“She inherited it from her mother… and her grandmother… and her great-grandmother…” I tease.
“That’s quite a legacy,” Owen says.
Haddy shakes her head, waving at him. “It’s very fraught.”
“I want to see,” Gavin calls from the couch.
“Do you ever put her down?” I tease, laughing.
“Hockey season is about to start,” he replies. “I don’t want her to forget me when I’m gone all the time.”
Haddy and I exchange a melting look, and she walks over to the couch, leaning down to kiss her fiancé’s forehead.
“That little girl is not going to forget her big teddy bear.” She looks down at the sleeping infant in his arms. “I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t cry every time you’re out of town.”
“You’ll just have to come with me.”
Haddy’s brows rise, and she shrugs. “I don’t see why not. I don’t have school commitments anymore.”
I don’t ask out loud what my cousin is doing now that she’s finished her master’s degree. For so long, she was the science girlie, studying the transmission of viruses through the air.
Then she met Gav, got pregnant, and went on her honeymoon to Japan, where she met her counterpart in studyingKawasaki disease. Since they got back, she hasn’t mentioned what’s next.
Of course, it’s only been a few months—and I’m still thinking she might be the Champions’ newest PR director.
“I know what you mean,” Owen says quietly, and I notice his stance shift. “I used to feel the same way about Maddie, until Heather started helping me.”
“I can’t imagine how you must miss her.” Haddy’s voice is warm.
He changed out of his practice clothes, and now he’s in jeans and the gray T-shirt he had on this morning when we were in the yard taking photos.
The one he pulled over his head in one sweep, leaving his dark hair in a sexy mess. I’m pretty sure Ryan was applying pressure to the situation when he asked me to fix it.
He knew I was dying to thread my fingers through that thick mop. I can attest it’s as silky as it looks, and his body is as gorgeous as I remembered.
The entire photo shoot, my neck was hot and my mouth dry. His biceps bulged, and the muscles in his stomach flexed, his thighs stretched his shorts… the scent of cedar and soap drifted around him in a tantalizing blend.
His skin is smooth, but his chest is dusted with coarse hair because he’s mature. He’s a man. It makes me shiver thinking of pressing my bare skin to his.
“I like this group shot of the four of you,” Mav calls from where he’s still swiping through the proofs. “You’re not trying to steal Spanky from me, are you, Sly?”
“He isn’t.” I walk to the table, giving his arm a playful nudge. “That photo of Spanky over your shoulder is priceless. I’m pretty sure he’s smiling.”
“Can a dog be cocky?” Haddy asks from where she’s sitting beside her fiancé on the couch.
“I don’t know, but Spanky is definitely Mav’s spirit animal.”
“Speaking of spirit animals, look at those two.” Mav nods to where Ladybird is lying inside Spanky’s crate with my dog right beside her.
“Our two rascals.” Crossing my arms, I shake my head. “We should call Ladybird Darla.”
“She’s such a gorgeous dog,” Haddy says, walking over to pet them in the crate. “Have you ever thought of showing her, Owen?”
He rubs a hand over his chin. “Wouldn’t she have to be registered or have papers or something like that?”
“Not always.” I walk over to where Ladybird is watching all of us with perfect doggy posture. “Some shows judge solely on physical characteristics, and she has good ones.”
“I don’t think she’d cooperate.”
