she was never going to let go. When she finally pried herself off Anna, Anna grinned and elbowed a bouncing Lane standing next to her.
“We aren’t making a big deal,” Anna’s face arranged itself into what she hoped was a neutral expression. “But just—have some fun, okay?”
After untangling herself from Lane’s hug, Kym nodded, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “I’ll try. That, or I’ll be at your house with wine in a few hours.”
Anna squeezed her shoulder. “Either one.”
As she walked away, Anna thought she looked small and a little lost.
“Kym!” When Kym looked back, Anna waved a dismissive hand at her. “You could wear a sack, and he will think you’re gorgeous. Strut your stuff tonight.”
With a wave and a coy, definitely cheerier expression, Kym slipped into Anna’s parents’ car.
A sniff made her turn to Lane, who then sniffed theatrically again. “Our little girl is all grown up.”
Laughing, Anna grabbed her shirt, pulling Lane against her, trying to kiss the smirk off her lips. When she withdrew from the embrace, Lane grinned and grabbed her, bringing Anna to lips that were soft against her own.
“If you two are going to be gross, can we go home now?”
Hands on her little hips, Ella stared at them with her eyebrows raised. Letting Lane go, Anna poked her tongue out. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”
Anna ruffled Ella’s hair and walked over to Toby, scooping him up and holding him against her chest, his head on her shoulder. The weight of him in her arms was solid, almost heavy. He grew too fast to keep up with, surprising her every day with new words and new skills. There were moments he took her breath away as he’d look up from an accomplishment, eyes lit up like her brother’s once had as he discovered a new talent.
Now in her arms, Toby murmured but didn’t wake up. His eyelashes left shadows against his cheeks, and he smelt like grass and sugar and baby shampoo. At that moment, watching Ella take Lane’s hand and start chattering, Anna didn’t care that she had two overly tired, sugared kids to try and settle that night.
There wasn’t much else she’d rather be doing.
With Ella’s sticky hand in Anna’s left hand and the right under Toby’s bottom in order to carry him, they started the walk home. Between Lane and Anna, Ella swung their hands back and forth.
“Nurse Lane?”
“Yeah, Ella?”
Lane winked at Anna over Ella’s head.
“You’re staying tonight, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we have pancakes in the morning?”
With a snort, Anna grinned at Lane, who looked back down at Ella. A smile played at the edges of her lips, and Lane let go of Ella’s hand to wrap an arm around her small shoulders.
“Sure.”
If you enjoyed All Wrapped Up, check out All the Little Moments to really get to know Anna, Lane, Ella, and Toby.
No Going Back
by Cheyenne Blue
“The world number one does not lose in the first round of a grand slam tournament.” Her coach crouched beside the ice bath, his gaze dispassionate on Alina’s nearly naked body.
Alina sank lower in the frigid water and tried not to shiver as the cold bit into her aching muscles. “This number one just did.” She shrugged, striving for a nonchalance she didn’t feel. Nausea rose in her throat, forced up by the crushing disappointment of her failure and she blinked fast to control the tears that threatened. “It happens.”
No chance of a kind or consoling word from Anatoly. Her coach treated her like a machine. A thing to be fuelled efficiently, brought to peak fitness, and doubtless discarded once it was no longer profitable. Her emotions were irrelevant.
Anatoly’s lips tightened to a thin line. “The number one ranking is now achievable for five players from this tournament. Jelena Kovic or Simona Halep have only to reach the semi-finals. Serena Williams can retake the ranking if she wins the final.”
“Even Serena has lost in the first round of a grand slam.” Alina winced as her aching hip spasmed. Was this the start of her slide in the rankings? She forced her mind away from the negative thinking. That was a loser’s mindset. And she was a winner—next time. She had to be.
“Serena’s loss was the 2012 French Open. Not since then. You would do well to study her determination.” Anatoly rose, his face a blank mask. “Tonight, we will analyse your loss, pinpoint where you went wrong. Tomorrow, we will work on your weaknesses.”
Alina closed her eyes momentarily. She hadn’t had a day