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“He is. Has a heart of gold, but he can be a bit of a young, dumb manwhore.” I laughed. “His pack mates are all on the team.”

“It must be nice to get to play with his pack.”

Jensen nodded. “They have specific contracts, which means that none of them can ever be traded without each other. Either they skate together or not at all. Now, Bethany, this is our head coach.”

The next twenty minutes were a blur of introductions. She greeted everyone warmly, shook their hands, and accepted hugs when they offered them. Bethany had such a warm, inviting personality that it was impossible not to get along with her. It wasn’t long before the entire team was smitten with her.

Once introductions were done, we actually started skating. Bethany was obsessed with watching the little kids decked out in hockey gear. The three- and four-year-olds were downright adorable. As I watched them, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought that, in a few years, that could be my child.

I had been the one who taught Joey to skate. Well, I had been the one who taught her how to hobble along the ice. Once she could stand up straight and go in a line, then we let Bethany take over.

“This Christmas is shaping up to be the best yet.” Bethany hummed as she snuggled into Gideon’s side, watching all the kids. Joey was skating circles around Saint, much to our amusement.

Bethany’s hand rested lightly on her small bump. We had decided to tell everyone about the baby. There was something exhilarating about having it out in the open, finally. Being able to pull Bethany into my arms and kiss her in public was the best feeling ever.

Chapter 44

Beth

Christmas morning had always been a time of stress and suffering. Food needed to be cooked, the mess from opening gifts would need to be cleaned up, and the tasks were never-ending. For a holiday, it was rather busy for me.

So, when I was woken bright and early on Christmas morning by Joey jumping on my bed, I didn’t know what to expect.

“Santa was here!” she declared excitedly as she shoved all the adults down the stairs. Her bubble gum scent was practically exploding everywhere due to her excitement.

“What time is it?” I yawned sleepily as Cullen threw an arm around me and we made our way into the den, where Joey was jumping on the sofa while still wearing her festive pajamas covered in candy canes. We were all rubbing sleep from our eyes and trying to join the land of the living after our rather rude awakening.

“Just be glad that Joey waited until the sun was at least starting to rise. A few years ago, she woke us at five in the morning…”

I gaped at him.

Five a.m. wasn’t a time anyone should be awake.

Ever.

Gideon hummed in agreement. “The younger they are, the earlier they wake you. We’ve got this to look forward to with the little one.” As he spoke, he grabbed Joey off the sofa and spun her around, making her giggle wildly.

“Where’s Daddy J?” she whined.

“He’s coming,” Cullen assured her. “He’s just getting coffee for the grown-ups. Then we can start.”

“I think a gift-wrapping store exploded in here.” I laughed as I surveyed the scene. Overnight, the den had been turned into a Christmas-themed wonderland. Every surface had presents on them.

Cullen shrugged. “We like to spoil our girls.”

I didn’t miss his use of the plural—were they talking about the baby, or me?

Hopefully the baby, because I wasn’t sure how I would handle the guys getting me gifts.

Joey waited patiently for a few moments, or at least as patiently as she could, jumping up and down on balls of her feet as we settled down around the room.

“Okay! Present time?” she asked excitedly.

Gideon nodded, reaching under the tree and passing a gift to Joey. He took on the responsibility of slowly distributing all the gifts. Joey wasted no time in tearing into the paper, squealing happily at her latest doll set, throwing herself into Gideon’s arms and thanking him profusely before moving on to the other dads.

“This one is from Bethany!” she said, grabbing the large, squishy parcel I had significant trouble wrapping a few nights prior.

Cullen raised a brow at me. I had bought Joey a small gift just from me. When I had been racking my mind, trying to figure out what I could get her, considering her fathers providedeverything she could possibly need, I remembered the pale blue bedding from my nest she had been absolutely enamored with. Two of the pillows and one of the blankets had even left my nest and went home with her that day she was sick. So I had gone out and repurchased that exact same set of nesting supplies but in pale blue, pink, and lilac. All colors I knew Joey loved.