“These are great seats,” I wiggled down onto the plastic and threaded my hand through the crook of his arm. Popping a kiss onto my forehead and travelling his lips along the slope of my nose to my mouth he murmured, “Only the best for Mrs Willis.” He flashed a smile which spoke louder than words and I watched as those lines around his eyes scrunched and deepened.
I cocked an eyebrow. “You organized them did you?”
He ran a hand through his bronzed hair, which was now smattered with more than handful of grey. “Well, sort of.”
I nudged him hard in the ribs and we both chuckled, our shoulders knocking against one another. “You are such a liar.”
Turning his eyes for the cricket field centre of the stadium he rubbed his hands down his legs and searched for the dark-haired boy we were there to watch. “Lyssi, there he is.” He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, crunching my fingers in his strong grasp. When he let go, I gave them a little wiggle to make sure they weren’t broken. We didn’t have to lean far forward in our seats, they were VIP positioned, one of the perks of being the founders of the England National Cricket Academy.
My breath caught in my throat and this strangled tightening made it impossible to swallow. “Does he look nervous?” I squinted out at the players, all of them in white; navy caps shielding their faces from the sun.” I nudged him harder. “Seriously, Jonathan, does he look like he’s about to puke?”
The man at my side tilted my chin with his fingers, pulling my gaze away from the field and onto his face. “Have you ever known Sammy to be nervous about anything?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “Well no, but there is always a first time and his first game for England is the time to do it.”
The former Lancashire Lion, now founding Chairman of the Youth Academy chuckled and kissed me full on the mouth. “Did you puke the first time you played for England, Lyssi.” The way he said my name made my insides squeeze. I’d never got tired of it and I knew I never would.
I grimaced which made him chuckle even more, his startling blue eyes glinting in the bright afternoon sun. “Look,” I narrowed my eyes. “It was a big occasion. I don’t do well with those, you know that.”
Sliding an arm around my shoulders and tucking me into his side, oblivious to the camera’s that snapped us from a distance, he kissed my hair. “That I do, a sure sign was when you puked at our wedding.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, that’s enough of that,” a voice boomed from behind us and I turned to find my parents sliding into the row behind us, Dad sliding his walking stick out of the way with an accusatory glare once he was safely seated.
Jonathan and I pulled apart, “Sorry,” we mumbled in unison, but judging from the groan from the little people at my parents’ sides our apology wasn’t considered sincere.
“You are always kissing,” stated one redheaded girl.
“And touching,” said the other.
“It’s gross,” said both the twins at once, before giggling.
I looked up into my husband’s eyes. “Did you hear that Jonathan, we are gross.”
He leant over the back of the chairs and tickled both girls on their tummies. “I can be gross if that’s what it takes.” His eyes glanced at the field and he straightened up. “They are about to throw the toss.” His back straightened and within seconds he was back watching the action unfold in front of him like the unscrupulous captain he’d been when we’d met ten years before. Under his breath I heard him repeating, “Bat first, bat first, bat first.” He exhaled a gust of air when Sammy, as the Under nineteen captain called batting. We both cheered and clapped even though no one else was, and I was sure that Sammy’s eyes flickered up to us as he gave his team final instructions.
My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. I clutched Jonathan’s hand and he raised my fingers to his lips. “We’ve done well, hey?”
With horror, I realised tears were lining my eyes. Happy tears. “It’s a shame the twins can’t catch a ball to save their lives.” I deflected the overwhelming emotion, and breathed deeply in through my nose. I didn’t want to ruin the announcement I’d been waiting all day to make.
The Lancashire Lion groaned and kissed me swiftly under my ear, never taking his eyes off the game. “It was a genetic throwback, I told you.”
“Maybe the next baby will play ball better.”
I sat and waited for my words to sink in and then watched the man I loved turn to me, his eyes shining bright. “Another one?”
“I told you, I want a whole team.”
His fingers grabbed mine. “And I told you, we are going to need a bigger house.” And then his mouth fit to mine, still so right and perfect after all of these years and we kissed our way through our nephew’s first bowl as an England captain, but it definitely wouldn’t be the last.
The End