Page 43 of Love You Too

Fiona is the first to react. She jumps from her seat and runs around the table to hug me. “I’m really excited. Ooh, I’ll babysit! Is it going to be a girl?”

“Um, oh. I don’t know yet,” I tell her, realizing that people are going to keep asking me that question, and I should have a better answer prepared. “I’m not sure if I’ll find out beforehand. I may just let it be a surprise.”

Fiona squeals once more and then excuses herself to bakecookies in the house, which she does every time we have a family dinner. I watch her go until she disappears inside, stalling before turning back to my brothers and sister, all of whom look at me with varying degrees of surprise and opinions on their faces.

“That’s great,” PJ says. Colin, sitting next to her, nods enthusiastically but says nothing.

“Yes, congratulations,” Dash adds, offering me a wink.

“Who’s the dad?” Jax asks. The air around us goes silent as everyone leans in and waits.

“Um…” I begin feeling my face flush. “That’s an interesting story. Do you remember Dominick Renaldi, who I used to date in college?”

“Of course I remember. Wait, your baby’s dad is Renaldi, as in the GOAT of the NHL?” Archer says, perking up for the first time.

“Yes.” I fill them in on the details, how we ran into each other, how he’s going to be involved, how we’re not a couple.

They pepper me with questions about how it’s all going to work out, but the main message is that they’re excited about a new family member, and they’re happy if I’m happy.

“But you could be a couple. Right? It’s possible after all this. Remember Ross and Rachel inFriends?” Archer is more animated than I’ve seen him in a while, and I can’t understand it.

“Arch, you sound kind of personally invested here,” I tease. “What’s up? You looking for a bromance with him? Or, like, the inside scoop on hockey GOAT life?”

Archer shakes his head, but I notice that he’s suddenly turning pink. “No. Nothing like that.”

“Archer, do you have a guy crush on Dominick Renaldi?” Jax asks, never able to pass up a chance to rib his older brother.

Archer pushes himself up from the table and crosses his arms. “Hardly. I just like the sport and I respect the players. That’s all.” He stalks off toward the house and Jax high-fives Dash.

PJ laughs. “Well, if you do decide you want to be a couple, it looks like you may have some competition.”

I exhale a sigh of relief, grateful that my family seems to be taking this well.

“Hang on. Is he being a good guy about it? I mean, are you not together because he’s being an asshole or because that’s what you want?” Jax asks, sweetly protective of me.

“He’s not an asshole. Not at all. He wants to be involved, but we’re still figuring out how it’s all going to work. I’ll keep you posted, I promise.”

“Okay,” Dash says. “Leave her alone. You can jump all over her once you get a plate of food. Get it while it’s hot.”

I shoot him a grateful glance, and he nods. Then, he slips me an empty bowl from behind his back. “There’s chocolate ice cream waiting for you in the freezer.”

It’s either because he’s the best brother ever, or it’s the hormones, but I burst into tears. Fortunately, they taste good mixed with the chocolate.

CHAPTER 17

Ren

I’ve hada month to get used to the idea of being a dad, but it still feels surreal every time my teammates pull out photos of their kids, and I realize that at this time next year, I’ll be able to do the same. But I haven’t shared my news with them yet. I don’t want to do anything to distract them from focusing on the team, which has been playing only slightly better ahead of our first preseason game on the road.

I’ve kept my personal life personal, as it should be, and tried to figure out why this group still isn’t gelling the way we need to. I can already see the headlines if we lose: “So much potential, wasted.” I can’t let that happen.

It’s just two days out of town, which is a relief. Trix insists on watching Truman, but I feel guilty leaving her to drag my goofy dog around on a leash when she’s also carrying a baby. Even if the baby is the size of a walnut, according to the ultrasound.

Awalnut.

I need to keep things in perspective. A walnut is tiny. Harmless. I shouldn’t get too wound up about a walnut or anything that would fit inside the shell of one.

But I can’t help it—I’m wound up. Even though a preseason game doesn’t mean much, and it’s mainly a chance for us to interact with fans and get footage for the team’s social media feed, I can’t help feeling like we’ll be lucky if we can win just one of the two games. Even if it’s due more to our opponent’s missteps than any symphony of chemistry on our part, I’ll take it.

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