𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 » bryce harper [✓]

the pact | epilogue.

"A little after nine." She yawned and stood up, shuffling to the bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Take your time." I grabbed my phone to check all my notifications. A couple people had texted me the link to a Washington Post article about me and Cass. I took a few minutes to read over it and couldn't help but smile. "Babe, look at this article. We made it to the Post."

"Really?" She called back. "Does it have your mushy quote in there about me?"

I laughed and made my way to the bathroom, where she was going through her makeup kit. "Yeah, it was right above the sappy one you said about me."

Cass then poked her tongue out at me and my stomach did a backflip. Ugh. How can one person be so sexy without even trying? "Let's just agree we're both saps for each other and call it a day."

"Fair enough." She pulled out two tubes of lipstick and held them out to me. "Which one do you think I should wear?"

They both looked the same to me, and I told her so. "What kind of look are you going for today?"

She set down one of the tubes and smiled. "Whichever is the most professional. I've got a job interview this afternoon."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised since she hadn't mentioned anything about it until today. "Really? That's great, Cass. Where?" I weaved around her to grab a towel and washcloth from the linen closet.

"In Northwest, I think? It's just a typist position. Not exactly sports journalism, but it'll help bring a little more cash in and when I actually do want to try for journalism, I'll have references."

I didn't say anything, but smiled, hoping it would suffice. But I should've known better. We hadn't been married long but it didn't matter; Cass had always been able to read me like a book.

"Okay, I'm not feeling the enthusiasm here. What's wrong?"

I reached for my hair comb and sighed. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

She laid a hand on my arm. "Talk to me, Bryce."

I turned to face her. "I'm gonna sound like an absolute jerk. But if you get this job, which I know you will—what does that mean for us starting a family?"

The way her expression changes makes me wish a black hole would come and swallow me up. Our discussions about trying for a baby had been brief, but we both maintained we wanted to try sooner than later. But I wasn't going to deny my wife a chance at a career that most women her age and older wished they could crack into.

"Bryce, we talked about this." She hopped onto the vanity, hands on her knees.

"Did we? I just feel like we left it unfinished. I'm not saying we should try right now, but you know how much I love my niece and nephew. I want that for us."

She grabbed my hand and tugged me closer. "I do too, baby. And we will eventually. But I don't think right now is the best time. Maybe in a couple months once I've gotten my feet wet, then we can revisit it."

She was right. The love of my life had wisdom in spades, always had. I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against hers. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."