Decidedly with Luck (By The Bay Book 6)

by Stina Lindenblatt

  I trailed my fingertips along her inner thigh to the apex and brushed her sex with my thumb. A moan tumbled from her lips. “Christ, you’re so wet,” I husked against her ear.

  That only made her moan again, except this time a little louder.

  I slanted my mouth on hers and continued kissing her while my thumb shifted to her clit. I could feel it throb under the light pressure.

  I pressed one and then a second finger inside her.

  Kiera wasn’t kidding when she said she was horny. That was all it took before her soft heat convulsed tightly around my fingers. With my mouth still on hers, I swallowed her sexy groan, which I still remembered vividly from December.

  Someone knocked on the door. “Kiera, are you in there?”

  “Yes.” Kiera’s voice sounded like she’d just smoked a pack of cigarettes. Her eyes were wide with panic but also a little dazed. “I just had to go to the bathroom. The baby’s been busy kicking my bladder. You know how it is. I’ll be out in a minute.” Her cheeks flushed—although that might have been partly due to the orgasm—and her head flopped on my shoulder.

  “All right,” her mother said. “Don’t worry about the napkins. I’ll grab them on the way out.”

  “Okay.” The reply was slightly muffled, but I didn’t think it was enough for her mother to wonder what was going on in here.

  We stayed still for a moment while listening for her retreating footsteps. Once we were sure she was gone, I helped Kiera down and into her clothes.

  I wanted to give her another kiss, but we didn’t have time for that.

  “Are you feeling better now?” I asked, instead.

  A dopy grin grew on her face. “Most definitely. I don’t suppose we could do that again at some point? But next time, we’re both left satisfied.” The grin shifted to an embarrassed smile. “At least now, I’m not quite as horny and don’t want to hump everything in sight.”

  Relief washed through me at her request. “I think that can be arranged.” At the very least, it would help take the edge off between home games.

  “You should sneak out first to make sure the coast is clear. I’ll be out in a minute.” I was certain Stephen’s mother wouldn’t be thrilled if she believed I was fucking her daughter-in-law while Kiera was pregnant with her grandchild.

  Kiera quickly washed her hands and escaped the bathroom. It took me a little longer since I had to get my hard-on under control first.

  Everyone was eating cake by the time I joined them outside.

  “Would you like a piece from the boy or girl side of the cake?” Kiera’s mom asked me as I approached the table. I needed to walk past it to join Kiera and our friends.

  “Either side is good with me. But just a sliver, please.” Cake wasn’t part of my playoff diet.

  She sliced a small piece from the hockey side of the cake and handed me the plate. “We’ll be doing the gender reveal next.”

  I thanked her and walked down the deck steps. Kiera was standing with a woman I didn’t know near the bottom when I reached the last one. “Wow, you really are glowing,” she said to Kiera. “I swear you’re glowing even more than you were before you went inside.” She scanned the backyard as if searching for the cause of the glow. “Whatever it was that caused it, I wouldn’t mind getting some for myself.”

  Kiera shrugged, her expression somewhat sheepish. “What can I say? I’m really happy. And I’m going to find out the gender of my baby soon.” She rubbed her stomach like it was a crystal ball.

  She then smiled at me and hurried over to where Chloe, Ava, Emma, and Hannah were talking. And naturally, I couldn’t help but watch her sexy ass as it swayed away from me.

  “What’s really going on between you and Kiera?” Travis asked, joining me. From the way he and Wes were eyeing me, it was clear they’d overheard the woman’s comment to Kiera.

  “No idea what you’re talking about,” I said. “We’re just friends.”

  Wes chuckled. “Right, you’re just friends. That’s why the two of you disappeared for ten minutes, and Kiera returned looking more satisfied than before she left.”

  “She was in the bathroom. You both know what pregnant women are like. They always need to pee, thanks to the baby.”

  The corner of Travis’s mouth curled to the side. “Right. And that’s why we know the difference between the satisfied look a pregnant woman gets after she pees versus after she gets laid. And the latter is definitely how Kiera looked when she returned from the house.”

  “Hate to say it, but you’re both hallucinating.” The last thing I wanted was to admit the truth to either of them—for Kiera’s sake. And for my own.

  “All right,” Stephen’s mom announced several minutes later. “Time for the moment we’ve been waiting for. Kiera, over here, please. And Joe, bring in the balloon, please.”

  Stephen’s father walked over, carrying a large black balloon.

  Judith handed Kiera a thumbtack. “You just need to pop the balloon, and we’ll see if you’re having a girl or a boy. And now, for the moment of truth.” She nodded for Kiera to go ahead.

  Joe lifted the balloon. Kiera reached up and stabbed it with the pin.

  Nothing happened.

  She tried again.

  Still nothing.

  And the same thing happened on her third attempt.

  Judith’s and Beth’s faces shifted into disappointed frowns at the balloon’s reluctance to reveal their grandchild’s gender.

  The same couldn’t be said about Kiera.

  She was laughing hard.

  Seeing her like that brought back memories from when we were friends in college—when seeing her laugh made things a lot brighter. Our collegiate hockey team could have lost a game the night before, but it didn’t feel quite as weighted once I heard her laugh.

  Would I feel that way if we lost the next game against the Oilers (hypothetically speaking, of course)?

  Probably not.

  But you get the point.

  Kiera tried popping the balloon a fourth time.

  When that proved useless, Stephen’s mom tried to pop it.

  Wes laughed. “Maybe the baby doesn’t want to reveal its gender.”

  Hannah elbowed him in the gut. “It just takes a special skill.”

  “She’s got a point.” Judith’s gaze zoned in on me. “Since Stephen isn’t able to do it, how about the next best thing. Logan, you were his best friend and teammate; not to mention, you play in the NHL. If you can’t pop the balloon, no one can.”

  I was pretty sure playing in the NHL didn’t grant me any special skills for the destruction of balloons. Still, the hopeful expression in Kiera’s eyes was all it took.

  I accepted the pin from Judith.

  “He would have wanted you to do this on his behalf.” Her voice was low enough that only Kiera and I heard what she said.

  “Is everyone ready?” Unlike before, Judith began counting down. “Three…two…one.”

  I reached up and pushed the pin into the balloon.

  Clearly, the seventh time was the charm.

  A loud pop accompanied a shower of blue confetti.

  Everyone cheered. I heard Kiera’s grandfather say, “I knew that boy had it in him. As if it would be anything but a son.” His chuckle was paper-thin but hearty.

  Without thinking, I pulled Kiera into a hug. “Congratulations. I don’t suppose you want to predict who’s going to win Tuesday night’s game?”

  I released her. Kiera opened her mouth. Before she could respond, I pressed my finger against it. “On second thought, I might not want to know. I’ll stick with my prediction that we’re going to beat the Oilers’ asses.”

  She laughed. “That would have been my prediction anyway.”

  Judith wedged herself between Kiera and me and squished her with a hug. “I’m so excited for you.” She wiped at a tear. “I can’t believe it. Stephen’s having a son.”

  Did anyone else notice that?

  Kiera flinch?


  I had to admit Judith was starting to piss me off a little with her constantly mentioning Stephen. It was time she let Kiera move on. Stephen was dead. He wasn’t coming back.

  He wasn’t going to be holding his baby or watching over his wife and child.

  And her constantly clinging to his memory was only hurting Kiera.

  The party wound down after the gender reveal. I wanted to talk to Kiera more, but that was impossible with everyone waiting to say good-bye to her.

  And I needed to head out so I could spend the evening with Livi.

  Smiling, Kiera hugged me. “I’m glad you were able to come. I’ll see you soon,” she whispered the last part, her meaning clear.

  “I’ll text you once I return from Edmonton.”

  We stepped apart. “I’ll be watching your game Tuesday night. Emma invited me over to watch it and do some more planning on the charity event.”

  The door clicked shut behind the last couple to say good-bye to Kiera. She and I were temporarily alone.

  She kissed me on the cheek, lingering longer than a quick peck good-bye. “Good luck in Edmonton.”

  Wanting more than what she was giving me, I knotted my fingers in her hair. I was taking a big risk, but fuck, I needed more than a quick kiss to get me through the next few days.

  I should have simply said thank you.

  That would’ve been the smartest thing to do.

  But smart was a distant cousin when it came to being around Kiera.

  I caught Kiera’s mouth against mine and gently nipped her lower lip.

  “Oh. My.”

  26

  Kiera

  One second, Logan and I were kissing, the next, we were springing apart at the sound of Mom’s voice.

  Heat pricked my cheeks—a giveaway to the guilt and embarrassment rising inside me.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said casually, as if she hadn’t just caught us kissing.

  But while I might have been aiming for casual, that wasn’t how it sounded, even to my ears.

  Mom lifted her eyebrows in a Do-you-care-to-explain? expression.

  Not particularly.

  “I was just wishing him luck for Tuesday’s game. Go Rock, Go.” I pumped my fist in the air to the beat of the chant.

  Okay, that wasn’t helping things.

  So I went with Plan B. I rested my hand on the bulge of Logan’s biceps—damn, the man had nice muscles—and nudged him toward the door. “It was great seeing you, Logan. Good luck with the game. I know the kids at school will be cheering for you.”

  He smirked at me, unseen by my mom, and turned to her. “It was nice seeing you again, Beth.”

  “You too, Logan. Good luck with the game.”

  I practically shoved him outside, but not before appreciating his muscles one final time, and shut the door. Slowly, I swiveled to face Mom and flashed her what I hoped passed as an innocent, nothing-to-see-here smile.

  “Is there something I should know about you two?” Her voice hovered above a whisper.

  “We’re just friends,” I whispered back.

  “That didn’t look like just friends.”

  I wasn’t positive what she was insinuating—nor did I care to ask—so I raised my shoulders in an It’s-not-what-you-think shrug.

  “The three of us should go shopping while I’m still in town.” Judith strode purposefully into the foyer, hopefully, oblivious to our conversation. “We can start getting you some supplies for my grandson.”

  That look in her eyes?

  I recognized it. It meant she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  “That’s a great idea, Judith. What about tomorrow night?” Mom’s question was directed at me.

  Both women grinned at me, their hopeful expressions impossible to ignore.

  A list of excuses paraded in my head, some doing impressive backward somersaults. Unfortunately, that was the only impressive thing about them. “Tomorrow works for me.”

  I needed to get out of there before I agreed to anything else I probably shouldn’t, so I told them it was time for me to go home to have a nap.

  “Yes, you take care of my sweet grandson.” Judith hugged me for what must have been the hundredth time since arriving in San Francisco.

  My stomach twisted into tight knots, each one more tangled every time I let people believe Love Bug was Stephen’s son.

  “I thought we could go out for dinner, the four of us”—Judith patted my belly—“and discuss baby names. Stephen’s grandfather’s name was Neil. I thought that would be a good one.”

  “That would be a perfect name,” Mom said. “Just like Neil Armstrong. If the baby doesn’t want to play hockey, maybe he’ll want to be an astrophysicist.”

  I snorted a laugh. “That won’t be happening if he inherits my math skills.”

  “How was Stephen at math?” Mom asked Judith.

  “He was better at playing hockey, but he wasn’t awful at math.”

  I managed to contain my laugh this time. Math wasn’t Stephen’s favorite subject either…not that it mattered when it came to Love Bug. Stephen could’ve been a mathematical genius, yet Love Bug wouldn’t have appreciated those genes.

  And I had no idea if Grayson excelled at math. It was one of those topics that never came up that night.

  But heck, if I had known the condoms would fail us, I would’ve asked him all kinds of questions. Questions that Love Bug would probably want answers to when he got older.

  “Look, sweetie, there’s Daddy.” Emma pointed at the players on the TV screen. They were standing on the blue lines for the American and Canadian national anthems.

  Kat, her toddler daughter, bounced up and down, her feet never leaving the floor, and cheered.

  The shopping trip the evening before with my mom and Judith?

  Don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything exciting.

  Other than Judith adding more names to her list of potential options. Only none of them did anything for me.

  She also bought Love Bug his first hockey skates. And a toy hockey stick.

  And an entire collection of Rock jerseys and baby onesies and a stuffed bear sporting the team’s jersey.

  Nope, no pressure whatsoever for Love Bug to live up to the man whose genes he didn’t share.

  Logan was also on the ice for the national anthem.

  My breath accelerated, and my body tingled. Neither, I suspected, had anything to do with the national anthem. My thoughts flicked to Sunday afternoon when Logan gave me the orgasm—an orgasm that put to shame the ones I’d experienced since the ball.

  My purple vibrating buddy did a good job, but nothing like what Logan or Grayson could achieve.

  Not even close.

  Curiosity bubbled in my veins about something I had wondered ever since Logan told me about his divorce. “What’s it like being married to an NHL player?” I asked Emma after the puck drop.

  Before you get the wrong idea, I wasn’t asking because I’d suddenly envisioned myself walking down the aisle with him.

  Because I wasn’t thinking about that.

  At.

  All.

  But that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious about what Emma’s life was like as the wife of an NHL player. And what Travis was like as a father and husband.

  Logan blamed his dedication to hockey instead of his family for ultimately ending his marriage. But what about the other side of the fence?

  What about those players who could balance both?

  A smile curved onto her face. “Is there a particular reason you’re asking?”

  “Nope. Just curious.”

  “So, you’re not interested in Logan that way?”

  “He’s just a friend.” Who happened to be an incredible kisser.

  “I can’t speak for all NHL wives, but it’s good. It definitely has its ups and downs, as you can imagine. Travis is away a lot during hockey season, and when he’s not away, he’s home late because of his games.

  “It will be tougher once Kat is in sch
ool. Then she’ll see him even less than she does now. She’s used to talking to him on FaceTime when he’s away, so hopefully, she’ll adjust to it just fine. Plus, it’s not all the time. Once the playoffs are over, he has lots of free time to spend with us. That makes up for him not being around as much during hockey season.

  “The hardest part—as you can probably guess—is the possibility of your husband being traded to another team. It means uprooting your family. And in my case, if Travis is ever traded, I would have to figure out what to do with my store.”

  “Do you know what you would do?” I asked.

  “I have a great manager who I trust to look after the shop while I’m away. I worked hard to make it the success that it is, so selling it if Travis is traded isn’t high on my list of options.”

  The puck went sailing into the Oilers’ net, and the three of us were on our feet, cheering. Except it took me a little longer to get to my feet than it did for Emma and Kat.

  “It also helps having the support of the other players’ wives and girlfriends,” Emma said once we’d sat down again. Kat remained on the floor. “They understand what it’s like being married to a player or dating one. We’ve become a family.”

  She smiled at me, her eyes sparkling with an emotion that went deeper than happiness and understanding and love. “So no, it’s not easy being married to a hockey player. But I wouldn’t trade being married to Travis for anything. It’s worth the sacrifice.”

  A smile grew on my lips. “I’m glad that things are great with you two.”

  “Travis mentioned that Logan’s divorced.”

  “That’s right. Stacy, his ex-wife, is happily married and is expecting a baby with her husband later this year.”

  “You know his ex-wife?” Emma asked, helping Kat onto the cushion next to her. The little girl was clutching a bunny wearing a Rock T-shirt.

  “Yes, she’s the mother of one of my students.”

  “I didn’t realize Logan’s daughter is one of your students.” Her eyebrows danced comically above her eyes. “This is getting more and more interesting. Do you see him often?”

  “You mean as the father of one of my students?”