Marek (Cold Fury Hockey #11)(63)
I give a little cough and nod. My voice is hoarse, but Gracen pretends not to notice. “Yeah, chip off the old block, I guess.”
Gracen laughs. “Well, she’s also overly dramatic and a natural-born entertainer. Maybe she’ll go into the fine arts like her mama once wanted to.”
“That kid can be whatever she wants to be,” I say with a laugh and a whole lot of pride. “If she’s got a tenth of your determination, she’s going to conquer the world.”
Gracen blushes and the corners of her mouth tip up in a shy smile. Her eyes turn teasing. “She got her stubbornness from you, that’s for sure.”
“Well, she got that evil-sounding laugh from you.” I laugh and then demonstrate. “Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha.”
Slapping me on the arm, Gracen admonishes, “I do not laugh like that.”
“Do too,” I say emphatically. “I’m always looking over my shoulder when you laugh like that. I know you’re up to no good.”
I’m given a loud snort. “She got her penchant for overexaggeration from you.”
I throw my head back and laugh, and it feels good. My time with Gracen is always so rushed, and let’s face it, I want to spend what little of it I have in bed with her, but this is just nice.
The waiter approaches but I shake my head. He about-faces and walks off. I pick up my drink, take another sip while Gracen does the same.
“How’s work going?” I ask her as I set my glass down.
Gracen swallows and plucks up the toothpick loaded with three blue cheese–stuffed olives. She takes one off with her teeth, and it disappears behind full, pink lips. God, those lips. Feel great on my dick, and—
I shake my head. Not the time.
Not the time.
Thank God Gracen doesn’t know my thoughts have turned lewd as she launches into just how much she’s liking her job. She concludes by saying, “But it’s not the same as the neonatal work. I just hope I can get in if an opening occurs.”
“I’m sure Josie will put in a good word,” I offer.
Gracen shakes her head. “She doesn’t have that kind of pull for one of those competitive jobs. But still, it’s really nice having a friend like her to talk to.”
“I’m glad,” I tell her earnestly, even though I’d bet my left nut Josie was not on team Marek in the early days of Gracen’s relocation here. “Reed said Josie’s going to come to the Pittsburgh game next week.”
Gracen nods as she twirls the toothpick with the remaining olives. “She’s excited. She doesn’t take a lot of time off work.”
I know Reed’s going to be in hog heaven, having her on the road with us. I remember those days of Gracen traveling with my parents to some of my away games at Boston College. It’s true. I always play better when she’s watching.
Maybe one day she’ll come on the road with me. Lilly too on some occasions, but it would be nice to travel with just Gracen.
But I can’t ask her now. She’s so busy with a new job and she won’t ask for time off. She wants to have a stellar record in case a job in neonatal opens up. But hopefully within a few months, she’ll be more settled and maybe I can convince her to take some time off for a few road trips with me.
Yeah, I definitely think Gracen and I are headed in the right direction. We’ll take it slowly and we’ll be that much better for it.
I lift my glass up to her. “Here’s to a fantastic evening out,” I tell her in a low voice. I lean in closer, my words a rough rumble. “Even better time tonight when I get you home and out of those clothes.”
Gracen’s eyes sparkle with promise as she drops her hand to my thigh. She caresses it and picks up her martini with her other hand. Tapping it against my glass, she murmurs, “Thank you for a great night, and I’m so going to suck your cock when we get home.”
I groan before taking a sip of my bourbon, now regretting my instructions to the waiter that we intend to take our time tonight.
Gracen just grins at me mischievously over the rim of her cocktail and I can imagine her evil laugh in my head. I grin back at her, figuring that perhaps the anticipation will just make it better.
Chapter 26
Gracen
While I miss the sense of urgency and importance of the neonatal unit, the sweet excitement of newborns is satisfying to me as well. As I bathe a newborn baby girl named Erika J., it’s hard not to be a little sad as I reminisce about Lilly as a newborn. It’s bittersweet that I’ll never have another one of my own to do this with. Not because I can’t get pregnant, because adoption is possible, but it just seems completely unforeseeable to me that I’ll have additional children. That’s not being pessimistic. It’s just that Lilly is everything I could ever want and more. I don’t feel incomplete in any way by not having another child.
“Gracen.” I look up to see Monica standing there. We usually share the same shift here in the nursery.
“What’s up?” I say as I rub sudsy warm water over the baby’s belly. She strains against the sensation, opening her mouth to bawl against everything that is not the secure womb she left less than a day ago.
“You got a call at the nurses’ station,” she says as she walks to my side. Her hands reach to take the baby from me, and we make the transfer easily as she and I are experts at handling newborns.