I cling to Chase as they wheel our baby through double doors. Chase kisses the top of my head.

“She’s going to be fine.”

I swivel in his embrace to face him.

“What if she doesn’t have anemia but something worse?”

Chase’s eyes are tired. He’s been burning the candle at both ends. It’s practice, a game, or spending time with us even after a long day.

“Let’s not play the what-if game. Whatever this is, she’ll beat it. And we should consider having another baby.”

Butterflies race through my stomach. A world of happiness stirs at the thought he wants a family with me until my mind retracts to the reason behind his statement.

I shake my head. “Is that fair to another child? What if—”

His thumb silences me as he cups my chin. “No what if. Besides, I don’t want Violet to grow up an only child. I want her to have what Fletcher and I have.”

I half-smile, remembering how he and Fletcher fought, but Fletcher would still include him. That had meant Mark had to bring me along. I can’t begrudge it because that’s how Chase and I had gotten so close.

“There’s no guarantee our child would be a girl.”

He shrugs. “That didn’t stop us from being best friends.”

“Best friends, huh? You just wanted to kiss me and play doctor.”

A mischievous grin brightens his face. “It worked, right? You let me play doctor and I got to kiss you and—”

I play slap his arm. “Don’t go there.”

“What?” he teases. “I got the prettiest girl in school all to myself. I consider that a win-win.”

“Yeah, and what about Becky Big Boobs?”

He laughs. “You’re still jealous.”

“Did she really give you a blow job in the boys’ bathroom?”

His eyes twinkle. “Did you kiss Andrew under the bleachers and let him feel you up?”

We’d both been stupid, neither of us wanting to change our friendship to something more at first … until things changed.

“I’ll answer if you do.”

He chuckles and I realize he’s been distracting me. I turn to glance at the doors again. He turns my face.

“Eyes here, princess. Our daughter will be fine. You have to tell me the truth.”

I swallow and force myself not to think about the fact that they are putting our daughter under.

“We’ve got this. Team Wilde, remember?”

I lick my lips, noticing that his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He’s worried too. It’s my duty to help him get his mind off of things.

“Team Wilde.”

His head dips and captures my mouth in a quick kiss. When he pulls back, I say, “Fine, I’ll answer, but you first.” His gray eyes dance in the light. “Was I really your first?”

There had been rumors that he’d bedded a ton of girls. Still, I’d given him my virginity. It had been clumsy at best, but he’d done other things that had gotten me off.

“Yes,” he says.

“It’s so hard to believe. Every girl in school was after you. I always thought, I don’t know.”

He shrugs. His face alights with amusement.

“Everyone said—”

“I’ll admit I did a whole lot of base rounding before you, but never got to home until you.”

“And after me?”

It had been hard to maintain a true relationship when we were hiding it from everyone. I had been jealous, but so had he. Girls and guys had used our names as bragging rights for things we hadn’t done. It had broken us up a couple of times.

He clears his throat. “Do you really want to know that?”

The more I think about it, I don’t.

“No, never mind. I have you now and we don’t have to hide it anymore.”

He draws me close and we hold each other.

“Are you hungry?” I nod. “You wait here and I’ll go grab us something.”

I watch him walk off and marvel that he’s mine, though I feel bad. He’s missing a game. I’d heard him on the phone with his agent arguing about his need to be here. The owners of the club had been understanding, but they saw a biopsy as no big deal. Chase had told them in no uncertain terms he was going to be there for this daughter. The contract gave him family leave for emergencies. He said he’d argue with them all the way to a court to say that this was. He’d had no idea I’d heard.

When he comes back, we eat. It’s not great, but it’s something. The procedure isn’t long and Violet is still pretty out of it when we head home.

Once we get home, Chase carries our sleeping daughter inside. I love seeing the two of them together.

I open a bottle of wine when he comes back.

“She’s still out,” he says.

“Doctor said she would want and need rest.”

He moves closer to me. “And I need you.”

His arm snakes around me and I let out a muted squeal as he hikes me up onto the counter, wedging himself in between my legs.

“What are you doing?” I ask, giggling as he gets to his knees and shoves up the skirt I’m wearing.

I glance back at the hall, listening for movement.

“I’m starving.”

He shoves aside my panties and licks my slit from top to bottom and back again.

Breathlessly, I ask, “What if Violet wakes up?”

His tongue is inside me and I fall back, bracing my arms behind me.

“Listen out for her.”

Then he’s back and I keep my eyes peeled for as long as I can. I bite my tongue as I come hard with Chase’s face buried in my pussy. I’m barely coherent when I hear his zipper go down.

“Chase,” I whisper, trying to admonish him.

We are definitely taking things too far out in the open. Though the doctor had said she would probably sleep for a couple of hours.

Then he’s inside me, muttering hushed curses and other words that have me on the verge of coming again.

“I’m going to get you pregnant.”

He sounds like a caveman, which is a complete turn-on. I could tell him no. But the truth is, I want to have another child with him, and not just for Violet. I’d dreamed about having his kids once I realized boys weren’t gross.

The only sound in the house is our flesh slapping together as he fills me.

“You know how much I love you, right?”

“Yes,” I hiss.

He easily brings my lady parts back online. With every one of his thrusts, I’m catapulted closer to liftoff.

“You love me?”

“Yes,” I agree, so easily because I’d never stopped loving him.

“Then we’ll make this official and get married.”

The orgasm that’s been building bursts. In the back of my mind, a smile curls my lips as I wonder how in the future I’ll answer the question how did Daddy propose to you?

Chase’s heart beats wildly in his chest as he covers me.

“Are you going to get off me?” I jokingly ask.

“I’m going to keep you here until my swimmers can get to their final destination.”

“I’m sure we’d have twins or more as hard as I came.” I laugh.

“And are you going to ask me if I’m on board with your plan?”

“You have to know I’ll do anything for my girls, including knocking you up. But we both know you want me to,” he says with a cocky grin.

“Your ego knows no bounds.”

“Maybe, but the same with my love. Violet is mine forever, but so are you. I was dumb enough for not forcing you to come to Italy with me. I’ve known all along you would be my wife. That was never a question. It just took me a while to pull my head out of my ass and admit it.”

“You have wonderful timing,” I say, full of sweet sarcasm.

“As long as I got you in the end, the means don’t matter.” He scoops me up. “Besides, I’m not done with you yet. You’ll be lucky to walk when I finish.”

“Promises, promises.”

I giggle as he heads to his bedroom, where he makes good on his threat. We are playing around in his huge walk-in shower when Violet walks in, getting a clear view of her father’s ass.

I groan, thinking we should have locked the door, when I notice the flush on my baby’s face. I grab a towel and practically run out of the shower, barely getting it around me when I kneel to touch my daughter.

“Mama, tummy hurt,” she says, and then throws up all over me.