117. Luke

Chapter 117

Luke

I don’t knowwhy I’m nervous.

Every time I’m with Natalie, we have a great time. Sure, this might be our first actual date. Or maybe our accidental wedding was our first date? Either way, we’ve been out together. We did that event together a few nights ago. Hell, we fucking live together. Which is good since I hardly get to see her. I can’t imagine what my head would be like if she hadn’t agreed to move in.

I should really start asking her to come to my away games. She can’t fly with us, but it wouldn’t be a burden on either of us to buy her a few plane tickets.

Next game.

My wife is coming with me to my next game.

I slow as I turn my vehicle onto our street.

And then I smile.

Because there she is.

Standing on the sidewalk, under the glow of the streetlights with soft fluffy snowflakes floating down around her, is Natalie.

In a perfect world, my flight home wouldn’t have been delayed, and I would have been home when she was done with work. But since that didn’t happen, I told her to be ready for me to pick her up.

I told her to dress comfortably and casually and that we’d be outside for a little while.

She followed my directions—wearing a pair of jeans tucked into furry ankle boots and a puffy baby-pink winter jacket.

I want to get out and open the door for her properly, but she’s already reaching for the handle before my SUV is even stopped.

I grin at her as she pulls the door open.

Her hair is pulled up into a ponytail, and her cheeks are flushed.

“Hey, Beautiful.”

Her smile is shy, and the temptation to call the whole night off is real. But I want to do this. So I stay where I am.

“Hey, Player.” Her eyes rove over me, taking in my jeans and plain black hoodie. “You look cute.”

I bat my lashes at her. “Why, thank you.”

Her sudden shyness seems to fade away when she rolls her eyes at me and climbs in.

I wait until she’s buckled, then pull away from the curb. “You ready?”

Natalie folds her hands in her lap. “I have no idea what we’re doing. So… maybe?”

“You’re ready.” I smirk.

The drive is about twenty minutes, and I take the time to ask her about her week.

We’ve texted every day, so I know the bulk of it, but she tells me about her big presentation to the board tomorrow and that she’s a little nervous.

“Why are you nervous?”

Natalie sighs. “Because I’m a chicken.”

“You are not a chicken, Green Eyes. You’re the opposite of a chicken.”

“What’s the opposite of a chicken?” she asks me.

“Terrifying.”

She lets out a startled laugh. “Terrifying? How so?”

I lift a shoulder. “It’s hard to explain. Just that you know what you want, and you don’t settle for less.” She makes a small humming sound, but I can’t tell if she agrees. “I get that they’re a bunch of stuffy business nerds. But you’re a business nerd too. They just have a hard time accepting that because you aren’t stuffy too.”

Natalie is silent for a long moment.

I glance at her when she doesn’t reply. “What?”

“That’s… accurate.”

“Don’t sound so surprised, Wife. I’m more than just a pretty face.”

She huffs out a breath. “I wonder if I should wear a formal business suit tomorrow.”

I shake my head. “Nah, they’ve already seen the real you. Wear what you would normally wear. Changing now would just look like an act of submission. Just be yourself, Princess.”

“I hate when you’re right.” She sighs.

I laugh, but before I can reply, Natalie sits up straighter in her seat.

Because we’re here.