could help me out with something.”
“What do you mean?”
He opens the box, revealing a treasure trove of DVDs, notebooks, articles, and folders. My mouth drops open.
“What is all this?” I ask.
“This is my research,” he says. “Everything I’ve learned and collected since Valentina started playing football. I didn’t think I’d ever use it as a coach, but I’m glad I got so crazy with it.” He grins. “It’s a collection of different tactics, strategies, formations, players, teams, leagues, history, and more.”
