“Yes!She needed a Schmidt one, obviously.I got Liliana to get me one from Owen.I didn’t want to take her shopping.”
“She looks so cute in it.”
“I know!I think I snapped at least fifty photos of her during the game.At one point, she had her hands on the glass and she was staring down at the game.I got some amazing shots of her.”
Tali lets out a yawn and snuggles a little closer to my chest.It’s pretty late for her to still be awake and she’ll probably end up crashing on the way home.
“I think it’s time we go home, someone’s tired,” Winnie singsongs as she rubs a hand up and down Tali’s back.
“Hey, Winnie,” Wheeler approaches us with caution.
“Hey!”She wraps him in a big hug and he squeezes his eyes shut as he hugs her back.
A pang of jealousy hits me square in the chest, but I remind myself they’re just friends.Winnie doesn’t want anything more with him.She’s made that clear.
“You were great tonight!I still can't believe you were able to catch that one ball.I thought it was going to be a homerun.”
“Thanks.”Wheeler runs his hand through his damp hair, looking more than uncomfortable.“What are you doing?A bunch of us were headed to Kennedy’s, do you want to come with us?”
Winnie glances over her shoulder at us and a soft smile spreads across her face.
“Nah, I think I'm going to head home with this sleepy head.”She motions to Tali and me.I'm not quite sure which one of us she’s talking about.
I feel bad she’s not going out with her friends.She doesn’t need to toss aside her social life just because she’s my nanny or my girlfriend… Is she my girlfriend?I don’t think we’ve really labeled what’s going on between us yet.
“You can go out.I'm positive Tali will fall asleep on the way home.I’d just need you to drop us off before you go since I don’t have a car here.”
Smithy picked me up on his way to the stadium tonight.I figured it was better to only have one car here so I could go home with my girls.I was able to give Winnie my parking pass so she could park in the players’ lot and then come in through the players’ entrance.Anything to keep her and Tali away from the rest of the fans.I know how rough things can get in the stadium.There are thousands of fans and it just takes one incident for everyone to explode.
Winnie stares up at me with some emotion I can't name in her blue eyes.She watches me for a few seconds before she takes a step closer to me and places her hand on my chest.
“I want to go home with you, Jamie.Unless you don’t want me there, then I can go out.”
“Nah, baby, I definitely want you home with me,” I murmur as I place my free hand on her hip and tug her closer.“I’m just saying you can go out if you want to.”
“Sorry, Wheeler, I'm going home with my boyfriend.”She smirks up at me, making sure Wheeler knows where he stands in all of this.
“Ok, I guess I’ll see you around,” he mutters under his breath before he heads towards the exit.
“Winnie?”Liliana calls her and waves her over.
“I’ll be right back,” Winnie whispers as she stands on her tippy toes and presses a soft kiss to my lips.
I spin to watch her, knowing Tali’s sound asleep on my chest.Her soft snores help ease the tension in my muscles from the game.She’s always been this grounding source for me and it’s nice to have her in my arms immediately after the game.
Winnie gathers her long black hair into a high pony tail.I can't take my eyes off of her.The black leggings that hug her body like a second skin.Her white sneakers that look more than adorable on her.The black and orange jersey with… my name printed across her back.
I blink at Schmidt written in bold letters.I can't believe she’s wearing my jersey.I guarantee she didn’t own my jersey before she became my nanny.That means she chose to buy one and chose to wear it over Wheeler’s jersey tonight.
She chats with Liliana for another minute or so, then she’s turning back my way with a big smile.
“Are you ready to go home?”She blinks up at me and in that second, I know I'm a goner.
I'm in love with Winnie.
The thought washes over me and though it should scare me, a calm peacefulness settles inside of me instead.
She’s the woman I’ve been dreaming of.The one I never thought I’d be able to find.The perfect mother for Tali.
