Page 171 of Puck Prince

Ourbaby.

My eyes well. “It’s okay.”

“Yes, it is.”

I cover my face with my hand, unable to stop the tidal wave of relief.

They’re okay. We’re all okay. And nothing matters anymore.

Because as the whooshing of the baby’s heartbeat fills the room, it holds me up. It gives me hope. Callie doesn’t just have an ocean inside of her; she has the whole world. And I’m never going to let anything happen to it.

49

OWEN

“You can’t blame yourself for this.” Lance is on hour two standing next to my side, trying to talk me out of Callie’s hospital room and into my own bed to rest. A dozen nurses didn’t stand a chance, so I don’t know how to break it to Lance that he doesn’t stand one, either.

As soon as news of the accident broke, my phone exploded with texts and calls from the whole team. I let them know I was fine, but Callie had taken the brunt of it. Lance was the first to arrive.

I have the ultrasound photo in my hand. Not the ripped one from before, but a shiny new one the tech printed for me. I can’t stop looking at it.

“Who else is to blame?” I ask. “I was so stupid.”

“You weren’t stupid; you just didn’t know. There’s a difference.”

We’ve come at this conversation from every possible angle, but I can’t see it any other way.

“I was parading Callie around to keep the press away from my sister. I put her in the spotlight—in danger—to make my life easier.”

Lance pulls up a chair in front of me. “You did it to protect your sister and your nephew from her asshole ex. People have shoved their relationships into the spotlight for a lot less. You did it to help someone you love.”

“She’s pregnant, though. And being hunted down by her own piece of shit ex. And now look at her, Lance.”

Lance glances at Callie, and I don’t need to follow his gaze to know what he’s seeing. Callie is propped up slightly with a pillow, but her face is pale and swollen from breaking her nose. Her eyes are ringed in black. I look back down at the photo in my clenched hands.

No one will convince me this wasn’t my fault.

“It could have been so much worse, Owen,” Lance goes on. “Honestly, after seeing pictures of your car, I’m surprised it wasn’t.”

While I know that he’s right, it still doesn’t make me feel any better.

My eyes shoot up to him. “When did you see the car?”

“Bro, the pictures are all over the internet.”

“It should be fucking illegal, what they’re doing,” I grit out. “How do they sleep at night?”

“Beats me. But she’s okay. And you’re okay, thank God. And from the sound of it, the baby is okay.”

I nod. It’s weird hearing him talk openly about something I’ve barely wrapped my head around. There are probably think pieces about what kind of father I’ll be splashed across gossip blogs.

“Playing hockey is all I ever wanted. It saved my life. But I didn’t think about this side of things—the fame, the way it would affect the family I also never stopped to think about.” I massage the bridge of my nose with a sigh. “People think fame is great, but it’s exhausting. I’m too young to be this exhausted, man.”

He pats me on my good shoulder. “It’s a lot of weight, I know, but you got it, O. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”

Before I can outline how wrong he is, the door bursts open and Kennedy rushes inside. “Callie!”

A nurse is hot on her heels. “Ma’am, we can only allow two visitors at a time.”

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