“I have. She’s beautiful, just like her mother.”
And apparently south of the equator wasn’t the only place to heat up. My face got pretty hot too. “Thanks.”
“Any idea what we’re going to call her?” he asked. “I’m guessing Noah is no longer on the table.”
Definitely not—even though I really did love the name.
“I thought maybe we could name her after my grandmother. Lily.”
He studied his daughter for a moment. “She looks like a Lily. All right, Lily it is. If it’s okay with you, I’d like her middle name to be Grace—after my grandmother.”
Lily Grace. “It’s perfect.”
“I was thinking,” he said, smiling at Lily in a way that clearly suggested she already had him wrapped around her finger, “of maybe taking a picture of her and me together. Then the team can release it. People are going to find out I’m now a father”—he nodded at the door—“and it’s not like I’m trying to hide that I have a child.”
“That’s a great idea.” Plus, then I’d have a copy to look at whenever Josh wasn’t around.
“I was also thinking”—he glanced back up at me—“that maybe we could move in together. Probably your apartment since she already has her room there.”
Did you hear that? No? That was because I’d stopped breathing. I wasn’t too surprised that he wanted to go public about the birth of his daughter. But had I even for a second thought he would suggest we live together as a family?
Was Australia’s national animal the polar bear?
“I still have my apartment, but I can sublet it until my lease ends,” he said. “Or I can stay where I am now if you’d prefer.”
I think I might have blinked. I couldn’t be sure. My mind was still trying to digest what he had just said.
And then it hit me. Well, more like what he had meant by the second part hit me. Did he really think that I didn’t want him to live with me and Lily?
I grinned. “I would love it if you moved in with us.”
Like a family.
Which we now were.
He smiled at me, clearly relieved. Then he returned to smiling broadly at Lily. “And your Daddy is going to sell his Nissan GT-R and buy a nice car-seat friendly vehicle. Then I can take you and your mommy for rides.”
His words warmed me up inside. “You’re really going to sell it? But you love that car.”
He looked up at me. “I do, but what’s the point of it if I can’t take Lily for rides?” He went back to smiling at his daughter.
I grabbed my cell phone from the nightstand and shuffled over to join them. The picture I took of father and daughter was nothing like what Kelsey would have taken—but I thought it looked utterly adorable.
Since I hadn’t told my parents yet, I fired off a text with the photo. Next, I sent one to Erin and Kelsey. Erin immediately responded.
Congratulations! She’s adorable. Samantha and I can’t wait to meet her.
Mum texted right back, congratulating both Josh and me, and telling me she couldn’t wait to meet her granddaughter.
A moment later I received a text from Drew. Congratulations, Holly. She’s beautiful like her mother. Look forward to meeting the newest Whittaker someday real soon.
I leaned down and kissed Lily’s forehead, then kissed my boyfriend’s scruff-covered cheek.
“How’re you feeling?” he asked.
“Sore. Like my body doesn’t belong to me.” The second part wasn’t anything new. I’d been feeling that way since getting pregnant. But at least then I had a baby inside of me.
The best thing about being pregnant? Having a tiny life growing inside you.
The worst thing right after giving birth? Hello, stretch marks and postpartum flabby stomach.
But I would be going home with a healthy baby—and a sweet and caring boyfriend.
What more could I wish for?
Right—for Josh to love me like I loved him.
And for my green-card application to be approved.
29
Josh
Valentine’s Day—the sappy, stress-out-any-man-in-a-relationship day that the creators of chocolate and greeting cards had dreamed up.
Or so I once thought.
I smiled at the two most important girls in my life sitting next to me on the couch. Lily was busy sucking away at Holly’s breast. The butterfly necklace I had given Holly for Christmas sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the window.
“I’m going to pretend I’m not jealous,” I said.
Holly’s head jerked up from watching the hungry baby eat. “What are you talking about?”
“I had staked claim to those gorgeous breasts. They’re mine and no one else’s.” The smile on my face? One hundred percent smirk—even if the breasts weren’t one hundred percent mine. At least not for now. They were currently on loan like fine artwork in a museum.
“Lily might have something to say about that.” Holly yawned, which didn’t surprise me. She hadn’t slept much since Lily’s birth three days ago. When Lily wasn’t sleeping, she was eating.
And for something so small, she sure liked to eat frequently.
“Why don’t you have a nap once she’s finished lunch?” I said. “I’ll make dinner.” Which had been my plan all along.
“Are you sure?” Holly yawned again. “It’s not like you got much sleep last night either.”
“I got more than you did.” At least on the road, I’d get to catch up on my sleep. I was one of those lucky bastards who slept pretty much anywhere. Good thing too, with all the traveling the team did.
Lily pulled away from the breast, a drowsy, satisfied expression on her face. It wouldn’t be much longer before she was napping too.
“I’ll change her and put her down for her nap while you go and rest up.” I pushed myself off the couch, removed Lily from Holly’s arms, and carried her to her bedroom. “Hey, beautiful. What do you say Daddy changes you, then you sleep while I make dinner? Does that sound like a plan?”
I would have discussed the rest of my plan with her, to get her female opinion on it, but I didn’t want to risk Holly overhearing.
Holly and Lily had been home for a day now. And what was the number one thought parading through my head? No, not the one where I craved to make love to Holly—although it was certainly up there.
I was already wondering how I’d be able to go back on the road with the team. I couldn’t get enough of seeing my two girls.
I couldn’t get enough of waking up with Holly next to me.
Now, I know what you’re thinking—that all those times she and I had slept together during the past few months must have counted for something.
But they didn’t.
Sleeping together and living together weren’t the same thing.
Living with her was so much better.
Even if I had to learn not to be quite the slob I was before.
Okay, I’ll admit it, it was a work in progress.
Lily started fussing as I changed her wet diaper, so I did what had become a habit even before she was born—I sang “Unforgettable” to her. By the time I got to the second line, “Unforgettable though near or far,” she settled down and watched me as I continued singing.
Once she was changed into a clean diaper and sleeper, I wrapped her up in a pink receiving blanket and settled her in her crib.
How did I do? With the blanket, I mean. HDF Lesson #15 had been on the fine art of swaddling the baby in a receiving blanket.
Except wrapping a teddy bear was not the same as swaddling a squirming baby. Not even close.
Next, I did what all new fathers do…I watched as she fell asleep, then retrieved my phone and shot some more photos of her—for when I was on the road.
Did I have any pictures of Holly and Lily together? You’d better believe it.
After I stopped staring at Lily, I began making dinner. I’d already given Holly red roses that morning. I know, clichéd. But I was a man. Wha
t did you expect?
Since the meal didn’t need to go into the oven yet, I put it in the fridge for later and checked my social media sites.
Normally I didn’t read the comments. I doubted most players did. Or when they did read them, they skimmed to the ones from people they knew.
The last time I’d posted anything was from the day Lily was born. It was the photo Holly had taken. There were the expected comments about how cute she was. Naturally a given.
There were numerous comments about ovaries exploding because of how hot I looked holding a baby.
Did anyone else think that sounded painful?
And there were several comments questioning why no one had heard until now that I had a girlfriend…and questioning if Holly had trapped me into a relationship. If I ventured a guess, I’d say those comments came from puck bunnies.
The rest congratulated Holly and me on the birth of our daughter.
As I parked my phone next to Holly’s on the coffee table, hers vibrated and lit up with a text from Drew: Call me. Heard of a great job opportunity here. I think you’d be perfect for it.
“She’s got a great job here,” I muttered, even though he couldn’t hear me.
“Who has a great job?” Holly asked, startling me. When had she become a ninja?
“You do.” I pointed to her phone. “Are you looking for a new job?” In Australia?
She picked up her phone and sat next to me, then read the text and shrugged. “As far as I know I’m not. As far as I know, I still have one once I return from mat leave.”
“What happens if you don’t have a job?”
She placed her phone back on the coffee table. “I will, so let’s not talk about hypotheticals. Especially not when our daughter is sleeping.” She shifted her leg over mine and straddled me. “Especially when I just want to do this…”
She planted a kiss on my neck, then nipped the skin there. Instantly my cock grew interested, forgetting how Holly’s soft heat was off limits for a few weeks while her body recuperated.
I grabbed her hips, itching to rock her body against mine.
And the award for Best Restraint While Incredibly Horny went to…
All right—I didn’t exactly win it. I might have accidentally rocked against her the tiniest bit.
Honestly, that was just a tiny bit.
Her mouth continued its journey up my neck to my jaw. She nibbled the skin there too. A groan escaped my lips—a groan that was part lust, part exasperation at her teasing. Teasing when she knew that was as far as we could go.
As if guided by my groan, her mouth found my mouth, and her teeth gently tugged at my lower lip.
Eager to welcome her in, my lips parted.
Imagine you were stranded in the desert—and all you could do was fantasize about the tall glass of water you would finally drink once you were found. If you were found.
Kissing Holly was nothing like that. It was like being found, having the tall, cool glass of delicious tasting water…then falling into a lagoon—complete with waterfall—and drowning.
Drowning in the best possible way.
Our tongues slid against one another, reacquainting themselves…as if Holly and I hadn’t kissed for several days instead of several hours.
By the time our lips finally parted, our breaths were ragged. I shifted my head, my breath brushing the shell of her ear. Every part of me was alive with awareness. Every part of me—including the depths of my soul.
“I love you,” I murmured. Even though I had no idea of her feelings toward me, saying it felt right.
She jerked back, as if she had been stung, and stared at me through wide green eyes. “What did you say?” Her accent was thicker than normal. Thicker and sexier.
The corner of my mouth tugged into a smirk—instant defense mode. “You heard me.”
“I did. But I wanted to double-check, in case I misunderstood.”
“Fair enough.” I cupped my hand against her cheek. “Holly, I love you. Have for a while now. I was just too much of an idiot to tell you.”
She still stared at me, stunned.
Who here was expecting that reaction from her? For now, how about we pretend it didn’t bother me—that it didn’t feel like I had just laid myself bare? “The real question is, how do you feel about me?”
That was as far as I got. Holly’s mouth was on mine again, kissing me, telling me through actions, not words, how she felt about me. The kiss was everything. Tender. Demanding. Sweet. Hungry.
Now if only Lily hadn’t picked that moment to decide nap time was over. Through the baby monitor on the coffee table, she let out a little whimper. Before we could respond, it was followed by a full-out, her-lungs-were-one-hundred-percent-into-this wail.
With a sigh, Holly gave me a quick kiss and pushed herself off my lap. “Don’t go anywhere.”
I didn’t have a chance to tell her I’d get the little kiss-blocker. She danced out of my reach and headed for Lily’s room.
She returned to the couch a few minutes later with Lily in her arms and snuggled up against me. The little bundle with a light covering of red hair on her head peered up at us.
“So before you demanded to be part of this conversation,” Holly said to our daughter in a sweet, cooing voice, “your daddy was telling me he loves me.” She turned her beautiful emerald eyes on me. “And I was about to tell him I love him too. Have for a while now. But why wouldn’t I? He’s the sweetest, kindest man alive…who happens to look incredibly sexy in a hockey uniform.” She glanced back down at Lily. “But pretend you didn’t hear the last part. Okay?”
I laughed. “Good idea, or else you might have just scarred her for life.” I kissed Holly’s temple—which then became a slightly less tender kiss when she turned her head back to me and I captured her mouth with my own.
Lily made a small noise that sounded more encouraging than “Ewww my parents are kissing.”
We both glanced down at her, content.
Knowing that at this moment, life couldn’t get better.
Too bad the feeling wouldn’t last forever…
30
Josh
When I was eight years old, Billie, my best friend at the time, and I had gone to his house after school to play video games. Just like we did every day after school. And like any other eight-year-old who lived for his favorite game, I lost track of time.
Okay, truth be told—I was kicking Billie’s ass at the game and was about to break our all-time record.
The part about breaking curfew? A minor inconvenience. Nothing a simple “I love you” to my mother wouldn’t cure.
Did I break the record? You’d better believe it.
I felt like a champion. Invincible. Ready to take on the world.
Maybe that was why I hadn’t realized something was off the moment I stepped into my apartment—the night my mother had decided she was tired of being my mother and up and left.
Apparently, some things never changed.
“Josh,” one of the assistant coaches said as I approached the dressing room. Since we were playing Colorado on their turf, I was still wearing my gray suit and white dress shirt. The tie had been removed the moment the team and I stepped into the arena building.
I paused to see what he wanted while my teammates filed past us.
“You’re needed in conference room A. Just down the hallway.” He pointed in the direction I needed to go.
I headed down the corridor, my thoughts on the upcoming game instead of wondering why I was needed in the conference room. Maybe if I had been thinking about that instead of the game, I would have been better prepared for what came next.
I entered the room to find Don McDonald, the team’s general manager, at the head of the oval table. And that was when the alarms in my head finally went off.
Fuck.
“Have a seat,” McDonald said, gesturing to the chair across from him. In front of him was a closed file folder. My closed filed folder, no doubt.
I would’ve rather stood but did as I was asked—my mind going through what I would tell Holly.
Double fuck—with a fuckedy-fire-truck thrown in for good luck.
“You’ve been traded to Montreal. Tony Crisp, their GM, will call you shortly. You’ll be flying there tonight.” He got up and left.
And there you had it…
From experience, this was pretty much how it went down for everyone. There wasn’t even a chance to say good-bye to my teammates.
And there were no words to convey how I felt, even if the trade didn’t come as a huge surprise.
I sat there for a moment, all kinds of thoughts stomping through my head. The most common ones centered on the theme of how my father had failed me and Holly’s father had put his career ahead of his kids.
And now I was about to be no different.
After a few seconds or minutes or hours, I dialed Holly’s cell. Several rings later her phone clicked to voicemail.
“Hey, Holly.” Fuck, how was I supposed to do this? “I’ve been traded to Montreal. I’m flying out tonight. I’ll call you as soon as I can. I love you. Give Lily a kiss for me. Bye.” I ended the call.
The numbness and foreboding setting up camp in my gut?
That was real.
31
Holly
“Who’s my pretty girl?” I cooed as I changed Lily’s diaper in Samantha’s bedroom. Josh was away on a road trip, so Lily and I were spending the evening with my friends. “Do you miss Daddy? I miss Daddy.”
Lily replied with a yawn.
Didn’t she look adorable when she yawned? I was positive no other baby in the world looked as adorable while yawning.
Once I’d finished changing her, we headed downstairs.
“Does she know yet?” Trent asked, his voice coming from the living room. He and Kelsey must have arrived while I was upstairs.
I entered the living room. You know the saying about hearing a pin drop? Well, if I’d used safety pins on Lily’s diaper, we could’ve tested that theory.
Decidedly With Baby Page 19
