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I look up to him, seeing the emotion in his eyes as he looks at me and his girls. I swallow the thickness in my throat. “Pretty freaking epic.”
He kisses each of us and places Sophie back down. Giving her a pointed look, he says, “Now don’t go walking off anywhere, Soph.”
“I love you three more than anything.”
Kissing him one more time in response, I say, “Good luck, baby.”
“Knowing I’m coming home to my good luck charm tonight is all the luck I need. See you later, Queenie.”
* * *
“Hi, honey… what you up to?”My friend Gemma answers the phone like the southern belle she is.
I glance at the monitor on the table in front of me.
“Just enjoying the gorgeous weather… the girls went down for the count fast tonight, so I decided to come out to the patio and have a glass of wine while I wait on Eli to get home.”
“Sounds heavenly. I can almost smell the ocean breeze through the phone,” she groans.
“I told you that you and Tanner were welcome to come visit.” Gemma is a badass single mama to the cutest little boy.
“I know, but I didn’t want to intrude on this special time. You’ve really needed this in order to heal.”Heal… that’s something I can genuinely say I’ve done a lot of over the last couple of months.
“Speaking of that, you sound really good… how are things going?”
I feel a blush crawl up my neck at her question just thinking about howgood things have been going. “It’s been… unreal, honestly.”
Little moments flutter through my mind of the time I have spent in Florida.
I can’t keep lying to myself about this. “I am so hopelessly in love with all three of them. Every day I’m a little less scared of the what ifs,” I tell her truthfully.
She lets out an excited squeal. “You sound like you’re healing, and you don’t know how happy that makes me.” I can hear the smile in her voice, similar to the one I’m wearing.
“Thanks, Gem… thanks for everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you over this past year.”
“I hate the way it happened, but I am so glad you came into my life.”
Her words are so bittersweet they cut into the scar on my heart.
“Have you told Eli about that night yet, Quinn?” I knew she would ask me this—just like I know she means well, but I’m not ready to go there yet.
I look up and see the sexiest pitcher in major league baseball standing in the doorway with a bottle of champagne in his hand.
“Sorry, Gemma, Eli just got home. I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”
“Okay… I’m so happy for you, Quinn.”
“I know… love you, babe. Give T a kiss for me.”
“Champagne to celebrate another night for the strike-out pitcher?” I tease, greeting him with a kiss. “It’s not like you don’t have your secured spot in the pitching rotation for the regular season already, Hotshot.”
“Nope… we have something way more important than that to celebrate.” He smirks, setting down the two champagne glasses, and that's when I notice the manilla envelope tucked under his arm.
My stomach twists with nerves, knowing this has something to do with Cami, but the ease in Eli’s demeanor tells me there is nothing to worry about.
“It’s done… signed, sealed, delivered by the courts. We officially have full custody of the girls.”
His use ofweinstead ofIsends a thrill of happiness through me. There’s nothing I want more than to call the three of them my family.
