Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
“It was a good team effort,” I reply.
“You had a good game too, Ryder. That touchdown pass was a beauty,” she says. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Cami. I appreciate that.”
Cami has warmed slightly to Ryder, but she still keeps him at an arm’s distance. For obvious reasons. I don’t think that wall between them is ever going to come down, and I can’t blame her for that. What he put her through was unthinkable. But I’ve seen him making a real effort to atone, and she’s at least been receptive to it. She can at least stand to be in the same room with him now, which I consider progress.
“Anyway, I should go,” Ryder says and gestures with the ball. “Thanks again, Carter. Let’s do this again next week.”
I grin. “It’s a date.”
Ryder gives Cami a nod then turns and heads back up the tunnel, leaving me alone with my girl. I slip my arms around her waist and pull her into a tight embrace. She smiles up at me, so I lean down and give her a proper kiss, and she melts into me. I slowly pull back but keep my arms around her, still unable to get enough of the feeling of her body against mine.
“Thirty-four for thirty-eight, three hundred and fifty-two yards, and three touchdowns,” she says. “I’d say that’s a pretty damn good debut.”
“Yeah, it was a good game. The team was clicking on all cylinders tonight.”
“I heard some of the beat writers talking about you in the press room before I came out here.”
“Yeah? What did they say?”
“They say you’re playing like you did when you were a rookie. Like you’ve found the fountain of youth. They say you might be entering a renaissance of your career.”
“That’s pretty dramatic for one game,” I say with a chuckle.
“I don’t know about that. You’re playing a lot looser than you have the last couple of seasons. You actually look like you’re having fun for a change.”
I consider her words for a minute then nod. “You know what? I think maybe I am having fun. I’m having a good time. I kind of feel like a kid again out there.”
“You kind of look like one. Just running around playing for the love of the game again. It’s nice to see you playing so loose.”
“I think you have a lot, if not everything, to do with that.”
“I think you give me too much credit.”
“I don't. You have given me a new life, Cami. You have.”
She bites her bottom lip and looks down at the ground as her cheeks flush, turning bright red, and she’s got an inscrutable expression on her face. With a small, uncertain smile, she raises her gaze to me.
“What is it?” I ask.
“What you said about giving you new life. It’s just… funny.”
“Funny? Funny how.”
“It’s just… I mean…”
Her voice trails off and her face clouds over with her uncertainty, darkened by a tinge of fear. Cami opens her mouth to speak but no words come out, and it’s then I notice that she’s shaking like a leaf in a strong breeze.
“Cami, what is it?”
“I… I’m pregnant, Carter. We’re going to have a baby.”
“A… baby?”
As she nods, my eyes widen, and my mouth falls open while I absorb her words. I’m unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a coherent word for several long moments as I’m battered by waves of disbelief. Cami is staring at me, fear and uncertainty on her face. She looks like a woman expecting the worst. The shock I’m feeling wears off quickly though and is replaced by a sense of awe and wonder. And as it does, a wide smile stretches my lips.
“Are you serious?” I ask.
She nods and swallows nervously, shifting on her feet. “I am serious. But I’m not asking you for anything. If you don’t want—”
I put my finger to her lips. “Stop. Cami, I’m thrilled. This is the best news I’ve ever gotten. Ever. You’ve just made me the happiest man on the planet.”
She stares at me for a moment as if I’d just spoken to her in another language. But then she covers her mouth with her hands as tears leak from the corners of her eyes. I scoop her up and swing her around, both of us laughing, letting the joy of the moment wash over us. I never thought about being a father before. It had never been part of my plans for life.
But meeting Cami has made me reconsider everything I thought I knew and everything I thought I wanted out of this life. And knowing I’m going to have a baby with Cami is literally the greatest feeling I’ve ever had. Better than any championship, better than any record, better than… anything I could have ever imagined for myself. I’ve not only got the woman of my dreams by my side, but we’re going to have a family together. Nothing could be better. Nothing.