Page 118 of Hooked On Them

We’d almost gotten off the ice when I heard Miles calling my name. I turned to see him skating rapidly toward us, concern etched across his face.

“What’s wrong?” His eyes darted between me and Carter.

Before I could answer, another contraction hit, stronger than the previous ones. I doubled over slightly, gripping Carter’s arm.

Miles’s expression transformed from concern to alarm in an instant. “Is it the baby?”

I nodded, unable to form words.

“Dominic!” Miles roared, turning back toward the celebration. “Dom! Get over here now!”

So much for not causing a scene.

Dominic’s head snapped up from across the ice before skating over at top speed, nearly wiping out as he hit the carpet.

“What’s happening?” he demanded, eyes wild.

I rubbed my belly. “GB has decided to join the celebration.”

Dominic went completely still, his face draining of color. “Now?”

“Not right this minute, but it’s time to go to the hospital.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

I looked at him, his hair matted with sweat and his eyes bright with victory and fear, and a wave of emotion crashed over me. “You needed to finish what you started. Some things are worth waiting for.”

His eyes filled with tears as he took my hand. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you too,” I whispered, then grimaced. “But I might take that back when I’m screaming obscenities at you.”

“Fair enough.” He kissed my forehead. “Let’s go meet our daughter.”

Chapter38

Always Meant to Be

Nora

I’d always assumed the most surreal experience of my life would be watching my team hold a Stanley Cup overhead while thousands of people screamed their lungs out. But lying in a plush hospital bed, monitors beeping softly while three grown men fussed over me like I was a delicate piece of crystal about to shatter? That took the surreal cake.

“Are you sure you don’t want the lavender essential oil diffuser?” Carter held up a sleek contraption that looked more suited for a spa than a birthing suite. “The doula forum said it promotes tranquility during transition.”

I raised an eyebrow. “The doula forum?”

“I may have joined several online birthing communities.” He plugged in the diffuser anyway. “They’ve been very educational.”

My laugh turned into a grimace as another contraction rolled through me. Thank science for epidurals. What had been knife-twisting agony thirty minutes ago was now just uncomfortable pressure, like someone sitting on my abdomen.

“Breathe through it,” Carter coached, demonstrating exaggerated breaths that made him look like a hyperventilating golden retriever. “Hee-hee-hoooo.”

“Carter, if you make that sound one more time, I will have this baby just to throw her dirty diaper at you.”

He grinned, undeterred. “The forum said you’d get irritable.” He looked way too pleased for someone I’d threatened with diaper projectiles, like he’d checked off some box on his mental “Signs of Labor” bingo card. He’d probably made an actual bingo card in one of his middle-of-the-night preparation frenzies.

A nurse bustled in to check my monitors and my cervix. “How’s Mom doing? Epidural helping?”

“Definitely.” I’d weighed the pros and cons of getting one and decided having one was what was best for me.

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