Page 52

FIFTY-TWO

RILEY

I don’t know how Lexi does it, but I fall more in love with her every day. I walk into a room and she’s there, a book in her lap and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and it’s a lightning bolt to the chest. A flashing neon sign that says there’s the love of your life, and it’s true.

The boys made it to the Eastern conference finals after clawing back from a 0-2 deficit in the semifinals, and we’re having one last team dinner at Maverick and Emmy’s before we head to Miami to see if we can make it back to the Stanley Cup finals.

“You know they’re going to lose their minds when we go in there holding hands, right?” Lexi asks, peering up at me as we stand outside the door. “If there’s not a champagne shower, I’m going to be shocked.”

“Please.” I snort and roll my eyes. “They know I’ve been obsessed with you for years. And they gave me some good advice recently that I took to heart. There was a whiteboard. Liam even participated. The world might be ending.”

“Wow. So everyone knew about your feelings for me except me?” Lexi grabs my collar and tugs my mouth to hers. “I don’t like missing out on secrets.”

“It’s not a secret anymore.” I kiss her then pull away with a smile. “But we should take bets on who says the weirdest shit to us.”

“Ethan,” she announces without a second thought. “You know he’s going to be the one who will give us his honest opinion without holding back.”

We step into the foyer and take off our shoes, walking into the living room where my teammates are spread out on the couches. I rub my thumb over Lexi’s knuckles, smiling when she rests her head on my shoulder and surveys the room.

“Hey,” she calls out, and two dozen pairs of eyes look our way. “Who won the bet?”

“What bet?” Grant asks innocently, and I have to hand it to him. His fake surprised face has come a long way. I almost believe that he’s caught off guard by us showing up together. “Is there something you want to share with us, Lex?”

“Nope.” She stands on her toes and kisses my cheek, flipping everyone off when a round of aww s echo in the room.

Everyone settles in, handing over plates and silverware and water bottles. Hudson doles out the lasagna Madeline made. Ethan helps slice the sourdough loaf he cooked all by himself after he shows Lexi the forty-seven photos he took of himself with his starter, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him so proud.

“You know, I’ve never been the jealous type, but it’s pretty unfair that all of you are walking around and showing off how happy and in love you are,” Grant says after we all finish our food. “Is there any justice for us single people?”

“We’re young, G,” Ethan says, shoving a hot dog in his mouth. “We can’t spend all our time settled down. Where’s the fun in that?”

“It’s plenty of fun,” Hudson says.

“I can have sex whenever I want,” Maverick adds, and Emmy hits him in the face with a pillow.

“Not tonight you’re not,” she says, and Lexi bursts out laughing beside me.

“That is a nice perk,” she murmurs to me. “Maybe after the playoffs are finished, you can have book club at your place. You can tie me to your bed and make me wait there while you and the boys talk about your favorite parts of the novel, and none of them will ever know.”

“Jesus, Lex.” I blush and take a long sip of my water. “I need some warning before you say those kinds of things.”

“You put a blindfold on me last night and smiled while you did it. Me tied to your bed is where you draw the line?”

“When I’m around my nosy fucking teammates who are probably eavesdropping? Yes.” I put my hand under her thigh and drag her across the couch to me. “You know I’m pathetic when it comes to you.”

“Yeah.” Her grin is sharp and sly. “I do.”

“What are we talking about?” Ethan asks, leaning on my shoulders from behind the couch. “Anything good?”

“Mind your business, Richardson, or I’m going to use the massage gun that hurts when you get on my table tomorrow,” Lexi says, and he pulls away.

“Yes ma’am,” he hurries to say, and I laugh.

“Great. Now you’ve scared him.”

“He’ll be fine.”

“Listen up,” Maverick calls out. “One of the people in the social media department wants us to take a group photo. She said the fans are requesting more behind the scenes access, and since they’re not getting into the locker room, a quick snapshot of us all together will appease the masses. Everyone off your asses.”

“They should post a photo of you in your smock when you’re painting,” Lexi teases, and I pinch her hip.

“You told me it was cute.”

“It is cute.”

“I have to go in front. I’m short,” Grant says, and Piper moves to the first row with him. “Who else is a short king?”

“I’m the tallest on the team,” Maverick declares. “So I’m going front and center. Get in here, Emmy girl.”

“God. Not this again,” I groan.

“Is this an ongoing debate?” Lexi asks.

“For years now. No one can make up their damn mind.” I wrap my arm around her and stare at the camera Maverick positioned on the fireplace. Lexi rests her head on my shoulder, and I smile. “It’s funny to hear their reasoning.”

“Can everyone see the camera? Cool, let me press this nifty little button here and… perfect. It’s counting down,” Maverick says. “Man. Technology is amazing.”

“Ethan. Stop flipping off Grant,” Madeline warns.

“Liam, can you please smile?” Hudson asks. “You’re freaking me out, and we don’t need to feed into that conspiracy theory that’s floating around about you being a contract killer.”

“How about instead of arguing…” Maverick reaches into his pocket and unfolds a piece of paper, handing it off to Emmy. “Everyone say Guess what? We’re going to be aunts and uncles to the coolest baby girl in the whole fucking world who will be here by Christmas!”

I can’t hear myself think. Someone screams. A lamp goes flying off the side table, and Grant climbs onto Connor’s back so he can get a better look at the sonogram photos. There’s pushing and shoving and Maverick lifts Emmy up and spins her around.

“Surprise,” Emmy says, her cheeks as red as her hair. “Baby Hartwell-Miller is on her way. It was impossible to keep a secret from you all, but we wanted to be sure things were looking good before we put it out in the open.”

Lexi pulls away from me and crashes into her best friend with a hug. I grab Maverick and yank him toward me in a fierce embrace.

“Congratulations, Mavvy,” I say, and his shoulders shake with laugher. “I’m so happy for you.”

“It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? Me? A dad? I’m going to have two beautiful girls in my house, and I’m the luckiest fucker in the world.” He pats my chest and looks at me. “I’m so glad you’re here to be a part of it, man.”

“Me too.” I nod, and he laughs again, tears on his cheeks.

“That night in the hospital waiting room after your accident was the worst night of my life. When we go back for Baby H’s birth, it’s going to be the greatest night of my life. And you’re going to be by my side.”

“Fuck, dude.” I pull off my glasses and rub my eyes. “I’m going to be the best uncle that girl has ever seen. I’ll work my ass off to take the top spot.”

“It’s going to be a tough competition. I weirdly think Ethan might be the underdog.”

We exchange another hug, and after a celebratory toast, Lexi sidles up next to me.

“Wow. How exciting.” She fans her face and grins. “More babies to spoil. I love being an aunt.”

“The best part is we can hand them back whenever we want.” I sit back down and pat the spot next to me. Lexi smiles and joins me, taking a sip of water after another wave of tears roll down her face. “Those two are going to be the best parents.”

“Tell us the story about Baby Girl Hartwell!” Grant calls out.

“Baby Girl Hartwell-Miller,” Maverick corrects, and Emmy taps her cheek.

“You know what? Baby Girl Hartwell sounds way better,” she teases, and the man is such a sap, he puts his head on her shoulder and buries his face in her hair, not bothering to argue.

“Well, G-Money, when a man loves a woman—” Ethan starts, and Hudson slaps a hand over his mouth.

“I’m so happy for you, Em,” Piper says, and Liam keeps handing her napkins to wipe her eyes. “I know you’ve been trying for so long.”

“Are you going to play next season?” Grant asks, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “How are you feeling? Do you have any morning sickness?”

“I feel great. I played in our playoff series, but I’m taking next season off.” Emmy glances up at Maverick. “Mav is undecided about what he wants to do. He has four more years on his contract, but he said he’d be fine retiring tomorrow.”

“ Retiring? ” Ethan almost yells. “Seriously?”

“We’ll see.” Maverick shrugs and rubs his hand up and down Emmy’s arm. “We all love this sport, but when you see what else is out there…” He trails off and smiles. “I don’t know. Being home every night with my girls sounds like a dream. I think I’ll know when the time is right.”

The sonogram photos get passed around again, and when they reach, Lexi, she sighs.

“I can’t believe that’s a baby. With parents like hers, she’s going to have unbelievable genes,” she says.

“I hope she gets Emmy’s looks. Maverick’s nose is weird,” I joke.

Her laugh is soft, and she keeps the photos moving down the line. When her hands are free, she touches my cheek and meets my gaze. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

She has. Once this morning when I handed over a cup of coffee while she was still in bed. Again this afternoon when I woke her up from a nap. When we hopped in the car on our way here, the three words slipping out of her like she’s been saying them to me for years.

I’m still giddy every time I hear them. I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming, because a year ago, I would’ve laughed in someone’s face if they told me this is how things worked out.

“I’m not sure you did. Could I hear it again?” I ask, and she smiles when she kisses me.

“I love you,” Lexi murmurs. “So very much, Riley.”

“I love you too, Lexi baby.” I move my mouth to her forehead and kiss her there too. “Today’s been a pretty good day, huh?”

“No.” Her arms wrap around my waist, steady and safe. Home . “It’s been the best day.”