Page 102 of Hooked On Them

Dominic’s sharp intake of breath was audible. “Holy shit,” he whispered. “That’s her? That’s our GB?”

I nodded, suddenly unable to speak past the lump in my throat. The look of pure awe and joy on his face undid me completely.

“She’s strong,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Like her mama.”

In that moment, something elemental shifted between us. We weren’t just two people who’d accidentally created a life together; we were parents feeling our daughter make her presence known for the first time.

Dominic’s eyes met mine, bright with unshed tears, and I saw everything I was feeling: terror, joy, disbelief, and something dangerously close to love.

And then, forgetting where we were, forgetting everything except this perfect, impossible moment, he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me.

It wasn’t a passionate kiss or a performative one. It was something simpler and more profound. It was the celebration of two people sharing something miraculous. His lips were warm and soft against mine, and I leaned into him, one hand still pressed to my belly where our daughter continued to make her presence known.

I pulled away from Dominic, suddenly remembering exactly where we were and exactly who was watching.

The entire team was staring at us with expressions ranging from shock to confusion to, in Porter’s case, gleeful interest.

“Well, shit,” I whispered, meeting Dominic’s equally horrified gaze.

Coach Lovell’s voice cut through the sudden silence like a knife. “Ten-minute break, everyone! Hydrate and stretch.” He fixed Dominic and me with a look that could strip paint. “Wilson. Hastings. My office. Now.”

The team dispersed slowly, whispering among themselves. I caught fragments as they passed: “thought she was with Collins,” “what the hell?” and Porter’s delighted, “I fucking knew it!”

Dominic leaned close, his breath warm against my ear. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Neither was I.” I gathered my clipboard and water bottle with shaking hands.

“We’re so screwed.” He took off his helmet and ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair.

I didn’t contradict him because he wasn’t wrong. Our carefully constructed house of cards had not just collapsed but had been swept into a tornado and scattered across three counties.

We walked toward Lovell’s office in tense silence, Dominic still in his skates, making that distinctive click-clack sound against the floor. We stopped out of earshot of the open office door.

“Whatever happens in there, I don’t regret it. Not the kiss, and definitely not her.” He nodded toward my belly.

My throat tightened. “Me neither.”

We’d let the lie go on for too long because the four of us had finally found something that worked. Since Christmas, things had just... clicked. The unspoken tension had eased, the uncertainty replaced by this quiet, mutual understanding. No more tiptoeing. No more hesitation. Just comfort and love. A rhythm that made sense in a world that otherwise didn’t.

We knew the truth would have to come out eventually, but we’d gotten greedy, holding on to the calm a little longer than we should have.

Taking my hand, Dominic led me into Coach Lovell’s office, where he was waiting behind his desk, arms folded across his chest and expression unreadable. He gestured for us to sit in the chairs across from him.

We settled uncomfortably into our seats, and Coach looked back and forth between us for what felt like ten minutes but was at least a solid sixty seconds. “Would either of you care to explain what I witnessed out there?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. For perhaps the first time in my adult life, I was completely speechless.

Dominic cleared his throat. “Coach, I can explain?—”

Lovell held up a hand, cutting him off. “Before you start, I should mention that I’ve seen every type of team drama imaginable: affairs, secret relationships, teammates who hate each other’s guts but still have to play on the same line. I even had a forward once who was in love with our biggest rival’s goalie.” He leaned forward. “What I haven’t seen, until today, is one of my players kissing a coach who is in a relationship with our team captain and carrying said captain’s child.”

I winced. When he put it like that, it sounded like the plot of a trashy reality show.

“The baby kicked for the first time. I felt it, and I...” Dominic trailed off, looking at me helplessly.

Lovell’s gaze shifted to me, and something softened in his expression. “First kick is a big moment, but that doesn’t explain why you were the one feeling it, Wilson, instead of Collins.”

The moment of truth had arrived, and I couldn’t see a way around it. I took a deep breath, placed a protective hand over my belly, and prepared to face the consequences.

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