Page 43 of Cold as (N)ice

“Oh Barrett,” she whispered, touched, meeting his warm gaze only to realize he was waiting with a mysterious smile on his face. “What are you up to?”

“This is for our little one – and you,” he said tenderly, his voice rapt with emotion as he glanced down and tentatively put his hand on her stomach. “Is it crazy that I want to think of the baby as my own? I’ve always wanted a family, and while I know neither are…”

“They are yours,” she interrupted thickly, laying her hand on his where it touched her. “They’re yours because you want them. You treat them like they are precious without asking or being forced to…”

And he looked at her in disbelief, angling his head slightly, almost confused.

“Of course I want them. Each is a miracle, Irene,” he breathed emotionally, staring at her. “I don’t care about your ex because you’re here too – and that’s the only part that matters. Now, are you ready for your surprise?”

“I don’t know,” she chuckled tearfully. “I’m not ready for much more. I’m already on the verge of tears…”

“Good,” he laughed softly – and opened the door, holding it for her, silently beckoning her forward. “C’mon…” and then flipped on the lights.

Irene gasped.

She couldn’t help it.

Turning to him, she crumbled and laid a hand over her heart, feeling such love and so many emotions as her eyes touched on everything – including Barrett’s proud smile. He had one of the bedrooms painted into a nursery… and it was incredible.

The top half of each wall was a pale beige, while the bottom was a warm buttery yellow. There was a ripple that bisected each wall horizontally with colorful dots giving it a childlike appearance – pink, blue, green, yellow, purple, and more. A white crib stood in the corner with a big puffy yellow heart pillow propped in the corner, and a dresser was off to one side, with a changing pad on top.

“Do you know how many different patterns of infant sheets there are in the baby section?” he said softly behind her, laying a hand on her shoulder. “I had no idea if you wanted Winnie the Pooh, or Noah’s ark, or whatever that weird blue dog thing is…”

She turned – and immediately fell into his arms, hugging him tightly as she pinched her eyes shut, trying not to cry. She didn’t want him to get the wrong impression, thinking that she was sad. This is what overwhelming happiness and joy felt like – and she couldn’t hide it.

“And what in the heck is a crib bumper?” he muttered against her hair, kissing the top of her head… and she snorted indelicately as they both began laughing together. “Are you happy?”

“Very,” she said simply, clutching him in a hug and just needing to hold him close as they stood there together. This man was nothing short of a miracle. For someone to open their home, accept them as his own, welcome and provide for them, and so many other things – she knew deep in her heart that she didn’t deserve someone as wonderful as him, but wasn’t dumb enough to turn down the chance to be a part of his world either.

“I have one more surprise for you…” he whispered tenderly, smoothing her hair. “Do you want to see it?”

“I’m not sure how many more surprises one person can take,” she replied, looking up at him and marveling at the tenderness in his gaze.

“Things are going to be okay between us – I promise.”

“I know,” she breathed, touched. “I think I finally know that.”

“Good,” he smiled softly, withdrawing ever so slightly and lacing his fingers with her. “C’mon…”

Obediently, she followed Barrett down the hallway and saw they passed what looked like an office. There was a wall of built-in bookshelves and a window seat that needed a pad on it so she could sit there, read, and sip on hot cocoa someday. Everything her eyes took in had a feeling of home to it, and she was feeling so blessed to realize that this was going to actually be their house they shared as a family. At the end of a very long hallway, he turned and winked at her… and opened the last door.

This room had carpeting, and she looked at him questioningly. In the guided tour, she thought this was a den or second living room – only to see that wasn’t the case. In the middle of the room was a large sleigh bed with end tables on either side. There was a seating area off to the right located in analcove that seemed to have a bay window, and a plush looking rocker-recliner. This room was painted a cool shade of gray, giving it a relaxing feeling and reminded her of a spa she saw in a magazine once.

“This is… our room?”

“It’s the master suite, yes.”

“Oh wow…”

“No twin beds,” he chuckled softly. “Every store in the area was fresh out of twin mattresses. Can you believe that? Man, what bad timing, huh?”

“Fresh out, huh?”

“Sold out,” he replied flatly, but his lips were twitching as a smile spread across her lips in awareness. Gosh, he had such a snarky attitude and sometimes she wondered what he was like when he was talking smack on the ice with the other players.

“Darn.”

“That’s what I said.”

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