his next latest and greatest death-defying idea. “What about dirt bikes?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Your contract is explicit. If you want your ten million dollars; you’re going to behave. No crazy sports. No dangerous vehicles. No extreme activities at all. Believe me, Lach. It’s boilerplate.”
“Okay…what about—”
“No, Lachlan.”
“Lemme finish.” He presented the next idea like he expected me to join him in his quest for idiocy. “A jet ski.”
“No.”
“Oh. So I guess snowmobiles are out too?”
“Yes.”
“Damn. Fine. I’ll sign it.”
“Thank you. Goodbye, Lachlan.”
I ended the call but kept the phone in my hand. I gave him fifteen seconds, just enough time for the baby to decide I hadn’t peed enough today.
“What?” I answered with all the patience a woman in her third month of pregnancy who hadn’t eaten for a day with a toddler who refused to take longer than a ten-minute nap could muster. “Lachlan, they aren’t trying to stop you from having fun. They just don’t want you to crack your skull open anywhere but the football field.”
“I know, I know!”
He was lucky he was cute—that pesky, swat-him-on-the-forehead brother type.
“Okay,” he said. “What about paragliding?”
I sighed. “And how high off the ground would you be?”
Lachlan thought for a second. “Like a hundred feet?”
“And how high is your vertical jump?”
“…About thirty-six inches.”
“Okay, I’ll make this easy.” I forced a smile. “If I see you higher than thirty-six inches off the ground, I’m going to eat you. Are we clear?”
“…Okay.”
I sighed. “If you want something to do, why don’t you just find a nice girl to date?”
“Damn, Piper. I’m looking for an adrenaline high, not a castration.”
“Goodbye, Lachlan.”
I hung up again. This time, he didn’t call back.
Crisis averted.
And I once thought I couldn’t be a good agent. All it took was a tough hand, a couple threats, and Rose teaching me everything I needed to know about managing temper tantrums.
Marrying my biggest client helped too.
Our new house in Ironfield wasn’t as big as Cole’s old castle, but I still couldn’t hear the garage when he came home. He said he liked it that way—more room, more space.
It didn’t make much sense to me. After working-out at night, the big teddy bear spent most of his time cuddling on the couch with me and Rose.
I didn’t mind.
Cole dropped his duffle bag in the kitchen and pulled me close.
“Hey, beautiful.” He kissed me, his hand pressing against my yet-flat tummy. “How’s that baby?”
“Doing good.”
“Did you miss me?”
“I’m still not used to you spending all day at practice…” My eyes fluttered closed as he kissed my neck. “But I don’t mind the way you say hello when you get back.”
“I can think of a better way.”
“Oh, really?”
“Daddy!”
Cole grinned. “Hold that thought.”
He spun and knelt to catch Rose. She flew at him, but my now two-year-old toddler still hadn’t mastered her brakes. That was fine. Cole scooped her up, kissed her cheek, and earned her squeal.
“Daddy! Here!” Rose handed him a book she’d swiped from her bedroom. “My story?”
“But I just got home, meatball.” Cole took the book anyway. “Let’s read after dinner.”
Rose gave him a pout—a masterful and calculated look. “No. Now.”
“Daddy doesn’t want to read now,” I said.
“No.” Rose slammed her little hands on her hips. “Story.”
“She’s just like you, beautiful,” Cole sighed.
“We just know how to play you.”
He glanced at her. “Hugs now, story later?”
He drove a hard bargain, but Rose couldn’t resist a hug. She giggled and regaled him with the happenings of her day.
“A B C D E—” Rose chattered at him, twisting the alphabet into a rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star before pointing at me with a winkled nose and wicked laugh. “Lock-In! No!”
Cole laughed. “Dealing with Lachlan again?”
“Uh-oh!” Rose shook her head and mimicked me. “That boy.”
“You guys got a great tight-end,” I said. “But, one day, that man is going to make some lucky woman very…dizzy.”
Rose squirmed off of Cole. She gripped his duffle bag.
“Mess.” She scolded him and amused herself by trying to drag it across the kitchen. When it proved too heavy for her, she surrendered to the clutter and unloaded his clothes and shoes onto the floor. “Mess mess.”
“Never used to have so many people reprimanding me before,” Cole said.
I welcomed him close again, loving the feel of his arms around me. “Never used to have a family before.”
“Got two now, at home and with the team.” He kissed me, his words still possessing that feral edge. “I couldn’t live without you beautiful.”
“You don’t have to. This is our happily ever after.”
“No, it’s not.”
He didn’t let me