A Lie for a Lie (All In, #1)(86)

When she opens a cupboard to get a measuring cup, I step in and grab it for her. We move around each other, stealing kisses and furtive touches the entire time. Dinner prep is our foreplay.

“How was your meeting with your agent this afternoon?” Lainey asks as she sets the frying pan on the burner and brushes by me so she can get to the spice cupboard.

I pause in my carrot-chopping mission. “Good. I have something I want to discuss with you.”

She sets the ground ginger on the counter and turns to face me. “That sounds serious.”

I tug on her apron—team themed—and pull her closer. “It’s not serious bad. I just have some options I want to run by you.”

“Okay.” She glances over at Kody. He’s chewing on a book. It’s meant to be chewed on, so she refocuses on me.

“So we’ve talked about the Seattle expansion draft . . .”

She nods. “A lot of the girls are speculating who they’re going to keep safe. You have a no-trade clause, which makes you one of the nine.”

“That’s right, unless I opt to waive the no-trade clause for the expansion draft.”

Lainey’s eyebrows pull together. “But why would you do that? You’re team captain, and you love it here.”

“My contract expires in two years—I’ll be traded eventually. I talked to my agent, and if I waive the clause, Seattle will pick me up.”

Lainey chews her bottom lip. “Is that what you want?”

I pull her lip free from her teeth. “We would be closer to your family.”

She flattens her palm against my chest. “But these guys are like your family. You have years with them.”

I cover her hand with mine. “They’re not my partner, though—you are.”

She nods slowly. “I’m just getting used to everything here. If you’re traded, we’d have to move at the end of the season, wouldn’t we?”

“The timing would be good, though. Your contract with the aquarium is up soon. I’m sure they’d be happy to renew, but I also know you want to work on your PhD. And being in Seattle would make it a lot easier to see your family.”

Understanding hits her, and she crosses her arms. It would be cute if she didn’t look so irritated. “That can’t be the reason you waive your no-trade clause. I won’t take you away from your family so I can be closer to mine.”

“You miss them.”

“We can’t jeopardize your career and everything you’ve worked this hard for just so it’s easier for me to see my family until you get traded again.”

I pick her up and set her on the counter. “First of all, going to Seattle won’t jeopardize anything. And this isn’t just about my career or me anymore, Lainey. This is about what’s best for you and me and Kody, the three of us together. And if being closer to your family would be better for you, then it automatically makes it better for Kody and me.”

“You’d have to leave all these people you care about.”

“Not all of them.” I curl my hands over her knees. “Alex and Violet are going to Seattle.”

“They are?”

“This isn’t public yet, but they’re signing him as the head coach. He knows the general manager of the team personally. They want me. Players get traded all the time, Lainey—people come and go. A lot of contracts are up in the next year or so. If you say yes to this, my agent is ready to make a call. He’s already been in talks with the owner in Seattle. They want to sign me for five years, and they’re offering an extra million a year as incentive—but money aside, it would be a good move for us as a family.”

“How long have you been thinking about this?”

I part her legs and step between them so I can get a little closer. “A while.”

“It’s a big change, RJ.” She links her hands behind my neck, fingers sliding into the hair at my nape.

“Only for one of us. You’re the one who’s had to deal with the most change between us. Look, Lainey, those six weeks we had in Alaska were the best I’d had in my entire life, and the year that followed was dark without you. Having you back, falling in love with you all over again, and Kody for the first time, it’s made me a better man.” I clasp my hands behind her back so I can feel anchored.

“I want us to do this together. Make decisions together, figure out life and how to parent and how to get our kid to eat green things. I want to love you. I want to get razzed by your brothers at Christmas dinners. We’ll be closer to both of our families, since mine is on the West Coast too. It makes the most sense, doesn’t it? If you want to stay here, then the no-trade clause stays in effect—but if you want Seattle, then I lift the clause and we go.”

“You’re sure?” She bites her lip.

“Positive. Whadya say?”

“I say . . . let’s go to Seattle and start a new team.”

Lainey pulls me in for a kiss that lasts until Kody comes up behind me and hugs my leg, reminding me that we have a few hours before we can celebrate this decision privately.

I pick him up. “We’re going on a new adventure, little man.”

He pats both of my cheeks and grins, as if he understands. Lainey gets him a piece of frozen fruit stuffed inside a little mesh bag to chew on while I help get his dinner ready.