Page 119 of The Final Faceoff
She groans, squeezing my fingers harder than should be physically possible.
“You’re doing amazing,” I whisper, my forehead nearly pressed to hers. “You’re perfect. You got this.”
When it passes, she sags against the pillows, looking at me with something close to amusement. “Jesus, Leif. You okay?”
I snort, trying to hide the fact that my heart is currently in my throat. “I am a professional athlete, Hailey. I was built for high-stakes situations.”
She hums, unimpressed. “Mm. I don’t think hockey prepared you for this.”
“You’d be correct,” I mutter, pulling out my phone and dialing. “Now, let’s go have a baby.”
ChapterForty-One
Hailey
The Best Teams Stay Together
I have never been more exhausted in my life.
Scratch that—exhausted doesn’t even begin to cover my current state. I am a shell of a human being. A walking nap waiting to happen. My body is barely functioning, my brain is stuck on a buffering screen, and if someone so much as breathes too loud, I might cry.
And yet, despite the fact that every muscle I own is currently on strike, despite the fact that my bed has never looked more inviting, despite the fact that I just endured the single most physically demanding experience of my life . . .
I’m the happiest woman in the world.
The second I step through the front door, something inside me unravels.
Not because I’m hormonal, which I absolutely am. Not because I’m overwhelmed, which, let’s be honest, I probably should be. But because it just feels so damn good to be home.
Two nights in the hospital were two nights too many. The nurses were amazing, the bed was a medieval torture device, and if I had to hear one more beeping machine at three in the morning, I was going to run away leaving everything behind—maybe not the baby.
But now we’re here.
At home.
Leif steps in behind me, carrying Luna in her car seat like she’s made of stardust and spun sugar. His hair is a mess, his hoodie is wrinkled beyond repair, and he looks wrecked. But also—completely, ridiculously in love. Like his entire world just got handed to him in a seven-pound bundle, and he still can’t believe his luck.
I know exactly how he feels.
Lucian helped us bring everything home earlier. He’s been amazing—watching over me while Leif was away, keeping me sane, making sure I didn’t go into labor alone. And thank God Luna decided to arrive while her daddy was home.
And yeah . . . we went with the name Luna instead of Celeste. The moment we saw her, we just knew. She wasn’t just stardust. She was everything—the sun, the moon, the whole damn universe wrapped up in a tiny, perfect body.
Leif sets the car seat down in the living room with so much care it’s almost reverent. Then he just . . . stares at her.
My chest clenches.
This man and his baby they make my ovaries explode every five seconds.
“Leif?” I murmur.
His eyes snap up to mine, wide and overwhelmed. “Holy shit.”
I blink. “What?”
He gestures at the general presence of our daughter. “They let us leave with the baby. Those suckers didn’t realize what they did.”
I let out a sleepy laugh. “Right? We know nothing. They just handed her to us—idiots.”
