Page 42 of Cross Check Daddies (Miami Icemen #3)
brOOKE
The ocean is the soundtrack of my mornings now.
Not traffic. Not phones. Not the subtle hum of screens or the pressure of a blinking inbox. Just the waves and gulls and the sound of one of my daughters screeching like a tiny dragon because she’s decided socks are evil.
I am supposed to be working on Icemen: Frostbite Menace, which is the second installment of the game, but I let Lisa take the lead on that, just until I have everything else under control.
I sit cross-legged on the outdoor lounger, one baby in my lap, the other curled in a woven bassinet beside me, both wrapped in soft cotton printed with cartoon hockey pucks. Ivy is inside making oatmeal for Jackson, who is wearing one of Cam’s oversized Icemen hoodies.
Even now, I can hear my best friend’s bare feet slapping across the kitchen tiles like she owns the place—which, let’s be honest, she kind of does at this point. She never technically moved in. But she hasn’t left either. She’s my person. The calm in our gloriously chaotic storm. My babies’ nanny.
Ace appears in the doorway with a mug in each hand, shirtless, towel slung low, hair still wet from the ocean. “You want coffee or tea?”
“Surprise me.”
He kisses the top of my head and sets both mugs down.
“Where’s Tanner?”
“Surfing.”
“And Cam?”
I smirk. “Still asleep. Which is shocking considering he had his mouth between my legs at three a.m.”
Ace groans, dragging a hand over his jaw. “I knew I heard something.”
“Well, if you weren’t so busy trying to tire me out with round two on the balcony earlier, you might’ve heard the finish.”
“Finish?”
I glance up. “Baby, I broke the headboard.”
His eyes darken with slow-burning heat. “That was my headboard.”
“You can build another.”
He walks away muttering and comes back two seconds later just to kiss me again.
The beach house is everything we dreamed of. All soft wood and open glass.
There’s a swing for Jackson, a shaded crib nook for the twins, an entire room Ivy has turned into a reading retreat, and a studio I use when I have the energy to sketch or code or nap dramatically in the name of inspiration. We’ve slowed down without falling apart. We’ve become whole.
And the best part?
The best part happened a week ago.
I hold one of the girls closer, my hand brushing her chubby cheek. “You’ll never have to wonder if your brother will be taken away.”
Because we went to court.
Aaron sat there with his polished smirk and empty eyes, still trying to wield charm like a weapon. But my men were there. And my lawyer was terrifying in the most beautiful way. And when Aaron realized he couldn’t win—that he wouldn’t win—he signed.
Signed the papers. Now he only has visitation rights.
Jackson is legally mine now.
Ace cried. Tanner held me so tightly I couldn’t breathe. Cam asked Jackson if he wanted a new jersey with all three of their names on the back. He said yes. He wears it everywhere.
That night, after the girls went down, Ivy took Jackson out for pizza and left me alone in the house with them.
I don’t even make it to the bed.
I don’t want to.
Cam carries me to the kitchen counter while Ace flicks the lights off, Tanner behind me already tugging at my robe. They touch me like I’m holy. Like I’m still theirs in the way that matters most. They taste every sigh, every whimper, every inch of skin until I’m undone beneath them.
When Cam’s mouth finds my breast and Ace’s fingers slide between my thighs, I forget my name. When Tanner lifts me, pins me to the wall, and kisses me, I remember who I belong to.
And afterward—sweaty, tangled, and exhausted—they carry me to bed like treasure.
Today, Jackson’s building a sandcastle with Ivy while the twins nap in the shade, and I’m scribbling notes in my sketchbook about a new game idea that came to me between orgasm and dawn. It’s something wild and strange and powerful.
Like me.
Like this.
I finish my coffee and lean back, eyes closed. I can hear the guys arguing over who gets to grill tonight, and Ivy threatening to lock them out if they burn the fish again.
I smile.
Because I’ve never been this full. Never been this soft and strong all at once. Never had this much love without fear attached.
I lived through hell.
And I built heaven on the other side of it.
With three men.
With three sets of arms to hold me when I shake.
All I can think as I watch the tide slide in is that this is my story.
And it’s just getting started.
The end.
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One night, that’s all it was supposed to be… No strings attached.
Then reality smacked me in the face with two pink lines.
I thought a positive pregnancy test was the worst of it.
Nope, in walks Mr. Unforgettable.
Of course, that’s how it would go.
My one-night stand—my soon-to-be baby daddy—is my new boss.
This job is crucial, it’s a stepping stone to my dreams.
So when Noah Hudson’s magnetic blue gaze pulls me in… I must resist.
Easier said than done. This brooding billionaire is impossible to ignore.
His deep voice alone has me bent over his desk.
I’m coming undone again and again.
But his past haunts him, and my shaky future terrifies me.
I can’t afford to let anyone break my fragile foundation.
Except an earthquake is coming… I’m pregnant with his TRIPLETS.
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