“Oh…” Dove gives my smitten teammate a worried look. “Only if it’s not too much trouble. I don’t want Mav to feel inhibited with me in the house. I won’t narc you out, Mav. You can go on living your life like I’m not even here.”
“No… You won’t… I won’t…” Mav shakes his head like he’s waking up from a dream. “I mean, yeah, absolutely you can stay here.”
I’m trying to figure out if I’m the only one who sees how he’s reacting to all of this.
“Oh my gosh, Gina!” Dove’s eyes widen as my girl comes down the stairs again.
“Dove?” Gina’s voice rises. “What the heck are you doing here?”
Dove hops off the couch, and Gina shoves the box she’s holding into Mav’s hands.
They meet in a hug, laughing and leaning side to side, similar to the greeting she gave Haddy.
“You are just as beautiful as you ever were,” Gina laughs.
“Shut up,” Dove cries. “Just look at your gorgeous hair! I want to shave it all off and put it on my head.”
They laugh more, and I can tell this is a good, old friend. If I weren’t holding a box, I’d have my arms crossed smiling and watching the floor show.
“I’m only here for the weekend,” Dove explains. “Then I’ve got to get back to the peach farm for Christmas. Mom and Dad would pitch a fit if I missed any of the festivities.”
They walk back to join Haddy, and the three of them excitedly make plans for next semester. I look at Mav still watching with a look of wondrous confusion on his face.
I can’t resist teasing him. “Pretty girl.”
“Oh…” Mav straightens, clearing his throat and doing his best swagger. “Yeah, we’ve known Dove forever. She did pageant stuff with Haddy, and then her mom met my mom and it was all over.”
“How so?”
“We’d go to the peach festival in Louisiana every June, then they’d come and visit us in Newhope every summer. We’d hang out at the beach and stuff. That kind of thing.”
“You hook up with her?”
“No.” He gives me a brief, irritated look before snatching the box he was carrying off the floor. “We’re moving Gina today, right?”
“Are we? I thought you had objections.”
“Dude. Don’t try to pin it on me if you’re having secondthoughts.” He gives me the eye, and I lift my chin with a laugh.
“I couldn’t be more sure if I tried. Just keep walking, pal.”
Later that night, when all of my fiancée’s things are moved into my house and we’ve had dinner and we’ve put my daughter to bed and we’re sweaty and sated and holding each other in our arms, I lean down to kiss the top of her shoulder.
“I think your cousin has a thing for Dove Rhodes.” My voice is low, and Gina tucks her chin before looking up at me with a smug grin.
“I’ve been saying that for years. Don’t tell Mav we’re onto him. He’ll deny it til the cows come home.”
A grin spreads across my cheeks, and I kiss her nose. “As long as it means you’re here with me, he can deny it all he wants.”
She gives me an adorable grin, her lips tilting to the side. “I still need to find him a dog. Maybe a goldendoodle. They’re better indoor dogs than retrievers, and it’s totally Mav’s type.”
“I want you to come home with me for Christmas.” I lift my hand, smoothing it down her cheek and resting my thumb on her chin. “I know that’s asking a lot, but I want you to meet my family. They’re going to love you.”
“Okay.” Her nose wrinkles with her smile. “I guess it’s only fair since you met all my family at Haddy’s wedding.”
She’s so adorable. I pull her close, tracing the path of her freckles with my lips down to her cheeks.
For so long, I thought I’d never feel this way again. I thought if I loved someone with my whole heart this way, I was betraying what had gone before. I didn’t know love could be a safe place, and as much as I want to protect Gina, her love protects me as well.
