The morning sun came streaming through the airy curtains in the master bedroom. Alex stretched her arms over her head and Gabe nuzzled against her stomach with his arms wrapped around her. He squeezed her tighter and grumbled, which made her smile. She pushed back the hair on his forehead and gazed at his face, taking in his strong features and ridiculously full eyelashes. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to really look at him.

Perhaps sensing her gaze on him, his eyes fluttered open and he smiled at her.

“Morning,” he said, yawning.

“Morning,” she bent down and kissed him on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of him.

“Now that’s a great way to wake up,” he chuckled, running his hands along her back.

“What’s the plan for today?” She kissed him again and interlaced her fingers behind his head.

“We’re going to head down to London for a couple of days. There’s a soccer match on tonight and I think it would be a lot of fun.”

“Okay, sounds good to me,” she said. There was a light bump in the hallway; Emma was awake. She froze, unsure of what to do. Emma didn’t know anything was going on between them yet. They had been good about making sure that he went back to his room any night they ended up together, which was most nights.

Perhaps feeling her tense, he sat up and ran his hand along her back. He hopped up and grabbed a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. He passed the t-shirt to her and sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on boxers.

He walked over to the bedroom door and peered back at her.

“Relax. It’s okay,” he said before walking out of the bedroom.

She could hear him from the hallway.

“Is my best girl awake already?”

“Daddy!” Emma called out. Lying back on the bed, she took a deep breath and a smile played on her lips. This could be their life every day.

After their morning wake-up and breakfast routine, they headed to the train station to travel down to London. It was a four-hour trip and Emma loved every minute of it. She’d never been on a long train ride before and spent most of the time staring out the windows, calling out all the different animals she saw. It was mainly cows and sheep, but every so often there might be a goat. Gabe had to head to a different car to take a phone call for a little bit, but other than that, he was right there with them, helping Emma call out the animals, much to the chagrin of the business travelers in their car.

Once they arrived in London, they stopped off at a wax museum before going to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. He must have pulled some strings because they somehow had a small spot carved out for them right up front so Emma could get a good look at all that was happening. Next, they went across the Thames to the London Eye, which Emma gawked at until they were right at the front of the line.

She craned her neck to look all the way to the top and stared in awe as the whole thing moved around and never stopped. Gabe and Alex both held onto one of her hands as they made the jump onto the Ferris wheel. Although it was against the rules, they ended up staying for a second round because Emma wanted to see all the sights from the sky one more time. Finally, they left for the soccer match.

They took a classic black taxi to the stadium and were ushered in through a private entrance. Alex had forgotten that he was famous for a moment. He got the special treatment, but with his hat and glasses, there weren’t many people who recognized him. He had signed a few autographs, but always managed to keep it low key and let them know he was with his family and had to go. Everyone who recognized him was very respectful and she was impressed at how he handled it all.

They were ushered to a club box with floor to ceiling windows and a small row of seats right in front. There were also tables and couches throughout the room and a full spread of food.

“I’m going to grab some food for Emma.” She left him with some of the other men who were congregating in front of the windows overlooking the field. Emma made a beeline for the chocolate fountain.

“Oh, no you don’t, young lady!” Alex called out, pulling Emma’s fingers back when they were mere inches from causing a liquid chocolate disaster.

“Good save,” someone called out from behind her. She turned to see an incredibly pregnant woman standing with a plate filled with fruit and cakes.

“Your spidey senses will kick in once that little one comes out.” Alex motioned to her belly.

“I’m sure.”

“When are you due?”

“Two weeks, give or take. I hope it’s take. It really needs to be take. This kid is using my stomach as a punching bag.”

“I remember those days. But also remember that it’s easier to take care of them when they’re inside rather than outside.”

“Good point. I’m Jess, by the way.” She shifted her plate and extended her hand.

“Hi Jess. I’m Alex.” She clasped hands with Jess and gave her a shake. “And this little chocolate monster is Emma,” Alex said, catching Emma before she could make a second attempt at the fountain.

“Come and sit down; we’ll move away from the temptation.” Jess motioned them over to a small, round table covered in a white linen tablecloth.

“Good idea.” Gabe was chatting with some of the other guys in the box. All of them were standing with arms crossed in front of the windows, probably trying to impress one another with random sports knowledge. Picking up a plate full of food, Alex settled Emma and dug into her plate.

“I don’t mean to pry, but I saw you come in with Gabe Stevens,” Jess whispered.

“I did,” Alex whispered back. “Why are we whispering?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m not used to being the one drooling over another woman’s man.”

Alex let out a belly laugh. “He is quite the hottie, isn’t he?”

Jess blushed. “Indeed. I’ve probably seen all his movies at least ten times. I don’t usually get star-struck, but man oh man.” She started fanning herself.

“He does have that effect on many woman and some men.”

“I know all about that. My husband is completely drool-worthy and I’m usually the one freaking out about all the attention he’s getting.”

“Who’s your husband?”

“Aedan O’Connell. He’s the captain of the team.”

“Oh, great!” Jess feigned recognition and took a bite of her food. She didn’t even know which teams were playing, let alone who the players were.

Jess smiled, seeing right through the ploy. “Don’t worry, I’m married to him and I barely know anything about soccer. I don’t come to many games nowadays, but when he said that Gabe Stevens was coming, I heaved myself off the couch, got as presentable as possible, and rolled down here.”

“You look wonderful,” Alex reassured her.

“No need to stroke my ego; I know I’m the size of a house, but it’s all worth it for this little, well, not-so-little, bump.”

“You do, even if you don’t believe you need the ego boost.” Alex put her hand on Jess’s and gave it a small squeeze.

“I know. I just hate feeling like this, especially with all the attention Aedan gets. But I’m sure you know all about that since you’re with Gabe freaking Stevens,” she laughed.

“It’s been interesting to say the least.”

“How long have you been together?” Jess leaned forward in her chair, elbows resting on the table.

“Ugh, well, it’s complicated. We knew each other a while ago and have recently reconnected.”

“Yes, my daddy had to be away for a long time, but now he’s back and I get to see him every day.” Both jumped, forgetting that Emma was listening in.

“She’s Gabe’s?” Jess gasped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business.”

“It’s fine. Yes, she’s Gabe’s.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I know how much I hate it when people ask personal questions.”

“Mommy, I’m finished.”

“Okay, sweetie.”

“Can I go see Daddy?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Emma hopped up out of her seat, ran over to Gabe, and pulled on his shirt. He turned, picked her up, and pointed out all the different things happening on the field.

“It’s okay, really. It’s not a secret or anything; it’s just not something we’ve really talked about in public.”

The two spent a little bit more time chatting and Jess promised to invite them over the next time they were over. Apparently, Gabe had been a staple at their place whenever he was in town. Alex liked Jess; she seemed so normal, and she could use all the normal she could get nowadays.

The blare of the pre-game festivities drowned out the rest of the sound in the room. The guys had opened the doors facing the field and walked out to watch from in front of the glass.

“Match is about to start,” Jess said, wiping her mouth, and standing.

“I guess we should go get some good seats. It was great talking with you.”

“You too, and don’t be a stranger!”

“We won’t,” she said, giving her a hug, and walking over to her two favorite people.

Gabe smiled down at her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. Wrapping her arm around his waist, Alex laid her head against his chest. Someone knew now; it was only the beginning. More people would find out, and she needed to prepare herself.

* * *

Holding onto his two girls settled Gabe in a way he didn’t know was possible. He sat watching the game with Emma on his lap and Alex tucked into his chest. He’d met Aedan a couple of years ago at some charity event and they were always crossing paths at those types of events, especially when he was filming in Europe.

When Aedan found out that he would be filming in Scotland, he invited him down to the match. With a tight filming schedule, he didn’t have a lot of consecutive days off, so this was the perfect chance to take Alex and Emma down to London to explore.

The game was fast-paced and much more enjoyable than it was on TV. Emma was standing on her seat jumping up and down, screaming once he’d let her know she was rooting for the team in red. Even Alex was on her feet during the final minutes of the game, with the score at 2-2. Aedan streaked down the field, passing the ball to a teammate before sprinting ahead and getting the ball back and scoring a solid goal that whacked the back of the net. Their entire box screamed and cheered, jumping up and down at their win. Alex and Jess were cheering together, Jess holding her heavily pregnant belly.

“Maybe you should hold back on the celebrating.” Alex laughed.

“Probably a good idea,” Jess said, taking a seat. “It was really nice meeting you. And next time you’re in London, give me a call and we can hang out.”

“Next time I’m here, I will.”

Gabe and Alex ended the evening with a passed-out Emma between them in a taxi on the way back to the hotel. He threaded his fingers through hers over Emma’s head and he pulled them to his lips. Alex’s heart fluttered as she leaned over to him and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Perfection.