Chapter 49

30 weeks pregnant

" W here are we going?" I ask, tapping my fingers on my thighs in the passenger seat. This isn't the normal route he takes to the grocery store.

"You're running errands with me," he says, flashing a grin.

We must be stopping somewhere else first. I relax in my seat and trace his features with my gaze. Damn, he's handsome. My staring is interrupted when he parks in front of a record store. My favorite record store.

"Sully." I look at him. "You don't have to keep doing this stuff. I'm doing okay, really." I believe it. The more I've sat and thought about it, the more I see this as a way to challenge myself to take the next step. Like when a wildfire ravages a forest. It's devastating but necessary for new growth. That's what this is. Devastating but necessary.

"I know I don't. I want to."

I shake my head with a smile. "Well, since we're here…" I pop the handle on the passenger door.

"That's my girl."

Sully runs around the front of the car to help me out. I accept the help because even though I'm not waddling yet, I'll take any excuse for him to touch me. He holds the door to the shop open for me. "This reminds me of Florida," I say.

He looks behind us, to the cold city street with small snow piles along the edge.

"What?" His brow furrows and I laugh.

"Not the weather, just… this. Being together without it being some big secret, ya know? It's nice." It's the silver lining to all this. I get Sully to myself. I don't have to share him with other unsuspecting women. He's mine in record shops and grocery stores, not just private residence rendezvous. I walk toward the rows of brown cardboard boxes housing the used albums, with his hand in mine.

"Wow. Yeah. Guess that means I get to do things like this, then, huh?" He retracts his arm, tucks me into his chest, and kisses me as if he just came home from war. His palm cradles my neck as he licks the seam of my lips, and I automatically open up for him. I can't breathe or think. It's pure manipulation when he nips at my lower lip. Finally, I remember we're in public and laugh, concealing my blushing cheeks against his chest. This man's mouth makes me dizzy.

"No, you can't kiss me like that in public." I laugh nervously. "It's indecent!"

He presses his lips to the top of my head and mutters, "Most of my thoughts about you are."

I shake my head at his boldness, then grab his hand and drag him along. "Come on, buy me some new music."

We flip through the selection. I'm looking to add more rock to my collection.

"Shit, I forgot to ask you, do you think you can get me seats behind the bench for Thursday's game?" I love watching him coach.

"You don't want to sit in the box? It's comfy up there."

I roll my eyes. "Hell no, I want to be by all the action." Seeing him all focused and yelling like that turns me on like no other. I shiver just thinking about it. My man is a Norwegian god, seeing him all authoritative and commanding in a fitted suit—at six-foot-five—is the hottest foreplay. Good lord.

He chuckles. "Yeah, I think I can hook you up… it's going to cost you though."

Resting a hand on my hip, I raise one eyebrow at him.

"You heard me," he says, doubling down. "Payment due up front."

My teeth dig into my lower lip as I resist squeezing my thighs together. What a hardship that will be… I love the way his eyes roam over my body. Having my body change shape hasn't deterred him, if anything he's become more attracted to me. He's insatiable. If this playful happiness is what I get in exchange for losing my job, then I'll get fired a hundred more times. He's worth it.

I return to perusing the albums until I come across a winner. "Oooh! Lou Reed! Can I get this one?"

"Whatever you want, baby girl."

Sully has been spoiling me rotten since he got home from Boston. Most of that afternoon was spent talking and ended with his face between my thighs. Besides that part, nothing has made me forget I no longer have a job, but the distraction of all his other methods of treating me definitely helps.

Today, he picked me up from my lovely prenatal massage, and I left feeling so relaxed and cozy I practically collapsed onto the sofa when we got back home. He's nestled in beside me. One thing I love about Sully is that he always naps with me when I'm tired. We've perfected our spot on the couch together. I never sleep as soundly as I do when I'm in his arms. The fireplace crackles across the room as the speakers croon out John Coltrane.

Sully's chest evenly rises and falls, telling me we're both on the edge of sleep, then my phone rings. We jerk in surprise. I feel terrible that it interrupted the nap he desperately needs after all the games, practices, and traveling he's been doing.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" I grab it quickly, hoping to silence it when I see Pierce's name on the screen. "Oh…"

I swipe my finger across the screen to answer. It's probably some offboarding paperwork that needs signing or something.

"Hello?" My brow furrows.

"Hey! How are you doing?"

I swallow. "I'm all right."

"I've got some good news. I've been talking with the team, they are willing to bring you back on."

"They want to give me my job back?" I sit up and glance at Sully who furrows his brow.

Pierces continues. "So, that's the thing, you couldn't be a producer, but we could make that a probationary thing. You could work your way up again, maybe in a year or hell, maybe even a few months, you could take part in another show."

"Oh…" My heart sinks. "So I'd be, what, a PA?"

"Hang up the phone, Kendra," Sully says softly. I crane my neck to look at him. He shakes his head beside me. "No."

"Yeah, executive PA." Pierce continues. "You would still keep some of your same tasks as before though. We could give you more responsibilities."

"For less pay, I assume."

He sighs on the other end. "Unfortunately, yes. But it's something, for now. The studio knows you're an asset."

I nod. Sully pinches my thigh to get my attention, and I'm torn on what to do. I had come to terms with them letting me go. I accepted it, but if they're willing to give me another shot, it would be nice to have something locked in before the baby is born. That means no break on my resumé, and if they hired me back, I could someday use them as a reference again. Maybe after a couple years?

"Can I think about it?" I ask.

"Of course, but don't take too long. I would hate for somebody to change their mind and have the window of opportunity close on us."

"Okay… okay. I'll get back to you soon. Thanks, Pierce. I appreciate it."

"You bet. It would be great to have you back. Take care, okay?"

"You too."

I end the call and turn to Sully. "They want to hire me back," I say with a smile—one he doesn't return. "What's wrong?"

"Don't take it."

"Sully, this could be really great for me. It would get me in with a studio. I don't know if I'll be able to find a new production house that will take me before the baby is born."

He sits up and takes my hands in his. "I was going to wait until dinner to bring it up, but…"

What does he have to say? I'm getting nervous. "But what?" I ask, my voice is high pitched with anxiety.

"I've been talking with MNSports."

"What? Why?" Did he get in trouble? This is news to me.

"They own the rights to the raw footage that Vault shot."

I know this already. "Get to the point, Sully."

"I think you should start your own production company?"

"Huh?" In a flash, I'm on my feet. "But what about the network, finish telling me what's going on. Why have you been meeting with them?"

He smiles, and it gives me an inkling of relief, but I'm still confused. "Don't be mad… but I met with Lance after I landed earlier this week to find out how much they had of us. I want them to do the show, but it needs to be real, to be our story. I had him put together a promo reel thing—with footage of us. He had one of the editing guys help him, and it was beautiful, Kendra. I met with MNSports a few days later and they took the bait. I think they're all in. You just have to sign off on it. They want to meet with you."

Holy shit.

"But here's the best part, you would get to produce it. Fuck Vault and their bullshit offer, start your own production company. You can pick your own team of people. We can start hiring contractors. I'm sure a bunch of your colleagues would jump at the opportunity to work with you again. People love you, it's why they want you back so bad… But they don't deserve you—they fucked up and they know it. Please, Kendra, don't take a step backward when you're capable of doing so much more. You were born to do this, you're a creator. You can knock this project out of the park."

"And they would continue to sponsor the Rogues?" I ask. I want to make sure this would save the team's sponsorship.

He nods. "But even if they didn't, it wouldn't change anything. This is a great opportunity for you to spread your wings. We can even take more footage, all decisions are up to you. We pitched it to show some of the dating show in the beginning, but as the show progresses, you can see all of our little moments and you can see something develop between us. It's a love story among chaos. But it's your footage. You can do whatever you want with it."

By the time he finishes, I've got tears streaming down my face. This is unbelievable. "You did all this? What if they would have said no?"

"I would have figured out something else… This is my apology to you. Not once did you give up on me after Vault let you go. You didn't blame me when you had every right to."

I could never put that on his shoulders, it would have crushed him, and I love Sully far too much to ever hurt him. No matter how upset I was. Deep down, I knew how that story would end. I knew the consequences, but my need for him was too great to say no. "Sully, we were both playing a dangerous game, baby. That responsibility doesn't fall on you."

He takes a long look at the ceiling, shakes his head, then kisses me. "You are the most incredible woman… and you're great at what you do. There is no one else I would want in charge of documenting the Rogues, my career, and us."

I nod. This is our love story. It's messy but it's ours.

"And after this project is done, you can get started on the list of projects you told me about at the hotel."

Time stands still, a weightless sensation comes over me. Am I dreaming?

"So… what do you think?" he asks.

This is huge. I can't believe he did this for me. This is my dream. I'm unable to speak because I'm holding back a sob, so I nod profusely against him. "Oh, and yes," I say with choked laughter. "Let's do it."

"Hell yeah…" He kisses my temple and rubs a hand up and down my back. "You are going to nail it."

I inhale and let it out slowly before swallowing the lump of emotion clogging my throat. "I can't believe this," I say, my shoulders shaking.

"Deep breaths." He chuckles. "I'll take care of MNSports and let them know you're in, and we can get a meeting set up. Now all you need to do is figure out what demeanor you want to use when you tell Vault to pound sand."

I laugh, and another wave of happiness rolls over me. "Oh my God!" I squeal with a huge smile. "Sully, I have my own project!"

This is the best day of my life.

I kneel on the sofa in front of him so we're eye level. "I'm so happy."

"Me too." His smile is so gorgeous. It reminds me of the first night we met.

"I love you."

I've never smiled so big in my life. "I love you too."

He cups my face in his massive palms and kisses me, and I know he's telling me the truth because I feel his love in it, and I accept it, giving him all of me in return.

"Do you have the reel? Can I see it?"

He nods and digs out his phone, tapping the screen. We settle into the sofa again, with me between his legs resting my back against his chest. My heart is soaring. He holds the screen in front of me and taps the button, starting a video.

I stare in awe as it plays through. Oh my God, I'm watching us fall in love. It's the best footage ever. It's real and honest and raw. The feelings shared between us on camera are subtle yet, under the context, so loud. You can see everything in our eyes and the way we look at each other.

Sully drops his mouth to my ear. "I love you so much, baby."

I bring my hand behind his neck again and smile. "This is so beautiful… It's us." I can't believe how much of us was caught on film. It's almost as if Lance and the guys knew I'd want this someday.

"You'll still be the producer and work with editing to go through footage. You control the narrative. Regardless of what this trailer shows, it's still your show, Kendra."

Once it plays through, he shows me some bonus footage that Lance sent over just in case they needed extra persuasion. Some of it shows me behind the scenes. I've never watched myself do my job before. My brain is already reeling with ideas. It's an amazing project.

It's perfect, and I can't wait to get started.