Page 43 of Don’t Leave (Stay #2)

COLE

F our years later…

“Hurry it up, babe,” I call from the living room in our high-rise apartment in downtown Chicago. “Or we’ll be late.”

I just got home from a team practice with the Blackhawks and now we’re heading out to meet up with Austin and Brooklyn for dinner.

“I’m coming.”

A low whistle escapes from me as she walks out of the bedroom wearing a little black dress that clings to every curve. Even after spending a couple of hours on the ice, my dick stiffens right up.

Damn, but my fiancé is hot.

“Is it possible to cancel our plans for the evening?” There’s a beat of silence. “Because I’d much rather stay here and strip you out of that gorgeous dress. It would look perfect draped over the chair in the corner of our room.”

Color stains her cheeks as she does a little twirl. “You like?”

My gaze falls to her backside. “Umm, I don’t just like it. I love it.”

Cassidy has never been one for slinky outfits or overly girlie things. So, this is a total surprise. One I’m absolutely loving.

“You know we can’t cancel,” she says. “We haven’t seen Brooklyn and Austin in months. I miss them. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

As much as I was looking forward to getting together with our friends, it’s tempting to keep Cassidy here, all to myself.

“I suppose not,” I grumble.

She closes the distance between us before stretching onto the tips of her toes and pressing a kiss against my lips. “I promise to make it worth your while when we get home tonight.”

My lips lift into a grin. “Deal.”

I smack her bottom when she turns away from me. “You ready to head out?”

Her gaze darts to the open bedroom door as she nibbles at her lower lip.

I know Cassidy well enough to realize something’s up. “What’s going on?”

She clears her throat. “We need to wait for a few more minutes before we leave.”

“Why is that?” My gaze searches hers, looking for the answers she hasn’t given me.

Silence descends before she finally admits, “I just took a pregnancy test.”

My brows shoot up as my mouth falls open. Out of all the things I thought she might say, that wasn’t one of them.

“A pregnancy test?” It takes a moment to wrap my lips around the word as I swallow up the distance between us and yank her into my arms. “Do you really think you could be pregnant?”

“I’m two weeks late,” she murmurs, “so there’s a good possibility.”

Two weeks.

She’s been keeping this to herself for that long?

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips. “I just wanted to make sure before I said anything.” There’s a moment of hesitation. “It just seems like such bad timing. I’m in graduate school and you’re on the road with the team.”

Joy explodes inside me as my hand slips between us to settle on her gently curved belly. “No matter what happens, we’ll figure it out. Everything will be fine. Promise.”

“We’re not even married yet.”

I lift her left hand so she can stare at the ginormous engagement ring adorning her finger. “Close enough.”

Her teeth scrape against her lower lip as she searches my gaze. “You’re really happy about this?”

“Not just happy, thrilled .” I press a kiss against her mouth. How could she possibly think otherwise?

When the alarm on her phone goes off, her eyes widen. “That’s the timer for the test.” There’s a pause. “I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be. We have each other and no matter what happens, we’ll get through it. All right?”

She nods as her muscles loosen.

“Should we find out if we’re going to be parents?” I ask.

Excitement sparks to life in her eyes. “Yes.”

With her hand secured in mine, I pull her into the bedroom before we enter the attached bathroom where a test sits on the granite counter. Our gazes stay locked for a long heartbeat before she carefully picks up the white stick and stares at it.

When a few seconds tick by and she remains silent, I shift, anticipation building inside me until it feels like I’m about to explode.

“Well?”

She turns the stick toward me until I can see the two windows on one end. I’ll be honest, I have no idea what I’m looking at. Or what it means. It’s a couple of pink lines.

Wait a minute…

Does that?—

“Are we pregnant?”

She nods as a gurgle of laughter escapes from her. “Yup, we’re pregnant.”

I let out a loud whoop before picking Cassidy up and swinging her around in a tight circle.

I can’t believe this.

We’re going to be parents.

My mind tumbles back to the first time I saw Cassidy sitting in our psych class. At the time, I had no idea that this was the girl who would end up changing my life. But that’s exactly what she did.

And now, I can’t imagine a single day without her filling it.

This girl is my everything.

And nothing will ever change that.

***

Thank you so much for reading Don’t Leave! I hope you enjoyed Cassidy & Cole’s story as much as I loved writing it! Are you ready to delve into another hockey romance?

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My best friend.

My constant.

My person.

So when I walk in on my boyfriend—who also happens to be my boss—screwing a colleague on his desk, it’s Steele who picks up the pieces.

Now I’m living in his penthouse, crashing in his guest room, and working as his assistant while I figure out what’s next. Every day, I tell myself this is temporary. That just because he looks at me like I already belong to him doesn’t mean I actually do.

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To him, I’ve always been his.

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Possessive.

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It doesn’t take long for the lines between us to blur.

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