31. Emerson

The second the Uber pulled to a stop, I hopped out and took in the sight of the women on the sidewalk. Gi looked so damn good in the light dress that showed off the curve of her hips. I wanted to yank her into my arms and finally touch her. It had been literal days since I'd seen her.

We'd played at home twice last week, then we'd headed to DC for the weekend and New York for the Metros game after that. This was how life went for MLB players. We were constantly moving, and it wasn't something I'd never minded until recently.

Because until recently, I was never leaving anyone important behind. Now, every time I left Gi asleep in my bed so I could head to the airport, I left a piece of myself behind.

"Hey." She smiled shyly at me.

"Good game yesterday," Mila said.

"Thanks." I tipped my chin at the two bags on the sidewalk. "Just these?"

"Just?" Mila shook her head. "It's a two-day trip, and she's taking two full bags. And a jacket."

"Hey, it's three days, and don't mock me." Gi frowned. "I might need that coat. You never know if it'll get cold at night."

"It's practically July," Mila huffed.

She wasn't wrong. The high for today was supposed to be ninety-eight, but Gianna should be comfortable, and if bringing along a coat made her happy, then I would lug it around.

I grabbed the bags and hefted them into the open trunk. "Mama and Tia Camilia love their AC, so you never know."

Gi glared at me.

I didn't bother trying not to smile. "Your chariot awaits, Mariposa." I waved my hand toward the Tesla.

Gianna responded with a sigh and a giant eye roll. Then she turned back to Mila to say her goodbyes. Once we were settled in the car, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. This time, the sigh that escaped her was soft, and her body sagged against me. Instantly, my own body relaxed. Just having her near me lit me up and calmed my mind. I pulled back and brushed a curl off her face.

"Did missing me make you cranky?" I teased.

"Shut up," she huffed, though she was pliant in my arms as we left the city and headed for Jersey.

The longer we drove, the more relaxed I felt. Coming home felt like nothing else. And this time, I was bringing Gi. The second I mentioned that she was coming, my family knew there was something going on with us. So for the next two days, we didn't have to hide. It was mind-blowing how good it felt knowing I could be affectionate out in the open.

We didn't speak much on the forty-minute drive, but just having her resting her head on my shoulder and filling my nose with that orange blossom scent was enough.

When the Uber pulled up beside my mother's Subaru, I helped Gi out and circled to the trunk to get our bags.

"Where are we putting our stuff?" She glanced around the parking lot.

"Mama's car." I pulled her two bags out and set them on the asphalt before grabbing mine.

"She leaves it unlocked?" Gi asked, her voice pitched high in disbelief.

"Don't bother trying to tell my mother that we live in a world where people need to lock their doors. She won't believe you."

My mom was the reason I always looked for the positive side of things. No matter what happened in life, she always found the bright side. Every day, I worked to be like her and be that light for the people around me.

Unsurprisingly, Gi scoffed. My girl lived in a world full of locks. Oddly enough, I respected and admired the carefully crafted walls that Gi lived behind just as greatly as I did my mom's sunny outlook.

"What?" she snapped.

I smiled. "You're pretty."

With a roll of her eyes, she picked up one of her bags. "Which car? Can we lock it after we put our stuff in? I'd hate for someone to take her car."

I pointed. "We can. We just need to take the keys out."

Her brown eyes widened and her spine snapped straight. "She left the keys in it?"

All I could do was laugh at her reaction. Grasping her hand, I pulled her in for a kiss, but we were interrupted a moment later when the Uber driver honked.

"What's his problem?" Gianna snapped, affecting her patented glower.

The guy probably wanted to leave, but we were in his way. Regardless, nothing could wreck my mood today. I popped Mama's trunk and put our bags in the back while Gianna got the keys out of the console in the front. Once the Subaru was locked up tight, we headed for the football field.

At the entrance, I flashed the two blue tickets, then we were engulfed in a sea of people.

"Emerson!" Tia Camilia called as we wandered, looking for my family. They'd set themselves up in the second to last row of bleachers.

With my hand on Gi's back, I guided her up the steps, weaving through people until we reached them.

"Tia Cam, Tio Paulo, this is Gianna." I nodded. "Gi. This is my aunt and uncle."

My aunt wasn't shy about her appraisal of Gianna. She looked her up and down, then looked back at me with a slight brow raise and a tip of her lips. Approval.

My uncle just smirked. Another win.

The ceremony was shorter than I thought it would be, and before I knew it, we were all back at the house.

Everyone had piled out of the car and headed inside already, leaving Gi and me to grab our stuff in peace. Thank fuck. I could use a minute alone with her.

After I pulled her in for a long, slow kiss, I slung my small duffel over my shoulder and grabbed her two bags. Then I led her up the pavers to the two-family house brimming with the comfort of home. The sensation was odd, since I'd never lived in this place, but I wouldn't question the blessing.

"My mom lives on the bottom floor, and my aunt and uncle live on the second floor." When I signed with the Diamond Hawks, I used the bulk of the bonus they offered as a down payment for the two-family house for Mama and her sister. A year later, when the insurance money from my dad's accident finally came in, my mom offered to pay me back, but I refused. Instead, she used it to pay off the rest of mortgage, and in the eight and a half years since, they had turned the place into a home.

Tio's green thumb had the gardens blooming, even this early in the summer. A huge tree with a tire swing hung in the front yard, and the porch was full of rockers.

"It's so cute." Gi glanced up at me out of the corner of her eye. "And I love the yellow with the brick."

"Jeez, old man. You're slow as hell. Should I help you?" From the doorway, Andre reached out to grab a bag. "Shit, what's in this, rocks?"

"Maybe." Gi smirked and batted her eyes. "Never know what a woman will need."

I chuckled.

"Fucked," my brother mouthed to me.

"Gianna's staying upstairs with us," my uncle said when I headed down the hall that led to my room.

"What?" I spun on my heel and zeroed in on my mother.

"We have the sheets you had the Amazon man drop off, and we put them on her bed up there."

Their daughter was a year older than Andre and lived in an apartment across town now, so they had an empty room, but I'd never considered having Gi sleep anywhere but with me.

"No free milk," my brother joked.

"Tell that to Bels," Yvette teased.

Isabella's eyes widened. "No way. I was the one home last night while Vet was out. Tell me, Vet, was that Todd's car I saw drop you off?"

Yevette blushed.

"Wait, what?" At the mention of his friend's name, Andre shot a glare at Isabella, then turned it on Yvette.

"Don't think you can get away with shit because of their chaos." Tia Camilia raised a brow and pointed at the bag I had just slipped into my unofficial room in the house.

With a sigh, I picked it up again.

"Em," Gi said, shifting on her feet.

Dammit. My family was extra, and she didn't know them well enough to understand the dynamic, so she was beginning to panic.

"Fine," I said, holding her bag out to my brother. "Take them up."

"Me?" he asked, rearing back.

"Yeah. I'm old, remember?" I shoved the bag into his chest. "Stairs are bad for my knees."

The curse was on the tip of his tongue, but before he could let it fly, my mom whacked him with the spoon in her hand. "No, sir."

Wincing, he snatched the second bag and headed out the door and upstairs.

"I'll give you a tour." My mother set her spoon down, then took Gianna's hand and pulled her past me down the hall to my sister's room.

The place wasn't huge, so it would be a quick tour. She and Yvette had bedrooms on this floor. Along with the guest room for when I visited, which they also used as a second living room. Andre and Isabella had bedrooms and a shared bathroom in the basement.

"Your mother is already in love with her and the idea of you two giving her grandkids." My aunt sighed, her eyes going soft.

I cracked my knuckles, ignoring the heat that crept up my neck. "Tia, I've been clear. We're friends."

"Friends who sleep in the same bed?" Tio chuckled. "Weren't you just arguing with your mother about that?"

So on-brand for Tio to cut through the bullshit.

My heart clenched, but I locked an easy expression in place. "We'll be going in two different directions in a few months."

"Anything on a contract for next season?" he asked.

I shook my head, the ease slipping.

"Estúpidos dirigiendo el equipo," my aunt muttered.

That was the issue, though. Every person I'd told had sworn that Beckett Langfield and Cortney Miller were idiots if they didn't bring me back. But from my experience, that couldn't be true. In the time I'd been with the Revs, the pair had never even come close to making a poor decision. If they didn't bring me back, it was because I wasn't bringing what they were looking for to the table. Not only did they recognize skill and potential in players, but Miller was very focused on team dynamic. He knew his shit, and that's what cut even more harshly. I'd worked my ass off to be the teammate who could always be counted on, yet I was pretty certain either they didn't see it or I'd been focusing on the wrong priorities.

The basement door opened, and Mama appeared, still dragging Gianna by the arm.

"And this is my favorite space. See this?" She pointed to the brick fireplace. "It works, and not on that dumb switch that people have now. My house smells like a wood fire all winter."

I bit back a laugh. I wasn't sure if that was something to brag about.

But Gianna's smile was genuine, not amused. "I'm obsessed with working fireplaces. I've always wanted one."

Every time she mentioned a detail like that, my brain adjusted the picture of her future I'd created. Automatically, a fire crackled in the fireplace of her dream house in my mind.

"Oh, whoa." Gianna's face went slack with shock as she stepped up to the painting on the wall in the corner.

"Oh, yes. That is such a lovely picture of Lang Field. It was a gift from Emerson." My mother folded her hands at her waist and beamed.

With my heart in my throat, I watched Gianna, unsure of how she would take this. I'd gifted several of her paintings and drawings over the last couple of years, but I'd never told her I was doing it.

Gianna ran a finger along the frame, and my body tightened in anticipation. "Emerson gave it to you?"

"Mmm. Maybe a year ago?" My mom shrugged, oblivious to the significance. "He's always obsessed with the most random things. Somewhere along the way, he decided this artist—I don't know how to pronounce the name—Gano?" My mother frowned. "Anyway, he became fixated on this artist's work. I can't blame him, I suppose. The emotion in the painting is impressive."

"The dynamic she created in the way she depicted the stadium," I said, my voice hoarse. "How she portrays the loneliness of the person on the way, the person who's looking in on the crowd. The way the loneliness is expressed in water. The ‘not quite in' vibe." I took a breath. "I feel that."

"I just think it's pretty." Yevette shrugged, head tilted and eyes squinted like she was trying to see the deeper meaning but having no luck.

With an audible swallow, Gi dropped her hand from the frame.

She turned toward me, her eyes brimming with awe and acceptance and a sense of being seen. With amazement and surprise, maybe because her painting was prominently displayed in the home of someone she'd never met until today. Disbelief that my family could love the piece without knowing she'd created it. Gratitude for the moment she clearly hadn't expected.

The relief that washed through me made me wobble. This moment was what I needed. A sign that she was open to the idea of sharing her work with the world. She just needed a push.

I closed the distance between us and brought my lips to her ear. "So fucking talented."

Blinking hard, she tucked her face into my shoulder. Still flying high after her reaction, I wrapped her up and held her close. It felt so good, like this was where she belonged.

"Now that that's done, we all pitch in to get ready for Bels's party," my mother announced, just as Andre returned.

"I have to help?" Isabella whined, her shoulders slumping dramatically.

"Of course you have to help. You're the reason we're doing this. You insisted everyone celebrate you." Andre threw out the words almost too fast to catch.

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I swear to God," he said, "if you don't help, I'm posting that video I took the other day and tagging you."

"Uh, I look gross. You can't do that."

"Then help."

"I hate you." With that, she stomped away.

My mother yelled at them both in rapid-fire Spanish. I glanced down at Gi's face to make sure she wasn't overwhelmed by the madness, but instead of finding apprehension, all I found was a mischievous smirk. Like she found the chaos funny instead of too much.

And by the end of the day, it was clear that she not only found them funny, but was totally comfortable in the chaos. Even when I needed to translate, she never got overwhelmed. She just fit in with them like she'd been here all along.

And that night, as I lay on my back on the pull-out sofa, staring at the ceiling in the room we called mine when I was home, that sense of home had disappeared. I twisted, tugging at the sheet, frustrated. Normally, I felt settled here.

This was ridiculous. We had plenty of issues with no easy solutions, but this was a problem I could fix. If I couldn't sleep in this bed knowing Gi was a floor above me, then I'd go to her.

I was a grown-ass man; my mother could deal. I snapped the covers back and surveyed the door for a moment. Ultimately, I decided to go for the window. Mama would deal better if she didn't know.

In less than a minute, I had it open, and I hopping out onto the porch railing. From there, the pull up to the porch roof was nothing. Six feet later, I tapped on her window.

Gi pushed it opened, her brows pulled low. "Emerson? What are you doing?"

I ducked inside and pulled her close. "Apparently, I'm stealing milk."