Page 54 of Reckless With the Rookie
He gathers some of the bodice behind her back and holds it to show her what those alterations would look like.
“Definitely,” she agrees.“I want the corset.”
“You can do any hairstyle with this one, too,” he says.“It’s timeless.”
“I want an updo and a delicate tiara.Drop earrings.”
“Perfect.”
She deserves to have a mom here with her right now.A loving, joyful mom who tells her how beautiful she looks.We didn’t get that, though.We got each other.
I look at her once more, and I start crying again.They’re happy tears.
Jules’s fairy-tale romance has been a dream come true for me, too, because I wanted this for her.I wanted her to be seen and adored for exactly who she is, and Noel is her perfect match.
I never thought I could have anything like that.But in the two weeks since Magnus and I decided to give a relationship a go, I’ve gone to bed with a huge smile on my face every night.
He’s sent me flowers three times.He got front-row seats to one of his home games for me, Coop, and Eli, and jerseys for all of us with his name on them.Even though he doesn’t have much free time, he spends what he does have with us.
I’ve learned how to cook chicken on the countertop grill that’s been in our kitchen cabinet since we moved into our house.I make that and roasted veggies for dinner when Magnus comes over, because he can’t eat pizza and wings all the time and stay in shape.
We only had the one night for sex, but we maximized it.I got about an hour of sleep and I was sore from the waist down for several days after.
Our bubble is blissful.It feels good to be making the most of every day we have, instead of only thinking about what could go wrong in the future.
“I need an Uber to the Uber, you guys,” Mara says when we’re finishing up at the boutique.
She’s almost thirty-seven weeks pregnant.Leo didn’t want her flying this late in the pregnancy, but he relented when Mara reminded him that Talia knows how to deliver babies.
We’re only here through tomorrow morning, but it’s been a fun trip.We all got facials and pedicures yesterday at the hotel spa, and we had dinner at a very popular restaurant last night that was a fun experience, but the food wasn’t my thing.
Hudson McClain got us the reservation, and I’ve never felt more Midwestern.The chef apparently knows Hudson and he kept sending us dishes.Uni crudo, I found out from Googling it, is sea urchin, and it’s not something I ever want to eat again.Same goes for foraged mushrooms with truffle foam.I’ll stick with fried mushrooms and Ranch.
We got giant slices of pizza on the way back to our hotel and then watchedBridesmaidsin Jules’s room.
“Okay, where can we go that doesn’t involve much walking?”Jules asks when we get outside.“We have four hours until we need to be at the drag show.”
Mara puts a hand on her stomach.“If I’m going to make it through the show, I need to go take a nap.Sorry, guys.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Lainey says.“I could go for a lie-down myself.”
I feel my phone buzzing with a text and I reach into my bag for it.Noel’s daughter Chloe is watching the boys all weekend, and I keep thinking they’ll call or text about how much they miss me.
But the text on my phone is, once again, not from either of my sons.
Magnus: Hey, how’s the big city?
A photo arrives with the text.It’s a selfie he took in the Vancouver locker room, where he’s playing tonight.He’s smiling at the camera, wearing a white T-shirt, a short layer of light-brown stubble showing on his face.His backward baseball hat almost makes me swoon.
But wait.I shouldn’t be able to see him in such detail.His flip phone takes grainy photos that look like surveillance camera stills.I type back a response as we wait for the driver of the black SUV that’s our ride to pull up in front of the boutique.
Blair: Magnus Lundgren, did you get a Smartphone??
Magnus: I was tired of not seeing pics of my beautiful girlfriend in color.
“He got a smartphone,” I murmur, grinning.
“No way!”Talia cries.“I miss one road trip, and Gramps gets a smartphone?”
