Page 32 of A Vegas Crush Collection #3

peony on knight boulevard

Grant

“What day is it?” Devon asks, the vibrations rumbling through my chest.

She’s against my side, her head on my chest, one leg crossed over mine. We’re still naked, and I have no idea how long we’ve been lying here on her bed, naked. It could’ve been hours by now. My stomach growls in answer.

“Saturday. I think.” I wiggle to my side so Devon is now on her back. Propped up with one hand, I lay my other on her belly. “I can’t wait to see you getting bigger as they grow. I can’t wait to feel them move inside of you.”

“I hope we didn’t scar them too much by what we just did,” Devon says with a giggle. Her blush nearly makes me hard again. “I mean, is it weird that we’ve just had sex and there are two little lives inside of me?”

“It’s amazing. A miracle. And honestly? The fact that you’re having my babies only makes me want you more. Is that weird?”

My stomach growls again, loudly, and Devon laughs, sitting up. “Well, that’s the second time your stomach has made its intentions known. And, frankly, I have a massive craving for Chinese takeout.”

“Isn’t it, like, breakfast time?”

“Babies want Chinese food,” Devon growls, heading for her walk-in closet.

I admire the magnificent sight of her ass as she leaves, until it tragically disappears from my view, of course.

It’s hard to take my eyes off her at any time, but when she’s naked?

Impossible. God, she’s a beautiful woman.

Mother of my children. Mine. No fuckin’ corporate policy is going to change the facts or keep us apart while I have something to say about it.

“Chinese it is then, boss.” I do have enough functioning brain matter to know not to argue food choices with a pregnant woman. Not if I’d like to keep my balls intact for any possible sibling add-ons in the future.

Checking my phone, I confirm what I’d assumed.

It’s nearly lunchtime. No wonder everyone is hungry.

I get dressed while Devon rattles off her order from the inside of her closet.

“Peony on Knight Boulevard. Can you find it on your phone and do a DoorDash? I want the house special fried rice, corn egg-drop soup, the Moo-Shoo pork, oh, and those chicken skewers they do that are to die for. I can’t remember what they’re called on the menu but don’t forget them, please.

Oh, and an order of veggie egg rolls…and oh yeah, anything else you’d like to add, Grant? ”

“Um, I think what you’ve picked will be plenty of food for the two of us.

” I’m chuckling as I place the order from the delivery app, finding a ton of joy in the mundane task of over-ordering Chinese food for my woman because she’s hungry and she wants it.

Plus, the fact she’s growing the two little humans we made together?

Nothing at all complicated about wanting to take care of all three of them.

“Food’s ordered. Says forty minutes, give or take on the app.”

“Great, thank you.”

“Hey, what were you working on when I showed up at your door this morning?” I remember to ask.

“Oh, come look.” She sweeps out of her closet, now dressed in loose shorts and a hooded T-shirt from Pride week, I’m guessing since it’s the Vegas Crush logo in rainbow colors, gesturing me to the table where her laptop and other papers are scattered about.

“I’ve got four regular nutrition clients now.

I do food shopping and meal prep for them, and I think they’ll be long-term clients.

The weekly class is also going well, assuming I didn’t gross everyone out by throwing up and bleeding all over in front of them. ”

“People were just worried about you. They won’t think a thing of it,” I reassure her.

She shows me her budget spreadsheet, pointing out the long-term projections.

“I can’t sustain myself on this income yet.

It’s part-time work at best and even though my salary at the Crush isn’t much, I can’t let it go yet.

I was hoping there’d be a different story here, but there’s not.

Plus, I need the health insurance until the babies are born.

I’m finishing the cookbook, too, and that income should be a nice bonus, but if it doesn’t sell, then I won’t be asked to do another. ”

When she looks up at me, I can see the worry in her eyes. “Take a breath, please. No one is asking or expecting you to quit your job.”

“You don’t know that. Twins will—I’ll get bigger faster. It’ll be harder to hide earlier on in the pregnancy and I’m not a liar, Grant. I don’t want to hide that they’re yours.”

“You won’t ever have to do that,” I say a bit more harshly than I mean to. I sit in the chair next to her and pull her hands into mine.

“Have you told Max Terry yet?” She still has that worried look in her eyes, which bothers me a lot more than it probably should. Suddenly, the greatest need to make every single one of her worries to fucking be gone overtakes everything else.

“No, not yet, but I’ve requested a meeting with him and I’d like for you to be there.”

She closes her eyes and blows out a long breath. “I will if you think that’s what’s best.”

“I do.” I lean in and kiss her lightly. “I want to be here to calm your nerves, to care for you. I will not be off in the shadows, sneaking around. And I hear Max is a pushover for a good romance. So we’ll tell him what happened. We’ll explain how and when we met. It will be fine.”

“You know, I can take care of myself,” Devon says.

“I know you can. You’re quite remarkable, and I don’t want you to feel trapped or burdened. I just really want this. I want you. I want our children. And I want us to do this together.”

“You know, you’re being awfully kind about…well, about the fact that I hid this from you.”

I bite my bottom lip as I think about it. “How long have you known?”

“Two weeks. And you just said you don’t want me to feel trapped.

Well, I didn’t want you to feel trapped, either.

I wanted to give you a chance to get your first season started…

and me, well, to make it through my first trimester safely, and then I was going to tell you.

I don’t want you to worry I was never going to tell you.

I’m not the kind of person who’d ever keep something so important from you. ”

“I know you’re not,” I say, squeezing her hands in mine.

“Grant, it happened literally the first night we met. The first time we were together. Everything felt so sudden because it was. And you’d just started to hit your stride at work. People think you walk on water over there. I didn’t want to ruin your first big start in the NHL.”

“I don’t walk on water, Devon.” It comes out probably too sharply. “It was my obsession with having children that ruined my marriage. It made me a shitty partner.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than just your desire to start a family. And no one is perfect. Not one person. I don’t expect that from you, Grant.”

“Well, I think you’re pretty perfect,” I say, brushing a finger up her cheek.

“When I first saw you, instead of leaving the bar as I was going to do, I walked over to you. There was nowhere else that I could go but straight to your side. You were literally the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. And I was so far out of the dating game. I figured I’d come across like some bumbling fool.

But then we talked, and it was so natural.

You were witty and fun, and we connected instantly, so easily. ”

“I don’t want you to think I just…do that…because I don’t.”

“You don’t what?”

“I don’t sleep with random men I meet at hotel bars.” It comes out hushed as a charming blush spreads up her cheeks.

The laugh I let out is more like a bark, a sharp noise that takes us both off guard.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me. I’m not laughing at you.

I didn’t think that at all. I’ve never had that thought about you, not once.

In fact, the only thing I was able to think about during the weeks afterward was how—” I take in a breath at the memory.

“Mind-blowing it was?” Devon finishes with a shy smile.

“I felt the same. I mean, I’ve gone out a few times since my divorce, but I didn’t try that hard.

I figured if I had to try, then it wasn’t what I was looking for, you know?

And I worried that, well, I worried that the same thing might happen again, that I wouldn’t be enough. ”

I can’t help myself from growling as I lean in and kiss her again.

“You are enough. You are more than enough. And this is real, Devon. For me, this is so fucking real.” I was with Margot for over a decade, and although I know I loved her, I don’t recall feeling so…

intense about her. I desperately wanted a family, but was it really Margot I wanted?

In contrast, in such a short period of time, Devon owns me.

Makes me wonder…Am I falling in love with her, or am I already there?

She opens up to me, her tongue flitting against my bottom lip as the heat between us flares to life once more.

It’s always like this with her though. If we’re alone?

There’s not a chance in hell I’m keeping my hands off her.

All I know is that she’s all mine now. No matter how it shakes out with my job, Devon Pearson and our babies she’s growing within her beautiful body are mine.

When the doorbell rings, I groan and laugh at the same time.

“Pause that thought,” she says, shoving her chair back and standing with a languid stretch. “Eating for three now.”