“That’s so sweet,” Ainsley says.
It is sweet. She has no idea. By the time I look up, Travis is in left field warming up, and I can’t tell him that I feel the same way. I’ve actually been in love with him for a while but too scared to tell him. I didn’t want to pressure him into saying it back if he wasn’t ready.
Throughout the game, I look at the ball when I can’t see him, and each time, my heart beats a little faster. In between innings, he’s signing autographs for the kids who wait at the fence, something we hoped that Lucy would understand was part of his job—that right now he was Travis the baseball player, but at home, he was all hers.
When the game ends, everyone makes their way to their cars. I had asked my in-laws to take Lucy for the night, and my mom snickered while Tonya asked if she’d be getting another grandbaby soon. I wanted to be angry with both of them, but since Tonya had asked for another, and not her first one, I couldn’t be mad. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Kidds love Lucy as if she’s their own blood.
I sit on the hood of our rented Chevy Camaro. It’s not a practical family car, but it’s a convertible and sexy as hell. A group of the guys walk out together, and when Travis sees me, he pauses.
“I’ll catch you guys in the morning,” he tells them.
“Practice safe sex, Kidd. Those slump-busters will get you every time,” Branch yells out, laughing right along with the other guys.
“Shut the hell up, douche donkey.” I join in on the laughter. I’ve grown to love his one-liners.
“Hey, babe,” he says as he pulls my legs around his waist. He leans in and kisses me, not caring that his teammates are catcalling and telling us to get a room.
“Hey,” I reply breathlessly. “Good game.”
“Thanks.” His hands slide up my legs until they’re firmly under my shorts. “You know, this is the perfect height for me to fuck you.”
“Not here,” I tell him.
“Are you telling me that you’ll let me find a deserted road so I can fuck you on this car?”
I nod, appeasing his request. When it comes to Travis, I’m willing to do anything he asks. “I do have one condition, though.”
“Anything,” he says eagerly.
“Say it again.”
“Say what?” he asks with a look of confusion.
“Tell me what that ball said today. I want to hear you say it.”
Travis removes one of his hands from my leg and cups my cheek. His thumb caresses my lower lip, and he stares into my eyes. “I love you, Saylor.”
My breathing hitches as I hear the words. The impact is profound and life altering. I kiss the pad of his thumb and let the tears fall willingly. “I love you, Travis.”
“Yeah?”
; “Yeah.”
“Holy fucking meat sniffer. You fucking love me.”
“I do, and I have. I’ve been afraid to tell you out of fear that you didn’t feel the same.”
He kisses me deeply, and when he pulls away, he rests his forehead against mine. “That night in the bar…that’s when I knew I was in love with you. I used to think that night was a mistake, but now I know it was meant to be. We were meant to weather that storm together to make us stronger. I fucking love you and Lucy so much that it hurts sometimes.”
I return his kiss, caressing his stubble as my lips stay sealed to his. I have no doubt that if we could make it through that nightmare, everything else will be a cakewalk.
“You’re our world, Travis.”
“And that’s what I’ll always be.”
“Come on—we have some baby-making practice to get done.” I shimmy off the hood of the car and climb in Dukes of Hazzard style, leaving Travis speechless.