“First of all, that’s impossible. You’re already an incredible mother-figure to Ryan.”
I nod but find myself chewing my lip. Jake’s comment is sweet, but it’s not enough to assuage my fears. Raising Ryan isn’t the same as raising an infant.
“It’s a lot, I know,” Jake says. His calloused but gentle hand brushes my hair back from my face and cups my cheek. “Life is full of unexpected changes, Stacy. But the one thing you’ll never have to worry about is the way I feel about you. I will always love you, and so will our friends. And so will Ryan and our baby. Whether we’re on a perfect Christmas getaway, or in the middle of changing a football team’s worth of dirty diapers, you’re still the most incredible, precious person I know, Stacy. The only things that will change will be for the better.”
“Then why do I feel so scared?” I whisper, hating myself for being afraid when I have a man as wonderful as Jake by my side.
“Sweetheart, you know I’ll always protect you. I meant what I said. If being in the spotlight is too much for you now that we’re starting a family, we can move out of the city. Hell, I’ll even quit football if that’s what it takes to make you feel safe.”
“Jake, no! That’s the last thing I want.”
“Okay,” he says, softly. “Then tell me what you do want, Stacy. I’ll make it happen.”
“I don’t want to move away from the city, away from our friends. And I don’t want you to quit football. I love our life, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I don’t want everything to change. I want to find a way to be parents to this little one, but still be us.”
Jake places a hand on my belly, looking at me so earnestly it brings tears to my eyes. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“But that means you have to loosen up a little.”
“What do you mean?”
My lips tug up on one side. “I mean, you have to loosen up about the paparazzi. They’re going to find out we’re pregnant eventually and I don’t want to worry you’re going to Hulk out on them if someone publishes something unflattering.”
It’s Jake's turn to smirk. “Hulk out?”
I raise my eyebrows and he laughs. “Okay, okay . . . you have a point.”
“I love how protective you are of our family, Jake, but we can’t control everything. Especially with this new baby. I don’t want you to expect things to be perfect.”
“I don’t expect things to be perfect.”
“So you’re not going to freak out if we have to stop and change a diaper in the middle of Central Park and someone snaps our photo?”
I watch the muscles in his jaw tense before he releases a deep breath. “Alright, fair point. I need to loosen the reins when it comes to the media. But I can do that. I’ll do anything for you. For you both,” he says, placing his hand over mine where it rests on my belly. “Just keep talking to me, sweetheart, and I know everything’s going to be just fine.”
“I can do that,” I promise. Already, I feel the tension leaving my body.
Jake grins, his large hand still covering mine. “It’s so amazing, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“Until I met you, I didn’t think I could ever love someone this much. And now, thanks to this little one, I can already feel my heart growing more than I ever thought possible.”
Tears spring to my eyes again. “Me too,” I whisper before letting my lips collide with his.
How could I ever feel an ounce of fear with this man by my side?
His words are the reminder I need that we have everything necessary to be good to each other and to this new little family we’re creating—we have love.
Jake Eckhart
As I look down at my fiancée, I'm stunned by just how beautiful she is. I always find her gorgeous, but here, under the stars with snowflakes on her long lashes and a warm smile on her face . . . she’s just utterly mind-blowing.
Delighted tears well in her eyes as our gazes collide. Holding her close, I kiss each and every single one of them away. Even if they’re tears of joy, I'm not about to let them spill. Not on this special Christmas Eve that we’re spending together.
Everything about this trip had been fabulous; from the snowmobile races, to that delicious dinner, to decorating a Christmas tree with Ryan and all of our friends, to this deep conversation that Stacy and I are having about our lives and futures and fears. Life just doesn’t get any better than this.
Stacy sighs. “I can’t believe I was so afraid to open up to you about all of those things.” She shakes her head. “I just felt like my worries were so silly and unfounded.”
“Nothing that concerns you is ever silly, Stacy. I might be on New York’s NFL team, but I'm on your team for life. It’s you and me against the world, sweetheart. We’re in this together. I never want you to feel alone. You can always talk to me about what’s going through that pretty head of yours.”
She burrows a little closer under the blankets, her fingertips dancing up my chest, feeling the dips and curves of my muscles. Her touch makes a shiver roll up my spine, as it always does.
Stacy . . . my beautiful, sweet, stubborn Stacy. She gets me going in a way no other woman ever has. That’s why I'm no longer the Hartbreak Kid. I'm just hers—forever.
“You know, for such a big, tough guy, you have a pretty soft heart,” she murmurs with a grin.
A raspy chuckle escapes my throat. I lean closer, brushing the tip of my nose against hers. “Don’t tell anyone. It’s my deepest guarded secret.”
Her chin tips up as her lips press against mine. She sighs, the hand on my chest gently
