Page 32 of Her Hat Trick Daddies (Game On Daddies #3)

Shane

C atching Leighton off guard with that smile is like sunlight breaking through after a storm. A blush tints her cheeks, her lips parting just slightly, and her eyes are glassy with something I don’t deserve. Especially not after the way I acted.

She didn’t expect us. Any of us. But least of all, me.

Her office smells like a mix between a flower shop and a chocolate boutique, and even though I had a hand in making that happen, standing in the middle of it now, I feel unworthy to be here.

Her eyes dart from David to Andy, then to me. She looks at me… then looks away. That one flinch, like I’m someone she can’t trust to hold her gaze, cuts deeper than I thought it would.

I deserve it.

“Leighton,” I say, my voice low but steady. “Can we talk? Just the two of us?”

She exhales, the sound loaded. “Fine. ”

I’ll take it. It’s more than I expected. Turning to the guys, I give them a nod, and they wordlessly step out, hovering just beyond the door. Close enough to hear, but far enough to give us space.

I sit down across from her, on the other side of her desk, heart pounding like it’s about to hammer through my ribs. “I need to tell you something. A story. And… it’s not an excuse for how I acted, but it’s something that’s haunted me for a long time.”

She nods, silent but listening.

“I was with a woman named Callie. I thought I was going to marry her. I was head over heels. Blind, honestly. But the more time passed, the more I realized she was in it for the wrong reasons. She loved the lifestyle. The fame, the money. She told me what I wanted to hear, played the part.” I pause, searching her face to make sure I still have her attention.

“I see,” she says quietly, but I can tell she’s listening hard.

I take a breath and push forward. “One night, I overheard her talking to a friend, saying she was bored with me. That she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep up the act.

When I confronted her, she denied it. Swore she didn’t mean it.

Funny how the threat of losing me changed her tune.

Because, like clockwork, she tells me she’s pregnant.

I was so damn excited. I wanted that baby so bad.

She even showed me a positive pregnancy test. How?

I have no idea.” I shake my head, the memory still fresh.

“So, of course, I stayed. I loved her. I thought we were having a kid together. Even if I wasn’t sure anymore that she really loved me. ”

Leighton’s shoulders stiffen, a crease forming between her brows. But she says nothing.

“But as time went on, things didn’t add up.

Every time I asked to go to her appointments, she had an excuse.

Said they squeezed her in last minute, always when I was at practice or on the road.

Eventually, the truth came out. She faked the whole pregnancy.

All of it. Just to keep her lifestyle. She never wanted kids. I was… broken. Pissed off. Lost.”

Leighton’s eyes glass over, her voice cracking when she finally says, “I’m so sorry, Shane.”

I swallow hard, the weight of old grief flooding back. “How does someone do that? How do you lie like that, to that level, just to hold on to something?”

My throat cracks, but I force the words out.

“And it wasn’t just about Callie. That whole thing dragged up every shitty memory from my childhood.

No one ever really gave a damn about me.

I was bullied right up until high school.

My foster siblings used to beat the crap out of me, and the foster parents?

They didn’t care. I never fought back. I just took it.

Because if I lost that house, it’d just be the same in the next one, and I’d have to figure out a whole new set of rules just to survive. ”

Leighton’s eyes don’t leave mine. She’s really seeing me, seeing all of it .

“Yeah, I’ve got a temper,” I admit, my voice low. “But I’ve never hurt anyone. Not then, not now. Well… unless it’s on the ice.” I manage a dry chuckle, but my throat is tight. “I can’t do to someone what was done to me. I can’t even imagine it.”

I draw in a breath, steeling myself. “So, when you told me about Luna, my daughter, I freaked out. How could I not? I accused you… pushed you away. Because nothing good ever happens to me. Not really. Until you.”

“Shane—”

“Wait.” I raise my hand, needing to finish. “If I could take back what I said, how I reacted, I would in a heartbeat. I was wrong. You didn’t deserve that."

A moment of silence hangs between us.

"I’ve wanted a kid of my own for as long as I can remember.

So I could give them the kind of love I never had.

After Callie, I gave up on that dream. I buried it.

And when you told us about Luna… it shook me.

I had to dig deep, drag all that hope back out of hiding. The promise I made to my future kid.”

Leighton’s fingers twist in her lap. Her eyes shimmer with conflict—hurt, sympathy, sadness, all tangled up. She looks down, biting her lip, like she’s holding back words she’s not ready to let out yet.

Finally, her voice breaks the silence, soft but strained. “I don’t even know what to say.” Her shoulders rise and fall with a shaky breath, the air between us feeling too tight, too fragile to hold everything we’re both carrying .

“I want to make it up to you. We all do. To both of you.”

Her gaze lifts, guarded. “Both?”

“Yeah. You and Luna.”

Her spine straightens a little, her eyes narrowing just enough to remind me she’s not about to let me off easy. “I get her. But why me?”

I open my mouth, then hesitate. The words matter too much to just throw them out there. “Because… I can’t be part of Luna’s life without respecting you first. You matter in this.”

She exhales slowly, nodding once, but her expression stays wary. “She’s the priority. That’s all that matters right now.”

“And I get that. She needs me… but the truth is, I need her, too.”

Her arms fold across her chest, protective but not shutting down completely. “That’s a good start. For her. But this is going to take time and patience, Shane. A lot of it. We have to go on her timing.”

Hope stirs, faint but real. “I’m ready for that. For whatever it takes.” I meet her eyes, my voice dipping. “And… I meant it when I said I want to make things right with you.”

David steps in, calm and sure. “We mean it.”

Leighton’s eyes flick between us. “And what does that even mean? ‘Make things right.’ It’s easy to say. A lot harder to do.”

Andy’s voice softens. “It means we want to take care of you, darlin’. And Luna. We all did this together. It only feels right that we be in it together. ”

Her jaw becomes rigid. “I’ve been doing fine on my own. We don’t need rescuing.”

David steps forward carefully, not wanting to crowd her. “We know. We’re not here to be heroes. You’ve done everything, and you’ve done an incredible job . But… you don’t have to do it alone anymore. Not if you don’t want to.”

Her eyes flash with something, vulnerability, maybe? Andy steps in closer, adding quietly, “And you know there’s something between us. There always has been. We’d be crazy not to at least give us a chance . ”

She sighs, caught between temptation and responsibility.

I reach for the bag I’d set down by the chair when we walked in, my hands suddenly feeling too big, too clumsy. “These are for her,” I murmur.

She hesitates, but takes it, pulling the tissue paper back slowly. Her fingers brush over the soft fabric, and then she freezes.

She lifts out the first tiny jersey, unfolding it with a kind of quiet reverence.

It’s so damn cute, smaller than I even pictured, our team colors bright and bold, my name stitched across the back in bold lettering.

Her fingers linger there for a moment before she pulls out the next one—Andy’s.

Then David’s. Each one custom, each one made just for Luna.

She presses them to her chest like she can’t help it, her breath catching hard. Her eyes shine, and she blinks fast, like she’s fighting to hold it together, but her fingers keep stroking the fabric, again and again .

“She’s going to drown in these,” she whispers, her voice thick, shaking with something deeper than just surprise. “But… they’re so perfect.”

I swallow the knot in my throat, my voice rough. “I had them made special. One for each of us. So no matter where she is, she knows we’ve got her back.”

She remains quiet, and suddenly, it feels like the whole room holds its breath.

Finally, her voice breaks the quiet. “This… this is a lot. And I don’t know where it will lead. But I need to do it for Luna.”

Her eyes lift to mine, sharp but soft all at once. “But, Shane… if you want this to work, you have to keep your temper in check. No exceptions. Not ever.”

“I swear,” I say without hesitation. “I’ve already booked time with Dr. Crosby, a psychologist I used to see. I’m serious. I’m not going to let my shit touch her life. She deserves better. And so do you.”

David, as steady as ever, just nods. “One step at a time. For everyone.”

Her eyes meet mine, searching, weighing, and this time, she doesn’t look away. “There’s no game this weekend,” she says softly. “We can meet up. At the park, maybe.”

Relief hits me like the first breath after a long shift on the ice. “We’ll be there.”

Andy grins. “Wouldn’t miss a faceoff like that.”

Leighton smiles, the barest curve of her lips, but it’s real. It’s a start.