Page 102 of Pucked and Pregnant

I unlock my phone screen and sigh. The boys are coming to see me today but they’re running a little late. Not that I’m that surprised; it’s hard to find any spare time in the middle of a normal season, let alone preparing for the Stanley Cup.

My phone buzzes with a notification and I eagerly unlock it. My mother sent an email to check on me. I smile as I read her message.

My folks had taken my pregnancy news better than I had expected, although my mother continues to tell me I had better marry someone soon. She also asked about a skin cream she hadsent me from Europe, one that helps to prevent the stretchmarks she was positive I was going to get.

The cream arrived yesterday, I reassured her.It smells nice, thank you.

I have to admit I hope the cream is beneficial in helping to prevent stretch marks. Lord knows these two little ones will have me looking like an alien soon enough. Besides, it gives my mother something to focus on other than the fact that her daughter doesn’t know who the father of her babies is.

I have to admit I’ve lost some sleep over that question, trying to decide whether or not I should have a DNA test done on the babies. I finally decided that I would leave it up to the men. If they want to know, then I will agree to one.

It makes no difference to me who actually fathered the babies. All I care about is that they are strong and healthy. However, the three of my men look so different from one another that I figure we might get some idea of which of them is the father once the twins are born.

I just need to be sure that we’re all on the same page about this important aspect of co-parenting. The boys can be very competitive with one another, and I don’t want this to be a new point of contention.

When the doorbell rings, I bolt to my feet, having to steady myself for a moment. I still get lightheaded from time to time, but the morning sickness seems to have finally left the building. I could not have been more glad to get back to feeling like myself again.

However, I did spend a few moments biting my lip while staring at my thickening waistline this morning. I hoped that the boys would be okay with a little more of me to love, because I was already showing.

I hurried to the door and pulled it open to find the three of them standing on the porch awkwardly, each one holdinga peace offering. Aiden stood in the front of the pack with a huge bouquet of flowers, Dimitri was behind him with a box of chocolates, and Connor was holding a gift basket with bath supplies.

“Boys,” I say with a sly grin. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Aiden chuckles as he steps past me into the house, pausing to press a kiss to my lips as he goes by. The other two do the same, and I feel a tingle of lust race up my spine. I didn’t realize how much I had missed them until that moment.

“You look amazing,” Connor says to me, his hand slipping along my waist as he walks inside the lake house. He eyes move over me up and down, and I can see the lust in his gaze.

I close the door and lean against it, biting my lip. “Not too fat?” I ask. “I’m already showing a little.”

“You’re glowing and you look great,” Dimitri reassures me.

“We’ve all missed you,” Aiden throws in. “I think about you all day, even in practice. I wish we could come home to you every night.”

I sigh and gesture for them to follow me to the living room. I perch on the edge of the couch, looking at each of their faces.

“I think that’s an issue we should talk about,” I say, getting right down to business. “It seems the press has become fairly bored with us, so I was thinking about coming back in a couple of weeks and getting back to work. The trouble is, I don’t know where we should all live, or if you guys even want to live together.”

They exchange glances with one another, then Connor says, “Well, we were wondering if we could all move into your place for now. You have enough room, and Max said he wouldn’t get in the way.”

I snort out a laugh. Max had bought the place for me as a gift. Sounds like he already put in his two cents about me shacking up with his three best friends there.

“Does that work for you guys? It feels kind of selfish to ask that of you.”

Aiden shrugs. “We’re the ones who asked you. Besides, we aren’t home much right now anyhow. If we decide that we’ve outgrown the place, we can talk about it and figure something else out.”

The other two nod in agreeance then look at me. I smile and spread out my hands. “Okay by me,” I say, relieved to have the living arrangements decided and out of the way.

I clear my throat. “Um, so this next part is harder to talk about, and we don’t need to make a decision right now, but?—”

“You want to marry at least one of us, right?” Connor interjects, ever the practical one of the three.

I press my lips together and nod slowly. “I mean, eventually, yes. I can’t marry all three of you and I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t want to have to choose when the time comes. It’s just… it would mean a lot to my parents and Max, and it would make things better for the babies,” I say, pressing my hand to my belly.

“We get it,” Aiden replies. “How about we all move in together and then figure that out? You have enough going on with the babies being on the way. You don’t need any added pressure right now. We can figure out wedding plans later.”

I feel relieved. The pressure of making this choice has been looming over me, and I haven’t been able to decide who to marry. How can I? I don’t want to have to think about it right now and he does have a point. Living together first then crossing that bridge later makes total sense.

“Yeah, that works for me,” I say with a big smile, “but there’s one more thing.” As my smile vanishes, they instantly look worried. They sit on the sofa while I remain perched on the arm.

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