“Are you sure you want to do this, son?”
I looked down at the paperwork I’d finished filling out, a ball of red hot emotion settling in my chest. After the bombshell Lucia had dropped on me a few days ago, coupled with the fact that I never wanted to have to worry about her safety ever again, I’d gone to the local courthouse to file a restraining order against my own father. I couldn’t take the risk of him popping up whenever he felt like it, getting in my face again or harassing the mother of my child. I didn’t want him in my life any longer and was willing to take drastic measures in order for that not to happen.
I’d also found out from Coach that they’d banned my father from all games and had also gone whole hog and gotten a restraining order on him, too. He was unable to set foot within a thousand feet of any building considered part of the team’s facility. Somehow, I managed to come out smelling like roses—the PR team spun the incident to make me look like a hero. I didn’t take much pleasure in that story, though. I knew I had lost my temper, knew I’d been wrong, but I wasn’t about to tell the police it was my fault and get my father off the hook for all the abuse he’d shelled out to me or my mother over the years.
The officers who later questioned me asked if I wanted to press charges, and though Lucia urged me to do so, I didn’t want it dragging on. It would only draw more attention, there’d be a media circus for weeks to come, and I still needed to keep my head clear for work.
Signing my name on the line, I pushed the paperwork toward the clerk. “I’m sure. Does it go into effect immediately?”
“It’ll go to the judge first, then there will be a hearing,” the clerk replied, standing. “I’ll have it there before lunch, Mr. Maddox, and you’ll hear in the next few days about the hearing.”
“Okay, good. Thanks for your help.”
“No problem. Thank you for the autograph; my son is going to go nuts over it!”
I shook his hand and walked out of the court house, surprised to find Lucia’s father standing beside a large SUV. “Get in,” he said, his eyes hidden behind a pair of dark glasses. “We need to talk.”
I swallowed hard and climbed in, hoping that this wasn’t going to be the last ride I ever took as a Jupiter Suns quarterback. The SUV pulled away from the curb, destination unknown, and I didn’t care to ask. We rode in silence for a while as I fidgeted with the cuff of my sleeve, wondering how this was going to end.
“You disobeyed me, and now she’s pregnant,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “Care to tell me how that happened when I warned you to stay away from her?”
“Sir, with all due respect, I don’t think you want to know how it happened, and I can assure you, it was not planned. But it doesn’t matter how it happened; we love each other.”
“Lucia said that as well,” he said gruffly. “What do you want from my family, Mr. Maddox?”
Caught off guard, I looked at him to find the man who signed my paychecks staring at me intently, his glasses now nowhere to be seen. “What?”
“If it’s money, I can provide it—there’d be conditions, of course,” he continued on, clearing his throat. “You already have the starting position on the team. I can extend that for as long as I need to, provided you stay away from her.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
I thought about the away game the other night and how for the first time in a long while, I was able to concentrate effectively on the game, knowing that I had Lucia waiting at home. I stuck to the plays, and in the end we were able to pull out a win. It had been the best damn game I’d had in years. “I’m not trying to scam you or your daughter,” I said slowly. “I don’t want anything from you, sir.”
Surprise filtered through his expression, and I grinned. “I have everything I need: a baby on the way and a fine woman who loves me for me, and a well-paying job—that’s if I still have one, of course. What else could I want?”
“Do you truly love my daughter?” he asked briskly as the SUV slowed down in front of the stadium. I started then, my heart hammering in my chest. Love was too short a word for what I felt for her. I respected her for everything she had been through and for the hell I had put her through, yet she kept on wanting to be with me. Any man was damn lucky to have a woman like her by his side.
“You should already know the answer to that, Mr. Cortes. But just in case you’re unclear, I love her more than the game we call football,” I finally said, feeling something in my chest break free.
“Good answer,” he replied, slapping me on the back, a smile breaking free. Fuck, it had all been a test, and it seemed like I’d passed. “Welcome to the family, son. Now get the hell out of my car and win me some games. You’re gonna have a mouth to feed soon.”
I grinned and exited as quickly as I could, before he could change his mind. I called a cab and went back to the courthouse to get my car, then drove to Lucia’s new place of business to pick her up and to tell her what had just happened. She’d be happy to know we hadn’t ripped each other’s throats out and could be civil. I had other things to tell her, as well, things that were on my chest that I desperately needed to share with her.
She was lugging a box up the steps of the townhouse that was her and Cara’s new office space, and I leaped out of the car to stop her. “I told you, you shouldn’t be carrying things.”
I took the box from her and kissed her hello. “Don’t be silly, it’s good exercise. Besides I’m not even showing yet.”
“Yeah, I suppose. I just want you to be careful.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“So how did everything go this morning?”
“It was… interesting,” I said. “Did you already finish moving? I said I’d help.”
“It’s okay, I didn’t have much,” she said as I grabbed her hand, and together we walked inside. “I got everything moved in today. But there are some shelves you can put up if you’re willing.”
“Anything for you,” I replied, giving her a squeeze. I was going to miss having her right down the hall. “You ready to go?” She nodded and locked up again.
Today was a very important day. Today was going to be the first time we’d hear our child’s heartbeat. We were both nervous and fidgety when we got to the clinic—but neither of us could stop smiling. I watched as Lucia signed herself in, and then we settled onto a bench together, our hands still clasped. “So,” I said casually, stretching my legs out in front of me, “I got a visit from your father today.”
“What?” she asked, turning toward me. “Oh dear God, what did he do?”
“Nothing,” I chuckled, releasing her hand to stretch my arm along the back of the bench. “Well, he had me going for a bit. He asked me a few questions and then dropped me off at the stadium, still in one piece.”
“What kind of questions? He asked you how it happened, didn’t he?”
“No, of course not,” I replied, hoping the little white lie would take away her look of mortification, then gave her a serious look. “He did make me think, though, and I have something I want to ask you.”
“Okay,” she said as my fingers stroked the back of her neck. I sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling lightheaded. What if she didn’t agree? What if I wasn’t ready? The nerves were worse than any major game I had ever played in. “He asked me if I loved you, Lucia, and you already know I do, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she said, drawing out the word slowly. “I love you, too.”
“I told him yes, of course,” I finally said. “But my conversation with your father made me realize I can’t live without you. Literally. I feel like part of me is missing when you’re not with me.”
“Oh, Jacob,” she breathed, her eyes misting with those ever-present tears. I was getting used to them, especially after the other night where we had watched some sappy movie in my bed and she had cried her way through it. A box of tissues was a handy thing to have in practically every room of my house now.
“So, I want you to move in with me. Right now, today, as soon as possible, Lucia. I mean you liked the house, didn’t you? But if you don’t, I can buy another one, anywhere you like, anything you want. We can start working on the nursery. You pick any room in whichever house you choose, but maybe not our bedroom—”
She placed a finger over my lips, silencing me. “Shh, you’re cute when you ramble, you know?”
“Is that a yes?”
“Of course it is, you love-sick fool. I don’t want to be away from you, either. And I like how you say it’s ours,” she responded, moving her fingers to my face. “I’m so happy, Jacob.”
“Me too,” I found myself saying, a grin on my face. Hell, I was more than happy, I was ecstatic.
“Lucia Cortes?”
I looked up and found a nurse smiling down at us. “Come on, babe, it’s time to meet our little lovebug.”