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Luke’s legs buckle a little bit when he scoops her into his arms as they move out of the water. The sand is uneven under his feet and her arms wind around his neck, holding on tight as he he shifts her weight against his chest.
“Is it your knee?” she asks, her lips brushing against his ear, making him shiver despite the hot sun on his back and the warm sand beneath his feet.
“My knee is fine,” he grumbles.
“For an eighty year old,” she mutters, but tucks her head against his shoulder and presses a kiss against the underside of his jaw.
“Which is why I’m retired,” he says, finally getting to their little cabana, underneath an umbrella just a few yards from the water.
It was Julie’s idea, to head straight from the World Series celebration to a beach where no one would know who they were, just two people in love who needed a damn break.
Sixteen years in the majors, seven World Series championships, six MVPs and thirteen Gold Gloves and it was finally time to call it quits. Even though his heart was still in it, his body wasn’t.
It’s time for something new, but just as wonderful. Maybe even more so. Actually, he’s pretty sure it’s going to be the best thing he’s ever done.
He sets Julie down on the lounge chair, cushioned and big enough for two.
“I can walk, you know?” she says, laughing a little as he drops to the cushions beside her. “This little peanut isn’t in the way yet.”
Her hand lands lightly on the tiny bump just over the edge of her bikini bottoms.
Luke’s hand finds hers and takes it, lifting it to his lips to press a kiss against the inside of her wrist. He feels her answering shiver where his other hand has drifted to that little bump before he leans over and brushes a kiss there too.
Definitely the best thing he’s ever done.