Page 172 of Payoff Pitch
“I know I can’t fully commit until after my pregnancy, but, if I’m still up for it after the girls come, are you really on board for me to give my career another go? It’s going to be hard on all of us.” She sighs. “But I think I’ll always wonder if I don’t at least try.”
I pepper kisses over her neck. “I’m a thousand percent on board if you choose to pursue it. I think it’s amazing that you’re even considering it. You know I’m putting infrastructure in at the office so that I can take a step back if needed. I want this for you if you decide you want it.What could be better than our daughters seeing their mommy working her ass off to achieve her goals?”
She whispers, “What if I fail?”
“I don’t think you will. I know my wife.”
“The doctors don’t think it can be done. What if they’re right?”
“They don’t know the heart in Bailey Hart Montgomery. And if the committee doesn’t select you, we’ll simply go cheer on your sister and your friends. I’ll be proud of you for leaving nothing on the table. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. You were an all-American athlete with national championships and world championships. A gold medal would be nice, but it doesn’t define you or your career.”
She nods while opening and closing her fist. “I just wish my grip would come back. It’s driving me nuts.”
I take her hand and place it on my cock, now standing at full attention above the band of my boxer briefs. “Your grip feels good to me. I’m always happy to provide a little after-hours physical therapy for you.”
She giggles. “You’re a pervert.”
“My wife is sexy as hell. I can’t help myself.”
“You used to make fun of Layton all the time for referring to Arizona asmy wife, and now you do it all the time too.”
Hmm. She’s right. “I never thought about it. I think I’m just so happy that you are, in fact, my wife. I know how lucky I am, and I’ll never take it for granted. I’ve learned from past mistakes in my life. I’m laser focused on us, our family, and our happiness. That’s all that matters to me. Or at least it matters the most.”
She reaches up and runs her fingers through my beard. “Are you happy? Was today okay for you? Are you disappointed to not have a son?”
I run my hands down and over her belly several times. “Not even a little bit. In fact, this is what I wanted. Two more Harpers? Sign me up.”
She smiles. “It could be two more Kams.”
I suck in a breath. “Bite your tongue.”
She lets out a laugh. “Even I couldn’t handle that.”
I can’t stop rubbing her belly, loving that she’s growing our girls inside her. “How about two Baileys? Then I’ll want a hundred more.”
She looks up at me. “You’d consider more after these two?”
I think about it for a moment as I continue running my hands all over her body. “Unbelievably, yes. I can’t imagine anything better than watching you be a mother or seeing more products of our love. We’ll have to stop at some point though. I don’t want to be eighty when they’re in kindergarten.”
She reaches her hand back again and gives my cock a squeeze. “You feel young and healthy to me.”
I nibble on her ear. “How about you sit on him and find out just how healthy he is?”
She nods. “In a minute. I enjoy this intimacy with you. Laying in your arms with your hands all over me. I love you, Tanner. So much.”
“I love you too, my sweet, sweet girl. My life had a lot going on before you came into it. The count was full and it could have gone in a lot of different directions.”
She let out a laugh. “Are you telling me I was the payoff pitch?”
I smile into her hair. “Yes you were, and I hit a grand slam.”
EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER
BAILEY
I’m huddled up with Kam, Ripley, and Arizona. Our arms are lovingly wrapped around each other as we absorb everything and try not to let the emotions overcome us. We’re about to take the field for the gold-medal game of the Olympics. Win or lose, this is the last career game for me, Ripley, and Arizona. Kam is on the fence, but I think she’ll retire too. She has so many good things going on in her life right now, but that’s a story for another day.