Tangled with the Tight End (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 35

thirty-five

NORAH

A Couple of Days Later

Gabriel was right. There’s no point in arguing with his grandmother. When I first saw her, she looked frail in the cold, brisk wind. There’s nothing frail about her. She’s bossy, demanding, and fucking smart.

Marco, Eden, and I have been seated around a table with Lilliana at the helm for three hours. There are papers everywhere, and this is just for my business. She’s already made multiple comments about adding Gabriel to our table to discuss the business plan that Marco’s been working on, but Gabriel had to fly back to Kansas City for his last doctor’s appointment before returning to the team next week. He messaged me as soon as the appointment was over with a clean bill of health. Not that I’d expect anything different.

My stomach clinches a bit as the reality of our relationship changing has me in knots. It’ll be fine. Nothing’s going to change. Yes, he’ll be in Kansas City, and I’ll be here, but it won’t be forever. His first game back is a home game, and I’m scheduled to fly out on Friday morning to watch the game. Gino will be with him as his new nanny, Havana, has already made it to town.

He’ll introduce me to Havana, and we’ll spend the evening together. Then, he’ll join the team on Saturday at the team hotel. Once the game is over, we’ll go back to his house until I fly back here on Tuesday while Clarissa watches the bistro, and Marco takes the helm at the lodge.

I rub my neck. Everything aches from leaning over spreadsheets until my eyeballs are nearly bleeding. It’s not forever. Depending on how long the team remains in the playoffs, worst or best case, depending on how you look at it, they’ll be back here by mid-February until July. I purse my lips together.

What about Havana? Will she come here? My house isn’t that big. It’s one thing being quiet around a 3-year-old who has no idea what daddy is doing when he’s asleep, but Havana? There’s not going to be any fooling her.

“I’m satisfied.” Lilliana leans back and claps her hands. Her eyes shine as she studies us. “This is so much fun.” She tilts her head. “I’m going to move here.”

“Okay.” Marco eyes her warmly. “What will Silas say about that?”

“Oh….” She waves her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about Silas. He’ll be fine. Besides, he’s been wanting to slow down. This will give him the perfect opportunity to shift more responsibility to his second.”

Eden’s eyes are pinched as she squeezes Maco’s thigh. “To live in the cold? He’s going to want to stay in Texas.”

“It’ll be fine.” She straightens the pile of papers in front of her.

I’d come to her defense but I’m already figuring out where to put Havana in a two-bedroom house.

Marco swallows hard. I nearly laugh at their matching concerned expressions. They’re worried about the same thing I am. Where’s their extra guest, or in their case, guests going to stay and not hear them in the bedroom. Or in the kitchen. Shit. That’ll soon be out of the question.

“Don’t fret.” She pats his forearm. “I’m not moving in with you and Eden. You’re still newlyweds and likely plan to expand your family. You don’t need two old birds listening in.” Her eyes dance. “Although we are hard of hearing.”

“You aren’t that hard of hearing, and Eden can be pretty loud.”

“Marco,” she growls.

I laugh despite the look of horror on her face as I rise from the table, preparing to refill our drinks.

The door chimes and Gabriel walks in with Gino on his hip. I nearly swallow my tongue. He’s all man–broad shoulders, 5 o’clock shadow, cocky grin. He’s nothing like I imagined when we first met and he’s all mine. Mine.

My heart skids to a stop. He watches me as if he feels the weight of my thoughts. When he blinks, my heart sputters back to life. I love him. Like love, love him. Like I can’t breathe without him. I swallow hard. This is it. This is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. The lines around his eyes crinkle as he grins widely. And he knows it. Cocky bastard.

Gino’s eyes light up when he sees us at the table.

“Hey!” Gino scrambles to get down. God, he’s adorable. He runs through the room with black curls flying in his own breeze. But instead of heading to the table, he runs to me and raises his arms. His gorgeous blue eyes meet mine with expectation. I boost him up and squeeze him to me.

“Hey, Buddy, I missed you.” Tears sting my eyes. I want to be the woman he looks to as his mom. The one who tucks him in and reads him stories, but I’m not his mom.

“I missed you, too.” He cups my face with his pudgy hands and gives me a loud kiss on the lips. And I don’t care at all that it comes with wet lips and a hint of chocolate. He’s perfect. As perfect as his daddy.

“What did you do today?”

“I went with Daddy to see Vana.” His eyes are serious. “She’s moving in with us.”

“Yes, I know.” I arch an eyebrow as my attention shifts to Gabriel. “Is she all settled in?”

“She’s getting settled in.”

Gabriel talks with the rest of his family as Gino tells me about Havana. “I lived with her.” His face grows anxious. “In…. Before.”

I kiss his forehead, and he beams, forgetting about the past and moving back into the present. “When you moving in? Daddy said you together?” Together sounds so adorable on his lips in his little kid voice.

“I’m….” I swallow as heat fills my face.

“Remember what I said. Norah will visit us every week until we move back here for the summer.”

“Right.” He shakes his head and wiggles to get down.

My hands shake so badly that I nearly drop him to the floor. Gabriel told him we’ll be living together.

Gabriel swaggers over to me as the others fawn over Gino. “Hey, baby, did you miss me?” He wraps his arms around my waist and cocks his head sideways.

“Yes, yes, I did.”

They left last night, so it’s been over 24 hours since I’ve seen him. I wrap my arms around his waist. “I did miss you.”

“Good.” He leans back and places his lips on mine. The kiss is slow and gentle, but with enough heat, my toes curl in my shoes. He pulls back. “So, what’s this about a tree lighting tonight? Are you inviting me to watch it with you?”

“Yes, I am. All the Christmas festivities start tonight. Gino will love them. The tree lighting. The cookie decorating. Seeing Santa.”

“Santa?! I want to see Santa.”

Right. I need to remember little ears because even though he’s six feet away and chatting with someone else, he’s still listening.

I spin around. “Are you ready to go? The activities started thirty minutes ago?”

“Yes!” He runs to me and throws his arms around my legs. His squeeze is as strong as two steel bands around me. This kid is going to be an athlete. Not that it should come as a surprise.

He lifts his head with eyes that glow in excitement. “Love you, Norah.”

Oh, my God. Tears fill my eyes as I swallow over the lump in my throat. I drop down to my knees and hug him. “I love you, too, Gino.”