Chasing Charli - Kat Mizera Page 0,55
then see what happens.”
It felt like Charli was suddenly surrounded by babies and women wanting to get pregnant, which was a little overwhelming, no matter how wonderful Miikka had been when she’d told him her story. The thought of having a child made her cringe and she didn’t know how to handle how much both the players and WAGs seemed to love and talk about babies.
“Charli, want to hold Matthew?” Miikka approached her, holding out the smiling infant. He was five months old now and seemed to laugh a lot.
“That’s okay,” she said softly. “Seems like everyone is clamoring for him.”
“But he smells so good!” Miikka said, thrusting him at her.
The last thing Charli wanted to do was hold a baby, any baby, but here in front of Laurel and many of their friends, what choice did she have?
“He doesn’t break,” Laurel said. “Don’t worry—you won’t drop him.”
Charli wanted to protest, explain that was the last thing she was worried about, but she obediently reached out her arms. Miikka put the chubby baby in them and she cuddled him against her chest. He fisted a lock of her hair and gave her a toothless grin that melted her heart.
Shit. This was a huge mistake. Holding Matthew made her chest hurt and she desperately wanted to shove him back at Miikka and run from the room, but instead she bounced him a little, trying to keep her heart from racing. She avoided babies like the plague because she always had a visceral reaction to them, but here at Gage and Laurel’s house, she had to force herself to relax.
“I love babies,” Miikka said. “They smell good and their little toes…” His English turned into Finnish as he tickled Matthew’s feet and Charli sighed.
Why did everyone love babies?
“My turn!” Whitney snatched him from her arms and Charli breathed a sigh of relief.
“Wine? Beer?” Laurel was asking as Charli followed her onto the most magnificent patio Charli had ever seen. She forgot all about Matthew as she took in the expansive space that contained an Olympic-size swimming pool, half of which was indoors and the rest was outside. Miikka hadn’t been kidding about how incredible the place was.
“White wine if you have it?”
“Chardonnay or sauvignon blanc?”
“Chardonnay, please.”
Laurel poured her a drink into a plastic cup, handing it to her. “Come on, let me introduce you. I don’t know who you’ve met.”
“I know Dani, Sara, Hailey and Whitney. I’ve seen or said hello to some of the other ladies, but haven’t officially met them.”
“Well, we can fix that now. It’s a great group, for the most part.”
Charli followed her around, meeting wives and girlfriends, a handful of kids, and most of the players on the team. Her head was swimming trying to remember names and faces, but Tara came to her rescue, settling at a chair beside her.
“You find anyone to marry you yet?” Charli asked her, teasing.
“Not yet.” Tara grinned.
“Are we looking for a husband?” Laurel asked, arching her brows.
“More like looking for a green card,” Tara said ruefully.
“Has Miikka looked into it?” Laurel asked. “It shouldn’t be too hard. I’m sure Gage can help.” She turned her head and called to her husband, who ambled over with a smile.
“Hello, ladies.”
“How hard would it be for you to help Tara get a green card?” Laurel asked him.
Gage glanced at Tara. “You want to move to the U.S.?”
“I would love to,” she admitted. “But it’s complicated, and even though my brother is wonderful and probably would do it, I don’t expect him to support me so I’d need a job.”
“Well, if you’re serious about this, let me make a few calls and I’ll get back to you.”
“You’re very kind,” Tara murmured. “And I’m sure Logan will be grateful because I’ve asked him to marry me a dozen times since I got here. I think I’m wearing him down…”
Everyone laughed and Gage headed over to some of the guys.
“What would you do for work?” Charli asked her.
“I have a degree in English so I could probably be a substitute teacher. That’s common here, yes?”
“It is.” Charli cocked her head. “Is it difficult to find work in Savonlinna?”
“Yes and no. I can find a job, but finding one teaching English has been harder lately and, honestly, I’m just bored. I need a change and I think moving to the U.S., even just for a few years, might be good for me.”
“I’m sure if there’s a way to figure it out,” Laurel said with a smile, “Gage