The Way We Score: A small-town, accidental pregnancy, sports romance. (The Bradford Boys)

Liv’s having my baby. It’s like some kind of crazy dream come true. My mind reels, and all I want to do is hold her in my arms. I want to kiss her so bad, but again, it’s not The Garrett Show. I have to let her take the lead.

Letting her take the lead is fucking hard as hell. I’m ready to put a ring on it and move her here to New York. We can spend my last year in the city together. I smile, thinking about her in the box all round and pregnant, smiling and waving in my jersey.

Damn, that’s good.

“I can’t do this alone, Garrett.” Her tone almost seems afraid.

What the hell does she have to be afraid of?

“You won’t do it alone.” I’m pure confidence. “I’ll help you with everything.”

“But how?” She takes a step back again, brow furrowed. “I can’t move here, and you can’t move back to Newhope.”

So much for my big plan.

We’re quiet again, and the sounds of the busy Manhattan streets echo soft in the air, audible even at this height. I think about what Jack and I’ve discussed, and how it looks like we’ll have to speed up the timeline. I can’t wait until next year to retire. Liv needs me now.

“Who says I can’t?”

“What?” She blinks up at me, her pretty hazel eyes wide. “But your contract…”

“I’ll worry about my contract.”

“I just… Mom needs me to be close, and I can’t imagine having a baby without her, so far away.”

Looking down, I think about what she’s saying. I think about all those years ago, when we were faced with our first separation, and it was only college.

“The last time we had a hard decision to make, you asked me to come to you, and I said no.” My throat tightens, and I swallow that regret. “I’m not saying no to you again.”

Our eyes meet, and another tear falls onto her cheek. She wipes it away fast.

“Okay.” Her voice cracks with a whisper, and it hits me right in the stomach.

“No more tears.” My voice is gentle, and I pull her to me. “We got this, Cherry. It’s going to be good. I promise.”

She nods, stepping back. “I believe you.”

Looking around, I try to think of something to lighten the mood. “I think it’s Dirty Dancing time. What’s that quote?” Her brow wrinkles, and I explain. “You know, like in Road House, he says ‘Pain don’t hurt,’ and it’s so over the top?”

“I carried a watermelon?”

“No…” I shake my head, thinking.

“You’ll hurt me if you don’t trust me?”

“Wow.” My chin pulls back. “That’s a good line. That’s in Dirty Dancing?”

“You’ll just have to see.” Her tone is lighter, and the worry that’s been creeping across her face since she arrived is gone.

Maybe I should have more thoughts about this, but I don’t. She’s happy. I’m fucking thrilled. It’s the easiest decision I’ve ever made.

Liv is having my baby, and I can’t stop smiling about it.

“It’s good, but that’s not the line. I can’t believe you of all people…” I’m about to give her a hard time when I catch a sparkle in her eyes, and I realize she’s messing with me.

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” she groans, and I lean down… stopping short of kissing her.

“No, they don’t.” I give the side of her hair a gentle tug as I pull up the movie on streaming. “Now get comfortable. Do you want a snack or something? Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m good.” She sits on the couch, pulling her feet up beside her. “I’m still full from lunch. That hamburger was delicious.”

She doesn’t look pregnant at all curling up on my sofa, but she said it’s really early. I don’t know anything about this stuff, which means I’ve got some homework to do.

“Man, I should’ve known something was up when you were only drinking sparkling water the whole time.” I grab a pillow and throw it on the floor, sitting in front of her.

“Why did you think I was here?”

“I wasn’t sure, but you had that look on your face, like when I saw you the first time in Newhope. I thought I was going to have to bust your ex in the lip. Or maybe your law partners.”

“My poker face has never been very good.” She stretches out, bending her elbow and propping her head on her hand.

“That’s all right. I’ve got you.”

The movie starts with blurry images of couples dancing to the song “Be My Baby.” I steal a glance at Liv lying on her side.

Her hazel eyes are fixed on the screen, and as the music plays, I think about the way we always dance. I think about being a teen and watching this movie with her, just waiting for it to end so I could pull her onto my lap.

I think about the nights she’d sneak into my bed, and I’d thread my fingers in her soft hair. I was so sure it was how my life was going to be. That part was settled, and I was happy.

Then I think about all the years I thought it was gone. I remember the night she got married, and I got drunk.

It was over, and I knew I’d never find somebody who made me feel like I did when I was with Liv.

She blinks to meet my gaze, and a smile curls her lips. “What?”

Glancing down, I think about what I said to Jack about telling her I’ve changed versus showing her.

Meeting her eyes again, I simply say, “This is good.”

Her smile broadens, and she slides her fingers along my cheek. “It is.”

Dr. Anderson’s office is dimly lit and a tiny fountain sits on a table in the corner of the room. Flute music plays softly overhead, and a subtle, herbal scent drifts in the air—eucalyptus? Maybe it’s patchouli.

Liv is lying on an exam table with the back raised so she’s sitting up. She’s wearing a cloth hospital gown, and a paper sheet is over her front. I’m sitting in a chair at her side, ready to be supportive.

When she told me she had to do her first ultrasound, I hopped on the next flight to Birmingham. Reddit said The Expectant Father was the best pregnancy book, and it said this is a very important moment—which made me say No shit out loud.

Leaning closer, I whisper, “This is the fanciest doctor’s office I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of doctor’s offices.”

“He’s supposed to be the best OB in Birmingham,” she whispers back. “Only… I’m not really excited to have a guy down there.”

I’m not excited about it either, but see above. Supportive.

After she fell asleep during Dirty Dancing, and we spent another night with her on the couch and me on the floor, Liv decided she’d better head home. Especially, since she’d only brought a change of underwear and a toothbrush.

I was pretty proud that she’d run straight to me when her primary physician confirmed she was pregnant. I was also pretty smug when I discovered she’d taken my jersey with her. She says it’s a comfortable night shirt, and I’m counting that as a win. Getting closer.

Liv is one of the smartest people I know. She’s strong and capable. She’s a fucking lawyer. She can literally handle anything, and thinking how she ran to me like that, without even packing, has me doing my best to remind myself it’s not The Garrett Show.

Internally, I’m strutting around, feeling like a star. Like I’m her own personal bodyguard. Or better, I’m her baby daddy.

Putting her on the plane was tough. Not touching her for more than awkwardly long hugs is tough, but when she kissed my cheek at the security line, I took it as my signal she wants to go slow.

I can do that. I can go as slow as I need to go if it means we’ll be together in the end.

While we might be going slow physically, we’ve been texting pretty much nonstop.

At this point, I’m still working on the details of getting out of my contract. I get paid on a weekly basis, so the worst that could happen is I’d lose out on the rest of the season. But I’ve been with the team so long, it’s possible they’ll pay me out—it’s my hope, considering my situation.

I need to figure out what to do with my apartment. I could try subletting, but I don’t think I could get away with it, considering everybody knows me. One of the pitfalls of being sociable.

“Good afternoon, Miss Bankston!” Dr. Anderson is an older fellow with white hair and glasses. “You must be the husband? Nice to meet you, Mr. Bankston.”

My brow rises, but I don’t correct him. Liv isn’t sold on this guy, so I’m pretty confident this might be our only visit.

“Is this your first ultrasound?” He looks down his nose at us, and I’m not sure why I feel like a teenager confessing I knocked up my girlfriend.

I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like when we tell our families. They’ll go crazy. Hell, they’ll probably throw a party for the whole town.

“Yes,” Liv answers. “Dr. Beck did the initial testing, but he referred us here for the ultrasound.”

“My nurse Arati will handle that, and we’ll meet up to discuss when you’re done.”

With a smile, he stands and walks out of the room, closing the door softly.

Liv’s head snaps to me, and she’s clearly pissed. “So what is his point? He just sits behind a desk and reads results?”

Yep, I know my girl pretty well. We won’t be seeing this guy again.

I don’t have a chance to answer when a pleasant young woman in pink scrubs enters the room.

“Hi, there, I’m Arati. I’ll be doing your ultrasound.” She takes out a half moon-shaped device. “I’ll just need to uncover your belly and apply some gel. We’ll move this over your stomach and see what we can see. Okay?”

Liv nods, moving the paper blanket aside, and I can tell by her cooperative smile, she likes this young nurse a lot better than that old doctor. I can’t say I disagree.

“I got this good and warm…” Arati squeezes blue gel onto Liv’s skin then rests the half-moon wand against her stomach.

The room immediately fills with a loud swishing sound like being underwater. A black-and-white image appears on the screen, and we both lean forward.

After a few seconds, the swishing turns rhythmic, and Arati’s calm voice cuts through the noise. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”

My chest tightens, and a knot forms in my throat. It’s a strong, rhythmic strumming, and when my eyes meet Liv’s, hers are watery.

“All I do is cry now,” she whisper-laughs.

Leaning closer, I take her hand in mine, kissing her knuckles. “It’s pretty damn incredible.”

What’s incredible is how in one moment, your entire life can change in the best possible way.