paigebueckerxfem
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- Parts 50
Getting drafted was supposed to be the hardest part.
When Paige Bueckers hears her name called by the new expansion franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, she's ready for everything that comes with being the face of a new team-training camp, media attention, expectations, and the pressure of helping build something from the ground up.
What she isn't ready for is the woman living across the hall.
Marlowe Bennett is twenty-five, fiercely independent, and raising seven-month-old twin girls on her own. Between diapers, bottles, sleepless nights, and balancing work with motherhood, romance is the last thing on her mind. Her daughters, Sunny and Sailor, are her entire world-and that's exactly how she plans to keep it.
At first, Paige and Marlowe are just neighbors.
A borrowed package. A shared elevator ride. Late-night conversations in the hallway when neither of them can sleep. Before long, Paige finds herself looking forward to the sound of tiny giggles coming from across the hall and the sight of Marlowe's tired but beautiful smile.
What starts as friendly check-ins turns into bottle feedings, stroller walks along the bay, and afternoons spent making Sunny and Sailor laugh until their cheeks hurt. For the first time since turning professional, Paige discovers a life beyond basketball-one filled with baby blankets, messy kitchens, and a family she never expected to find.
But falling for Marlowe means more than falling for a girl.
It means falling for two little girls who slowly begin to see Paige as part of their world.
As Paige navigates the pressure of her rookie season with the Valkyries and Marlowe struggles to trust someone with her heart again, they'll have to decide if what they're building is worth the risk.
Because sometimes home isn't a place.
Sometimes it's the apartment across the hall.
And sometimes the family you never planned for becomes the one you can't imagine living without. 🏀💛🍼🌊