Page 82 of Pucked and Pregnant

She shakes her head and starts plating up our takeout. “Everything’s fine,” she insists, her hands busy. “I was just rambling.”

“You said you’ve been hungry at weird times since, and then didn’t finish your thought,” I say.

She shakes her head and laughs. “Oh, just since I’ve been so busy,” she says lightly. She turns toward me and passes me a plate. “Come on, let’s sit at the table so we don’t make an even bigger mess of my new couch.”

I look down at the slightly disheveled couch and nod. “Sure,” I mumble, but her little verbal slip in the kitchen has planted asmall seed of doubt in my mind. I don’t know what she might have been about to say, but her reaction makes me think that she’s keeping a secret from me. I think back to how she kept the truth about hooking up with Aiden from all of us, and it makes me wince a little. I don’t like the idea of her continuing to keep secrets after we all promised to be more open with one another.

“What?” she asks me as she sits down at the table. “You look like you want to say something.”

I sigh and sit across from her. “It’s just… are you sure everything’s okay?”

She nods firmly then reaches out and places her hand over mine. “Yeah, I promise. It’s just been hard, what with avoiding the press all the time and dealing with Travis and stuff. I’m not keeping secrets, I’m just trying not to dwell on things.”

That makes sense. I wish my gut would agree with me that it accounted for her odd reaction to my questions. I decide not to dwell, however, and dig into my food. I allow her to direct the conversation toward the pending playoffs.

By the time we head to the shower, where I give in and deliver a fast and rough quickie just the way she likes it, I’ve almost forgotten the weird moment in the kitchen.

As we curl up in bed, I ponder what it would be like to spend every night of my life just like this. I know that it’s not what we signed up for, but spending time with Liv always feels like coming home to me.

She nestles back against me with a sweet little sigh, and I wrap my arm around her waist. As her breathing evens out into a deep sleep, I realize that the thing I have been trying to deny since I was sixteen really can’t be ignored any longer.

I stare into the darkness of her room and listen to her breathe, realizing a fundamental truth.

I’ve been in love with Liv since I was sixteen years old, and I will never stop being irrevocably, hopelessly in love with her.

23

LIV

Iwake up wondering why I’m so warm before realizing there is a strong, muscular arm draped over me. Connor’s arm. I smile at the thought of the intimate night we just shared. I had been annoyed at first when he wouldn’t fuck me hard and fast, but he was right—lovemaking had been a really nice change of pace.

I slowly start to disentangle myself from his arms to go pee, when a bolt of nausea lances through me. I take quick, short breaths, trying to steady myself. I am not going to throw up in my own bed though I may end up doing just that if I don’t get moving.

I bolt out of bed and stumble to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time. I pull my hair back from my face and pant for a moment, the room spinning around me.

“Liv?”

I glance over my shoulder to see Connor hovering in the bathroom doorway, a worried expression on his face.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I insist, even though I don’t feel fine at all.Why does this have to be happening now?I think to myselfangrily. I mentally chide the baby for making my life miserable when I just want to be sexy and powerful.

“I’ll get you some water,” Connor says.

I nod then gasp and start barfing again. By the time he gets back with a cold cup of water, I think I might be feeling a little better. I manage to lean back against the bathroom wall feeling washed-out and sticky, but less like I might die.

“Are you getting sick?” Connor asks me worriedly. “Do you have a thermometer? I can check if you have a fever.”

I sigh. This secret is getting so hard to hide, and the guilt of keeping it from them is breaking my heart. But there’s no other way to handle the situation, so I steel myself and push away my doubts as I say, “No. I just think I ate too much too late last night. I can’t always get away with that, you know?”

He frowns at me but then nods.

I hear my phone ping a few times in a row and I sigh. The thought of getting up to see who it is feels overwhelming.

“I’ll bring it to you,” Connor says, vanishing into the bedroom then coming back with my phone.

I unlock it and see that it’s Travis messaging me, asking if I can come in to work a few hours early today. He claims we need to get things in order for a couple of quick spots that the higher-ups want to film today during the team’s practice session. With the greater probability that they’re heading to the playoffs, the network wants to get the first shot at coverage with the team.

“Bad news?” Connor asks me, and I startle a little. I had almost forgotten he was there. I was trying to decide if I could make it through the work day in my present condition.

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