The warm morning sun woke me Sunday morning to an empty bed. I could hear the shower running in the other room and frowned. Cooper usually did his morning exercises before taking a shower.

I tossed a glance over my shoulder at the clock. It was almost ten. For as long as I could remember, I was an early riser, but evidently, this baby wasn’t. I stretched and thought about getting out of bed, but the warm, plush blankets were too inviting. I pulled them up to my chin, surrounding myself with Cooper’s spicy scent and closed my eyes.

These last few weeks were exactly what we needed before the baby came. I finally felt connected to him on a deeper level. I’d been practically living at his place since he couldn’t handle my stairs. We spent a lot of time talking. We planned for the baby and got the nursery set up in his spare bedroom. I even agreed to start interviewing nannies. He came by the shelter and worked with the kids.

And somewhere in all of that, we moved from two people who just happened to be having a baby together to a real couple.

He’d also been hyper-focused on his recovery. He spent his days either at physical therapy or at the clubhouse going over strategies and plays. He attended every home game and watched every away game on the big screen. He did every exercise and followed every instruction the physical therapist gave him. By the tenth day of his therapy, he was completely off the crutches. By next week, he’d be cleared to start jogging again.

I would have chalked up his manic drive to get back on the field to his love of the game, or even simple boredom, but there was something else going on. Any time I brought up the team, he changed the subject. He’d gotten several calls from Manny and went to see his agent a few times. Whatever was bothering him, I wanted him to share it with me.

“I hope I didn’t wake you?”

His warm molasses voice washed over me, and I smiled without opening my eyes. “I’m not sure a hydrogen bomb would have woken me this morning.”

“You did get quite the workout last night,” he said, trailing a finger along my collarbone. “I have to say, I’m really enjoying this part of your pregnancy.”

We’d never had a problem connecting physically, but he was right, the last two weeks had been incredible. I looked up and sighed, taking time to enjoy the view.

“I am, too.”

“Do you feel up for an encore?” he asked, crawling back into the bed.

My body was already starting to warm up when the phone rang. It was my phone, and if I was getting a call on my day off, that usually meant there was a problem.

“Hold that thought,” I said and rolled over to grab the phone. “Hello.”

“I’m sorry to call on your day off, but I need to know if you can come in,” Tony said on the other end of the line. He sounded a little frantic. That was unusual for the normally collected man.

“I can be there in about an hour.” I got out of bed and grabbed a shirt. I mouthed the words I have to leave to Cooper. “What’s going on?”

“A pipe burst upstairs at my house and water is pouring into the kitchen. Lisa tried to turn off the water, but the shut-off valve snapped. I have to get home. There are several volunteers at the center, but I need someone who can write a check to be there when our food guy arrives at noon.”

“Go. Deal with your plumbing. I’m on my way.”

I hung up and tossed the phone onto the bed. “I’m sorry. I know we were going to have a lazy day in bed, but I need to go in.”

“How’s the search for an administrator?” he asked, handing me my hairbrush as I tried to pull back my wild hair into a ponytail.

“We still haven’t found the right person. I’m going to call Joni next week and see if she has any recommendations.”

“Good. I know you have a dedicated staff, but you and Tony can’t be the only people who can handle the big things. You’re going to need time off after the baby, and after that, you might want to spend less time at the office.”

I turned, frowning. This wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned me working less. “I know you make millions every year. But I’m not going to stay at home and let you take care of me. I like what I do.”

He wrapped a thick arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest. “I know. I just want to make sure you have options. We don’t know what the next six months are going to bring.”

There it was again. That cryptic tone to his comment about the future. I wanted to stay and drag out of him whatever was on his mind, but I didn’t have time.

“I’m going to stop by my place tonight. I need to check my mail and get some new clothes. And maybe my yarn. It would give me something to do while you watched the game tonight. I can’t read through all that yelling.”

“You should just move in here,” he said, catching me off guard. “You’re practically living here already.”

It wasn’t that outrageous of a proposal, but for some reason, I started to laugh. All I could do was picture a mound of my brightly colored Afghans draped over his modern gray sofa. Or my wall of photos cluttering up his hallway.

“You don’t really want me living here full time. I already drive you crazy when I kick off my shoes in the living room.”

“I only mentioned that if you took them off at the door, you wouldn’t spend fifteen minutes looking for them in the morning.”

His indignant response made me laugh again, and I kissed his cheek. “You’re just proving my point.”

He caught my hand as I stepped around him and pulled me back for a real kiss that left me breathless.

“Think about it.”

The thought had crossed my mind. I was hardly ever home right now, but once he started playing again things would be different. It’s not that I didn’t trust him. He was committed to me—to us. While we may have done things out of order, I knew marriage was something he wanted. And unlike the last time he asked, I was starting to warm to the idea.

I licked my lips tasting the cinnamon toothpaste he used, and nodded. “We can talk about this later. I need to leave, or I’m going to miss the delivery.”