Page 125 of On Thin Ice

“I will do everything I can to be the partner she needs and the father our daughter needs.”

I wasn’t the only one who sighed at his statement.

“Great. Now that we have that out of the way, I’m starving, and I need to hold my granddaughter,” Dad said.

“I guess you can hold her now,” Darcy said, still snuggling my girl.

Mom held out her arms. “He can wait.” And Darcy dutifully handed Olivia over to Mom. We all knew who to listen to.

“Oh, hi, sweet girl. You’re just too cute for words. And I brought an extra suitcase just with presents for you. Telling Mommy she can just deal.”

“Mom.”

She ignored me and walked into the living room, whispering to Livi the entire time. She was probably promising my daughter a unicorn or something.

“As long as you’re happy, I’ll be better,” Ethan said.

“I am. Dom is a really great guy, and I’m very much in love with him.”

“Good.” Then he held out his hand to Dom. “I won’t try to drill you into the boards unless you have the puck.”

Dom grinned. “Deal. And right back at you.”

“Great. Now that we have that settled, let’s enjoy lunch, fawn over that gorgeous baby, and have a nice, clean game tonight,” Penny said, tucking her hand into Ethan’s arm.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ethan said, but he was grinning and not grumbling, so I would take that as progress.

“See? Everything is going to be fine,” Dom said, brushing a quick kiss over the top of my head. “You okay? I know having everyone here is a lot.”

My chest warmed at how in tune he was with me. “Yeah. It’s perfect.” I linked my fingers with his and settled into lunch with my family.

***

All too soon, Ethan had to head out to keep to his pregame routine, taking Penny with him. Darcy and my parents hung out a bit longer before they left so Dom could do his own pregame ritual, which just consisted of a nap that Livi and I were always happy to participate in. I snuggled into Dom’s side, his front to my back, and Livi softly snored in her bassinet next to us.

“That went okay, right?” I asked.

He nuzzled my neck, and I fought back the shiver rolling through me.

“Perfect. I told you it would. Your family is amazing.”

I turned to face him and hated the brief look of sadness I caught in his eyes.

“And you are forever a part of that family.Myfamily.”

He sighed, tightening his hold on me. “Fuck, I love you so damn much.”

“I love you, too. Now go to sleep so you can kick my brother’s ass tonight. With legal hits, of course.”

He smirked. “Of course.”

Then he drew me in tight, and we drifted off to sleep.

DOM

“Fuck, she’s cute,” Harty said later that night during warm-ups.

“Adorable. Could do without the Strikers bow though,” I teased.

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