Page 96 of Worth the Risk

“Why would they boo you?” I ask.

“Maybe they’ll think I let the team down or something. I don’t know. Hockey fans are pretty passionate about things, and I missed a week of games. We lost every game too.”

“You lost before that as well, Luca.”

“Yeah, but then I was trying to get them to lose,” he mutters.

“What?” I ask incredulously.

He gives me a sheepish smile as he scratches the back of his neck absentmindedly. When his eyes meet mine, I can see the anxiety and tension present. He’s really spooked, and I’ve never seen him like this.

“When you broke things off, and I didn’t know why, but I knew Woodward was involved in some capacity, I kind of went a little nuts. Fighting. Tons of penalties. I just wasn’t a team player at all. I felt lost and alone, and the only thing I could do was lash out,” he murmurs.

Oh, my sweet, sweet man. “I’m sorry you went through that.”

“It’s not your fault, Pixie. I just want to be honest with you, and tell you how I felt. I knew I was out of control, but I didn’t care how it impacted anyone. I was bound and determined to go out in a blaze of … something.”

I take his hand in mine and rest my head on his padded shoulder. I’m about to tell him again how sorry I am, and how lost I felt during that time as well. But with our hands entwined, our arms together, I notice how it’s hard to tell where Luca’s arm ends and mine begins.

I’m wearing his jersey, publicly, for the first time.

“You’re smiling pretty big there, Pix,” he whispers as he rests his forehead against the top of my head.

“I just noticed our jerseys. When I’m holding your hand like this, it’s like we’re one person.”

I feel him smile against me. “As long as we’d get to this point, Hannah, I’d do it all again. You’re so worth it.”

As we see fans beginning to file into their seats, Luca stands up. I felt tiny with him before, but when he’s wearing skates, he’s an absolute giant. Feeling weirdly inferior, I stand on the team bench, making Luca bark back a laugh.

“I’m taller than you now!” I declare with excitement. He gives me a wide grin before pulling me toward him for a kiss.

“I love you, baby,” he whispers against my lips. I feel his hand softly rub against my stomach. The last few days I’ve woken up with Luca whispering to our baby. We haven’t told anyone, choosing to live inside this bubble for just a little while. Morning sickness began yesterday, and Luca hovered over me just like he did when he found Arianna and I drunk so long ago.

“You better get back with the team before fans start coming down here,” I murmur against him.

“What are you going to do?” he asks as he lifts me and places me back on the ground. I could have jumped down, but something tells me Luca is going to be a helicopter new dad, and hover over everything I do.

“Gonna go find Elsie and see what she’ll fess up to about my uncle,” I tell him with a devilish grin. Uncle Bennett has been weirdly jovial the last week. Almost too happy. Not only is he getting an opportunity to coach an NHL team at such a young age, but he’s finally manned up and admitted his feelings for Elsie.

“I heard him whistling the other day, Pix. Whistling. It’s creepy as fuck,” Luca whispers, mock horror covering his face.

“It’s nice to see him happy.”

“It’s nice to see him getting laid regularly,” Luca replies.

I giggle. “That too.”

Acouple of months later, after Luca and the Wolves went on a tear, winning almost all of their games, we’re on our way to Luca’s parents’ house for dinner. I’ve never been to his childhood home. I’m interested to see where he grew up. Leo is home for a week before he deploys, and I haven’t met him yet. We’ve FaceTimed him where he’s stationed in North Carolina, but I’m looking forward to seeing him in person. Luca mentioned he seems much more reserved than in the past, and he’s worried about his older brother.

Alex is home, having some time before he’ll report for a deployment as well. I’ll also see Gianna, Luca’s older sister, and the woman who I replaced as the special events coordinator at the hotel. I’m hoping she’ll let me snuggle her newborn son, Carson. Gianna and her husband Travis are very concerned with germs and viruses. Travis is a paramedic, and he is very worried about Carson’s immune system. So far, Carson has only been to one family event, a dinner at Dominic’s house on Christmas, and no one was allowed to hold him. I understand. I will undoubtedly be a nervous wreck when our child is born.

“There’s something I haven’t told you about my family, Pixie,” Luca announces as he slowly drives down the snow-packed road from our house. Turning to him, I find him oddly nervous.

“Do you think they’ll be upset about the baby?” I ask, my hands instinctually covering my baby bump. We’re telling the family tonight, and I wasn’t nervous about it until right now.

“Oh, no. Not that. They’re gonna be thrilled. But we have this weird tradition, and I’m assuming they are expecting me to take part.”

“A tradition?”

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