I wrapped my arms around him, finding his nervousness ridiculously adorable. “You know she loves you. It’ll be fine.”
“You really think that?”
“Let’s go find out. She’ll be finished in the bathroom in a tick.” Leaning up, I traced his lips with mine for the briefest of kisses. It was time to get dressed and speak to Lottie. I wanted to get this out there. That way we could work out what came next.
Once we both pulled on tees and shorts, we left my room. Nervous excitement fizzed in my stomach. But before I plowed right in with our announcement, I needed to check she was feeling okay and wasn’t in pain.
During the night I’d paid a couple of visits to her room, relieved to find her sleeping solidly. With a fresh new day, I hoped she’d be feeling brighter after her awful night.
“Hey, kiddo,” I greeted, dotting a kiss on her head. The TV blared out sports reports, and her gaze remained fixed to it as she sat on the couch with her feet tucked under her. “How are you feeling this morning?”
When she pulled her attention away from yesterday’s League game overview, which I winced at, she bobbed her head. “Okay. My arm hurts a bit, but not as much as yesterday.”
I examined her face, happy to see no dark rings under her eyes, amazing since she didn’t get to bed till midnight. It reminded me that I needed to call her school. Lottie had missed so much school already this semester, which she wasn’t that cut up about, but I didn’t like the thought of her falling even further behind.
“Let me get you some anti-inflammatory pills, then I’ll make a quick call to your school. Back at school on Monday for your final week, though, if you’re up for it.”
“It’s the last week so we only play games, so it wouldn’t matter so much if I didn’t go.”
I chuckled. “Uh-huh, but I think it’s best if you go in anyway.”
“Fine.” She dragged the word out, and Pearce’s chuckle caught my attention. Standing in the doorway, he looked so fucking delectable and at home.
On seeing him, Lottie grinned. A split second later, her smile slipped, and she glanced at the TV. “I can turn it off.”
God, I loved this kid so damn much.
Moving away from the doorway, Pearce shook his head. “It’s okay. Watching this stuff helps me improve my game.” He took a seat next to her, and whether she realized it or not, she shuffled closer to him, leaning in enough that she made her intentions clear.
Pearce sent a quick look my way, his eyes soft as he wrapped his arm around her. Immediately, she leaned against him, injured arm away from his body.
“That’s good. It wasn’t all bad. Jetts were the stronger team in this game.” She angled to peer at his face. “But you made it all the way to the conference finals, Pearce.” Her brows lifted high. “That’s incredible. I’m proud of you.” Lottie followed up with a pat on his chest, near where her head leaned.
The sweet gesture, the compassionate words were more than I thought any ten-year-old capable of. Emotion flooded me, and from the expression on Pearce’s face, he battled with emotion of his own.
“Thanks, kiddo. That means a lot.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head, flicking his gaze at me.
I shot him an emotional smile before huffing out a breath and clearing my throat. “Okay. Breakfast?”
“Yes, please,” Lottie answered. “Pancakes. They’ll make my arm feel better.” There was no missing her crafty grin.
“Uh-huh. In that case, pancakes it is.”
“I’ll come help.” Pearce made to move but I waved him off.
“You stay here with Lottie. I’ll call you when food’s ready.”
Snuggling back next to Lottie, he shot me a grateful smile. “Thanks. I’ve already put a pot of coffee on.”
“You’re the best.”
I left them to it and set about making breakfast while trying to think about what to say to Lottie. When Pearce and I spoke about it earlier, I’d pushed confidence into my response. Wanting to reassure him and ease his anxiety had been easy. But it didn’t stop my stomach from twisting or my heart from galloping.
There could be no sugarcoating what was happening. Not that our news needed sweetening. How could it, when it made me so happy? The shock factor would be there, though. It was the surprise of it all that had me dropping an egg on the floor and burning one pancake.
Once I finally managed to make a decent stack and crisped up the bacon without incinerating it, I called Pearce and Lottie, figuring we’d sit around the smaller kitchen table just off to the side rather than at the breakfast bar. This way I could read Lottie’s reaction.
They filed in.
