Page 129 of Puck Princess

“I wanted to tell you, but I knew how you’d react.” Maybe I lied, but I had my reasons. Good reasons. He might be mad, but I’m putting a foot down that I didn’t do any of this thoughtlessly.

“Oh, did you? And how would I react?”

I sit up, fighting with my thin hospital cape to stay shut. It’s kind of hard to argue with someone when your tits are hanging out. “I don’t know. Let’s think about that for a moment—” I press a patronizing finger to my lips in rehearsed thought. “You’d get mad. You’d lose your temper, beat the shit out of him in the locker room—maybe in an alleyway. Hell, maybe you’d just do it on the ice. Because why not? Then, all because of me, you’d lose your job and your reputation.”

Owen shoves himself to his feet, the chair falling backwards behind him. “Because I love you, goddammit!”

“And I loveyou, you jerk! Which is exactly why I don’t want to let my problems ruin your life.” I match his volume, but while his is driven by anger, mine is brimmed with emotion.

“You’re my fiancée, Callie. Your problems, both future and present, are my problems, too.”

“Even at the expense of getting cut from the team? Of losing everything you care about?”

Owen steps forward, cupping my face in his firm but soft hands. “You are everything I care about, Callie. You and the baby. My career, the team—the game of hockey itself—will now and forever take a backseat to you. Period.”

Tears roll down my face.

“Do you understand me?” he asks.

I hear him. I comprehend what he’s saying.

What I’ll never understand is how I deserve him.

“Things were going so well,” I sob. “You dealt with Miles, and I just wanted you to be happy.”

“And I want us to be a team. To be partners. We can’t do that if we’re hiding things from each other. We have to work together and learn to rely on each other. You need to trust me. Can you do that?”

I nod again, and Owen sits down on the bed with me. “Promise me you’ll trust me, Callie?”

“I already do,” I whisper. “I always have.”

He hugs me close and kisses my temple. “Then let me take care of you.”

We step out of the elevator to find Kennedy waiting outside our apartment door. She is leaning against it, typing something on her laptop. But she jumps up when she sees us.

“Oh my God, Callie. Are you alright?” She pulls me against her before I can even answer, smashing my face against her shoulder.

“I’m fine,” I mumble into her shirt. “I’m okay.”

She pulls away enough to put her hand on my stomach. “Munchkin?”

I can’t help smiling at that. “Munchkin is fine, too.”

“Munchkin?” Owen’s face twists into a disgusted look of disapproval.

Kennedy scowls at him. “Auntie privileges include nicknames. Deal with it.”

Owen sighs. “I am too tired to fight you on it. Tonight, anyway.”

Hard same. I’m exhausted. As if the contractions and Spencer cornering me weren’t enough, I also got to spend a few painful minutes not sure if Owen would ever speak to me again. Just the thought of him not being able to forgive me was draining. When we curl up in bed tonight, I’m going to hold onto him like I never plan to let go.

Because I never do.

Kennedy releases me, but steps between me and the apartment door. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Owen straps a protective arm around my waist. “Kennedy, can it wait till morning? It’s been a long day.”

She bites her bottom lip as she shakes her head. “It won’t take long. And it’s important.”

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