Page 1 of Catch Me

Chapter 1

Lois

Have you ever seen a six-foot-four hockey captain cradling his newborn daughter like she’s made of glass?

That’s what I'm looking at right now, as I tumble into the hushed hospital room at 11:48pm. My hair surely looks like a bird’s nest, my mascara smudged under my eyes like a badger, but I couldn’t give less of a shit. The tiny coo from the corner of the room has my heart skipping, I need to look at her, to see her delicate body cradled in my brother’s arms. But first, I have to see if Callie is ok.

I rub her forearm lightly and press a kiss to her cheek. “How are you? How’s things down there?” I gesture down to her nether regions, which I'm sure are looking mighty swollen and sore right now.

The woman is a champ to put up with my brother in the first place, but to push out a nine pound baby that he planted inside her? She’s a got to be some sort of fucking saint. Callie’s cheeks are flushed and she looks like she hasn’t slept in weeks, but she’s glowing with joy as her soft green eyes stay fixated on Sean and her daughter.

“Yeah Lo, I'm ok, just exhausted physicallyandmentally.” She smiles at me, tearing her eyes away from Sean. “Between me and you,” she whispers, in a room full of people. “I’m not sure I’ll ever recover, but it would be worth it.”

When I say the small hospital room is full, I mean it’sfull. We’re like sardines in here. Molly and Kyle sit tangled on a much too small armchair in one corner of the room, Molly’s hand laying gently on her best friend’s thigh. Sean, of course is whispering sweet nothings to his baby girl as he sways, a huge hand running slowly over her tiny, dark haired head. Lewis and Anais are sat on the only other two chairs in the room. They are mismatched, like the ones you pull out on Christmas Day when the whole family shows up and you don’t have enough seating for everyone. The only person not here right now is Nick Andersen, my brother’s friend and teammate.

I don’t care that he’s not here, really I don’t, not one tiny bit.

Everyone is mesmerised by the tiny bundle of pink that’s snuggled into my brother’s chest, and I think I’ve waited long enough to finally take a lingering glance at her face.

My heart albeit explodes inside my chest when I look at her. Her skin is tinted pink, her lips parted, occasionally sucking on Sean’s finger whilst she lets out the softest little crackle of a cry.

She is perfection, in every way.

I drop a hand to Sean’s huge bicep and he turns his head to face me, his mouth split into a bright, prideful beam. “Hi Lo, meet Lily.”

“Hi Lily,” I whisper, dipping my face closer to her’s. “We’re going to be best friends.”

Sean whips her away playfully. “No way, she’s Daddy’s best friend.”

“Oh Jesus Christ,” Kyle groans with a roll of his eyes, earning a jab in the ribs from Molly who sits nestled on his lap.

“Can I hold her?” I squeak, swallowing the bubble of overjoyed tears that have become lodged in my throat. “Please Sean?”

He hands her to me without a second thought, and before I know it I have a warm, squirming, snuffly little ball of happiness in my arms. I trail a finger lightly under her chin, up and over the swell of her rosy cheeks and around the crown of her head. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

A bubble has formed around me and all I can see, hear and smell is precious Lily. The sounds of hushed conversation that surround me are muffled, like I have cotton wool wedged into my ears and the only clarity I feel is when I peer down at my new niece.

It doesn’t take long for my bubble to burst though.

The hospital door swings open and crashes against the wall, shaking the entire building. Every person in the room spins their head towards the sound and I do the same. The only difference being, I don’t think anyone else’s heart bounced against their ribcage when they saw Nick Andersen standing in the doorway. One, thick tattooed bicep is propped against one side of the door, the inked skin rippling as his muscle tenses. My eyes flicker to his taut stomach, the grooves of his painfully perfect abs waving hello to me through his sheer, white t-shirt. The man is fucking exquisite to say the least and to tell the truth, I’ve been the tiniest bit into him since we first met almost two years ago, when Sean and I transferred to Redwood.

Ok, that’s a lie. I’m totally fucking obsessed with Nick and I'm starting to wonder if it’s borderline unhealthy, considering this hunking slab of tattooed goodness barely even knows I exist.

“Hey guys,” he drawls, walking into the room and immediately owning it without even needing to try. “So, where’s the kid?”

My chest closes in on me when his gaze lands on mine for a beat, then instantly falls down to Lily, who is still breathing evenly in the cradle of my arms. Nick’s footsteps are all I can hear as he approaches me, his warm chocolate irises failing to lift to mine again, no matter how hard I try to telepathically beg them to.

He touches a finger to Lily’s face, poking gently at one chubby cheek. “Awe, cute, congrats guys.” He slaps a congratulatory hand to Sean’s shoulder.

“Thanks man,” Sean says, smile still stretching his face wide as he watches his baby girl.

“Yeah, thanks dick, I mean Nick.” Callie says, her tone loaded with sass and sarcasm as she folds her arms across her chest. She hates Nick, has done since the moment she laid eyes on him and clearly motherhood hasn’t yet softened her.

Nick simply grins at her though, likely enjoying seeing her riled up at his looming presence. He flexes a scabbed knuckle and winces a little.

“What happened to your hand? Been sticking your dick in someone else’s girl again?” Sean teases, but my stomach flips at his comment. Nick likely doesn’t even know I'm in the room and yet, the image of him with a lanky blonde wrapped around him makes me sick.

Nick shakes his head, short chestnut tresses moving with him. “Not this time,” he grins wickedly and I definitely might throw up. “Punched a hole in my sideboard before I left the house. My dad tried to call me again and I needed to get my anger out on something that wasn’t going to punch me back.”

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