by Alexis Anne
Olivia
I felt a little bit bad that Chris went overboard, but mostly it was adorable and really funny. Chris went inside to change and I took Linc home to do the same, with the promise we’d all go fishing.
So here we were, anchored up with enough fish for dinner and time to kill.
“Why don’t we go to Cayo Costa?” Linc asked.
“It’s not a bad idea.” I looked to Chris since it was his boat.
He shrugged. “Sure why not.”
The ride from our fishing hole was about fifteen minutes of afternoon sun and wind. I loved feeling it move through my hair even though I knew it was whipping it into a salty mess. I had my usual outfit on. Surf bikini and a protective Columbia shirt, plus my Mantas hat. I used to switch hats depending on the day and bathing suit, but not anymore.
Mantas all the way baby.
I liked that we went to Chris’s games, that I knew all the guys and they knew us. It was like a family. It was so different from Beau and his football teams. Maybe it was the nature of the sport, but I had a feeling it was also my ex. He liked his worlds separate.
“With this weather it will be easier to come in on the east side of the island instead of going around,” I yelled over the engine and wind.
Chris nodded. I caught him looking at me out of the side of his sunglasses. Was that a look of longing and appreciation? I think it was, and that made my heart skip a beat.
Last year everything was too fast, too much, too different. I couldn’t blame past me for feeling scared or skeptical. I needed time. And now that I had it, combined with finding a piece of me I didn’t know I needed to find, I felt excited and confident to see where this next chapter took us.
“This a good spot?” Chris asked as he pulled the boat as close to the tiny speck of beach as possible.
“Yep. Anchor here. We won’t be here too long.” We secured the boat, shed our outer layer of sun protection, and waded into the beach. “Summer and I used to race each other through the hammock.” Cayo Costa was a state park so it was mostly mangroves and tree hammocks surrounded by beaches. There were a couple of houses, wild boar, an old cemetary, and camping though.
“I don’t have anyone to race since I don’t have a brother or sister.” Linc looked pointedly at me.
“I’ll race you!” Chris moved between us, ending the staring match.
Thank goodness. I could only imagine what would happen if Linc decided to clue Chris in on his plans now. I followed them close behind until we burst from the hammock out onto the much wider, sandier beaches of the island’s west side. Linc immediately went running down the beach, hands in the air as he screamed at a seagull.
The wind was strong as usual, whipping around us as we wandered. “Game tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Three game home stand. You coming?”
“You pitching?”
He paused and grinned. “That sounded almost like a dare.”
I shrugged. “It’s just more exciting when you’re in the game.”
“Well you’re in luck. I’m the starter tomorrow.”
“Well then I guess we better come.”
A look flashed through his eyes as they wandered over me. It was a curious look. “How have you been? Really?”
I shuffled forward, toeing the soft sand. “Good. Now that I’ve had a few days to rest and relax I’m feeling really good, actually. Like everything is in front of me.”
“What do you mean?” He stopped to pick up an olive shell.
“When we met last year? I was living in the past. I didn’t know it at the time but I’ve had this slow realization ever since and now I can finally say that I’ve put the past where it belongs. Behind me.”
He stopped and turned to face me. “And what is this future in front of you?”
Did he realize he was standing in front of me? I didn’t think he did. It was an accidental physical representation of my thoughts. “I’m not entirely sure but I’m not going to use Linc as a reason why I can’t travel or work long hours or date who I want to date.” I held my breath after that. It felt entirely too honest and yet, somehow not honest enough.
“That’s great, Liv. Sounds like things are really starting to move in the right direction for you then.” He moved to the water lapping onto the sand, picking up and chucking a couple of broken shells into the waves.
I stood still watching him, confused by how I felt. Something in his words sounded wrong, made me want to protest and correct him, but I wasn’t exactly sure how. Things are moving in the right direction. That. Why didn’t I like it? It wasn’t wrong. Things were moving forward for the first time in a long time.
I followed behind him a few feet watching Linc run up and down the nearly empty beach with complete abandon. That’s when it struck me. For years I’d been standing with my feet in the sand, letting the incoming tide suck them deeper and deeper, all while I tried to keep everything in balance, not change too much, get through each day so I could tackle the next.
I was done living like that. I didn’t think I could go back.
I wanted to live like Linc, to not always be thinking about how every single thing I did might have a domino effect down the line. I wanted to run head first into my future with the wind in my hair.
So when we finally pulled back up to the dock at sunset and Linc had run off into the yard to play with Sheba, I handed up a cooler to Chris and blurted out exactly what I was thinking.
“I want to start dating again.”
He blinked at me, in a full crouch, cooler in hand. “I’m...okay...that’s good.”
“You. I want to date you. If you’re still interested.”
Understanding washed over his handsome features and he practically threw the cooler to the side, then hopped down into the boat beside me. “Oh I’m interested. What are the terms I’m signing on for?”
Forever. “No terms this time. Just out in the open for real dating.”
“What about Linc? He’d know we were together? Will there be adult sleepovers?”
My heart rammed against my chest at the thought of all the possibilities. “Yes and yes.”
“Your sister, my brothers, my team, Trent?”
“Everyone will know this time.” In fact, if I could never be asked to keep another secret, that would be great.
“I don’t know.” He stood there staring at me, not moving.
He didn’t know? I held my breath as I tried to hold back extreme disappointment. “I...I understand. I’ve asked you for a lot.” Plus adding a child to his life? Permanently?
He stepped closer and slid his hand over my hip. “Oh, don’t misunderstand me,” he growled. “I’m in. One hundred and ten percent in. What I’m not sure about is the speed of things.”
“Speed? Well we can go slow.”
“No.” His other hand landed on my other hip and our sun kissed skin radiated a heat bubble around us. “I’m sick of slow. I propose we go fast instead. I’ll move in with you and Linc as soon as you accept my marriage proposal and we can get started on giving Linc a brother or sister as soon as possible.”
I think my brain exploded. “That little stinker. He set us up.”
“He set no one up.” Chris’s eyes locked on mine. “He only said what we were both already thinking.”
I sputtered. “You want an instant family?” Ridiculous!
“I do.” He nodded once. Definitively. “We’ve already been dating for over a year. It’s not like I’m rushing into marriage with a stranger.”
“We have not been dating a year!” I had no idea why I felt the need to protest the detail.
“I disagree.” His gaze dropped to my lips, sending a zing of anticipation through my body. “We’ve never stopped dating, Olivia. We just decided to take things extremely slowly...and from further apart. But by no means fool yourself into thinking I haven’t been courting the shit out of you these last few months.”
I kind of wanted to melt in his arms the way he said all of that so
firmly. His confidence infected me. “Why are you moving into my house? Yours is newer and bigger.”
He shook his head. “Our home is in your house. It always has been. I bought that house,” he nodded to the big white McMansion behind us, “to start a home, a home I found next door instead. I’ll keep the house for Scott and guests and graduation parties. It won’t go to waste.”
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. A minute ago I was handing Chris a cooler and now we were...engaged? And moving in together? And maybe having a baby?
He cupped a finger under my chin and closed my mouth with a smile. “There, that’s easier for kissing.” Then he pressed his warm, soft lips to mine.
And holy amazing kisses! This might be our best yet. It was soft and intense and so full of hope for our future. It quickly turned deeper and more intense, which is when I pushed back. “Why do we need to have a baby so quickly? Shouldn’t we enjoy just being together first.”
“Naw.” He kissed me again. “We have our whole lives for that. If we don’t get started right away, Linc will be ten years older than his siblings. I don’t want him to feel like he’s part of one family and our kids are part of another. I want all of us to always be one big happy family.”
This time I did melt into his arms. “You’re a little young to be a dad.”
“No I’m not. Besides, I’ve gotten some practice in this year.”
Plus he was three years older than Beau and I were when we had Linc. All the rest of my protests evaporated because...why was I protesting? This was what I really wanted wasn’t it? To run full speed into the future with the man I loved?
“Okay.”
A triumphant grin exploded over his lips. “Well then. I guess we have a deal. Hold on just a second.”
He hopped up onto the dock in a single sideways motion and jogged up to the house while I stood there in shock. Did I just do that? I did, right? Chris was moving in with me and we...were getting married?
My heart had just started to pound in my chest when Chris came jogging back with Linc at his side. My son had the hugest grin on his face. He followed Chris down into the boat and looked up at him expectantly.
“Olivia, right here on this very boat we met and I was so struck by you that I fell overboard. So I think it’s pretty amazing that right now the three of us are standing here ready to take the next jump into the unknown together. I love you so much and I love you too, Linc.” He broke his gaze away from me and looked down at the boy by his side.
“I love you too, Chris.” Then Linc leaned closer, cupped his hand beside his mouth and whisper-yelled, “Now ask her already. Come on!”
“I’m on it.” He winked at Linc. “Go stand by your mom.”
Linc scurried to my side and took my right hand. Chris got down on one knee in front of us. “There’s a reason we get down. It’s to humble ourselves and beg for your hand because we know we’re not worthy. At least I’m not. You amaze me everyday, Olivia, and it makes me want to be a better man for both of you. So I’m down here on my knee today, asking you to welcome me into your lives because I can’t imagine living another day of my life without you. I want to be the man who stands beside you, who builds a life with you, and always comes home to you.”
He opened a black velvet jewelry box. Instead of a ring in the center, there was a pin of the infinity symbol. “Lincoln, will you let me become part of your family?”
Linc let go of my hand and threw his arms around Chris’s neck. I tried not to cry at the sight of the man I loved and my son holding each other so tight. Then Linc stood back. “Welcome to the family, Chris.” He took the box from him and grinned up at me. “Now do her!”
Chris’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Olivia?”
“Yes, Chris?”
“Will you marry me?” He slipped a second box out of his pocket. This time a beautiful diamond sat right in the center of the box. He pulled it free and held it up, an eyebrow cocked as he awaited my response.
Meanwhile Linc vibrated beside us, clapping his hands and chanting, “Yes! Say yes! Say yes!”
It was fast and crazy and perfect. I fell to my knees in front of him, grabbed his face in my hands, and kissed him hard. “Yes I’ll marry you.”
21
A cruel joke
Chris
We waited long enough. That much was true. Linc was more than ready for us to be a family. He insisted I sleepover that night and move in immediately. I agreed to stay the night, but Olivia wanted to break the news to Beau before we got too far down the road.
Plus, there were other things to discuss.
Linc sat at the counter, his legs dangling and kicking the wall as he munched on pancakes. “So will your boat stay at your dock, or will you move it to ours?”
“I’ll leave it at mine.”
Linc chewed thoughtfully. He had been grilling me for thirty minutes. “I guess the only thing that’s changing is where you sleep.”
“Pretty much.”
“I’m really happy.” He grinned up at me, mouth full of the last bite of pancakes.
“I’m really happy too.” I took his plate and rinsed it. Then jumped when a FaceTime call rang through on Linc’s iPad. We knew it was coming. That was part of why I was so jumpy.
“Hey Dad!” Linc crowed. “How are you?”
“I’m good. Did you sleep well?” Beau asked.
“Not really. I was too excited.”
“What were you excited about?” Beau laughed.
“I’m not supposed to tell you. Mom said she will.”
“Oh really?”
I put my head in my hands and sighed as quietly as possible. Linc...he was a force. When he used his powers for good I was all for it, but when he wielded them against me...not a fan.
“Lincoln!” Olivia admonished as she came rushing in from the bedroom. She was dressed but her hair was still wet from the shower. “Hey Beau.”
“So what’s this big news?”
Liv shot Lincoln a look and then nodded at me. I cautiously walked into the shot. “Oh hey Chris. How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“So…” Liv took over. “We have news.” She held up her left hand, displaying the diamond I just gave her. “I’m getting married.”
I held my breath, completely clueless how Beau would react. We were friends and he knew Liv and I were moving toward dating, but he was also a classic alpha. I wasn’t completely sure he’d be happy to see his former lover with another man. Officially.
So I was pretty surprised when he winked at Linc. “Told you it would work.”
Liv gasped.
I laughed. Hard. “You were both in on it?”
Beau shrugged. “My boy told me the problem and we brainstormed a solution. Clearly it worked.” They air fist-bumped through the video and did a variation on a Beau “The Bull” Rowland touchdown dance.
I pulled Liv to my side and kissed her cheek. Maybe it took a while, but we seemed to have done it right. We had Linc and Beau’s blessing.
Things felt right.
Things were very wrong. I was sick to my stomach and angrier than I’d ever been. We were good. Careful. Patient. And the universe was rewarding us with more problems?
Bullshit.
I call bullshit, Universe! I even shook my fist at the sky, for all the good it did.
“I...I don’t understand,” was all I managed to say.
Roman St. James, my agent, sighed wearily. “She’s clearly out to unsettle all three of you.”
We had a stalker. Well, my brothers and I did. I thought it was a one-off or a super fan of Ben or Scott. I genuinely didn’t think much would come of it. But here we were. A photograph of Ben, Scott, and me had been delivered to Roman’s office. This was not a one-off and it very much included me.
I looked around our house and felt a protectiveness surge through my veins. I wanted to board up every window, lock Liv and Linc inside with me forever. “What are the next steps?”
So far I’d mostly let Ben and Scott handle things. I knew security cameras had been installed and bodyguards hired, but I didn’t know anything specific. I kicked myself for not paying more attention.
“Let the security team do their job. I’ve worked with them before, Contention is the best. Your pitching schedule isn’t exactly top secret information, so assume whoever this person is knows exactly when and where you’ll be. I’ll contact the team to inform them of the situation. They’ll want to increase security at the field.”
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “There’s more.”
“Oh?” Roman sounded curious. He was a good guy. A friend in more ways than helping me navigate the business side of baseball. His wife was the trainer who looked after my arm and kept me healthy, his best friend was my catcher. We weren’t super close, but we had a lot of strings that tied us together.
So it was easy to share my personal shit with him.
“I’m engaged.”
“Holy shit!” His happiness for me came through loud and clear. “Who? Olivia?”
“Yep. It just happened last night.” I raked my hand through my hair and sighed. “This is not good timing.”
Roman was painfully silent for a moment. “No, it’s not.” I heard his desk chair creak. “I have an idea you might not like.”
Fuck. “Say it.”
“Don’t tell anyone you’re engaged. Not yet. If this stalker is the jealous type, then you’re putting a bigger target on Olivia’s back than she already has. Regardless of the jealousy issue, it will be clear Olivia and Linc are important to you, and that…” he let the implications hang unsaid.
I didn’t want to hear them and Roman seemed to worry about putting them out into the universe. But to keep our engagement a secret after secretly dating? The universe was playing a cruel joke on me.
“I’ll talk about it with Liv.”
“I’ll send you an email with information. Keep me in the loop on everything and I’ll let you know what the Mantas say.”
“Thanks, Roman.”
“You’re not the first client of mine to have a stalker. These things happen with high profile athletes. We’ve got the best people on this.”
