Love, Utley (Love Letters #1)

Stopping in front of the table, I look at the white box sitting on the surface. My name is printed on a small sticker stuck to the corner of the box.

There are two empty boxes on the other side of the table, lids tossed carelessly to the side. But I lift the lid off my box slowly.

A small card sits on top of the tissue-wrapped interior.

I take it out.

My Little Bunny,

I won’t have my girl (or her family) wearing any number but mine.

And to replace what was… lost.

Love,

Your Big Bad Wolf

Feeling unsteady, I set the card aside.

Love.

My fingers tremble as I peel the tissue paper back. A jersey just like the one Mom and Chelsea are wearing is folded inside.

The material is thick, the stitching is pristine, and when I hold it up, I can tell he got the perfect size.

Turning it over, I look at his name. Lovelace.

How many times did I dream of wearing this?

How many times did I imagine in my mind that we were madly in love, and I was at his game, in the stands, wearing this exact jersey?

I drape the jersey over the back of the chair and pull the next item out of the box.

My throat tightens.

It’s not a hat.

And it’s not from the Biters.

It’s a gray zip-up hoodie. With the HOP University logo high on the chest, over the heart.

A replica of the one I kept from him.

The one I burned.

And it doesn’t matter that the house is warm from all the baking, I unzip it and shove my arms inside the sleeves.

It’s sized for Maddox, not for me.

And dammit.

I love him.

Tears well in my eyes, and I pull the sides of the sweatshirt across each other, wrapping the material around my body.

I love this man.

The one who gives my niece nicknames.