Page 112 of Verdict

For so long, I believed I was someone people eventually walked away from. Never anyone's first choice. And for the first time in my life, I didn't question whether I was chosen. Cohen Jordan chose me, and I wanted to show him I chose him, too.

I handed him the folder. His brows pulled together as he looked down at it. “What’s this?”

I shrugged. “Open it.”

Cohen opened the folder. His eyes scanned the paper inside before darting back to mine. “Ava. Is this—?” His voice cracked.

I leaned over, grabbing a pen off the table. “You just need to sign it.”

His hand wrapped around the back of my head and pulled my mouth to his. Cohen poured everything into that kiss—every promise, our future, forever. When he pulled away, his amber eyes were shining. “You didn’t have to do that,” he rasped. “Fuck, I love you.” He wiped at his eyes, staring back down at the paper.

I placed one more kiss against his lips. “I thought it was time our daughter had her daddy’s last name.”

Without hesitation, he took the pen from my hand and signed.

It was official.

He was ours.

Bonus Epilogue

Cohen

2 months after that

It was a hot summer day in Texas, but luckily, we’d decided to have Ellie's first birthday party at Addison and Dean's house, since they’d put in a new pool before the summer started—ours was still under construction.

Ava had wanted to involve horses, shocker, so we used a couple of the smaller ponies Addison had at her farm for the kids to ride before we all spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. The air smelled like sunscreen, cut grass, and barbecue drifting over from the grill Walker and Dean were fighting over.

"Back up more," Beckham yelled to Shane, who was backing away from the pool with a football in his hand.

"Is this good?" Shane asked, pumping his arm, ready to throw.

Beckham nodded, signaling he was ready. He took off at a full sprint, heading toward the pool. Once he hit the edge, he launched himself into the air at the same time Shane sent a laser beam at him. Beckham caught the ball mid-air before crashing into the pool with a large splash. His splash sent a wave toward Hadley in the shallow end and soaked Ava, Callie, and Ellie.

"Seriously, Beck? How old are you?" complained Ava as she wiped the water from her eyes, Ellie squealing in delight from her floatie.

Beckham flashed her a grin. "Sorry, AJ!"

He had started calling her AJ months ago, and unfortunately, everyone else had followed suit.

Shane walked over to where the rest of the guys and I were standing. I passed him a beer.

"I think you throw a baseball better than a football," smirked Maddox from over his beer bottle.

Hudson laughed. "Yeah, man. Stick to your day job."

"I don't know, not the way he threw in yesterday's game," Drake added.

Shane punched him in the shoulder, but let out a girlish scream the minute Drake handed me his beer and went after him, sending him straight into the pool.

"Remind me again why you invited them to Ellie's party?" Walker asked.

I shook my head. "No clue."

Beckham draped a wet arm around my shoulders and grinned. “Because you love us, CoJo.”

I shoved him off. “Don’t call me that, dickhead.”