Page 35

TWENTY-NINE

DANIEL

Brooks: How’s operation make Hannah fall for you going?

Aiden: God, I love love. We should add Beckett to this group. He’d have some input.

War: Guys, it’s 7 a.m. Why the hell are you up?

Snow: 4 a.m. in Vegas, and I haven’t gone to bed. At least not my own.

Brooks: LOL. We miss you, buddy. How’s Vegas?

Snow: A dream. You guys gotta come visit. The women here…fuckkk

Me: Talking to a group of guys who are all obsessed with their women.

Snow: Aw, shit. Even you?

Me: Even me. Miss you, bro. Call soon.

Smiling, I plug my phone into the charger, then turn all my attention on my current obsession.

“Okay, peanut—yup, that’s the name we’re going with, since your mama tells me you like the salty stuff, just like her.” I gently press my lips to Hannah’s belly, careful not to wake her. Though I’d gladly watch her sleep for hours, I have to get her up soon so we can hit the road. But before that, I want a little more time with my child. Once we get back to Boston, I won’t have unfettered access like I’ve had for the last few days. “Here’s the deal. I don’t get to talk to you as much as I want since mama’s got an important job and has to fly all over the country, but that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of you always.” I rest my head on her thigh and close my eyes. “And wishing I was with you both.”

The last few days have been nothing short of perfect. Even a year ago, my ideal break from hockey included bars, beaches, and hooking up. This vacation couldn’t have been more different. Yet the mere idea of spending time with another woman makes me sick. There’s comfort in the softness of this woman. In the way she lights up when she smiles, in the spark in her eye when she’s gearing up to sass me. I love when she does it too. The teasing and the sex. Everything with her feels right.

Two nights ago, when she opened up about her divorce, it struck me that there really is potential here. I’ve known for a while that Hannah is my endgame, but I think she’s finally coming to terms with it too. Maybe even wanting it. A guy can hope, right?

Watching her interact with Riggs and Ash was far more satisfying than I could have imagined. Their presence unlocked a side of her I hadn’t seen, and it had me dreaming of being part of her family one day.

They’re the reason I brought Hannah to Vermont. Noah mentioned that Hannah had been trying to schedule a time to get together with Ash, but because of all the traveling he does, along with her intense schedule, it’s next to impossible. So when he said they’d be home for the week, I figured Vermont was the perfect place for our road trip.

Ash is thirty-three, like Hannah, and I couldn’t get enough of the stories he had to tell about his job. He works for a security firm and has been assigned to the Berkshire family, who are basically American royalty.

Riggs is a few years older and has a few kids who are already excited to meet their cousin. That’s when reality really set in. Our baby already has a whole slew of aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Fuck, more than anything, I want our child to have two parents who are present. I don’t want to be a part-time dad. I don’t want to be away from our child at all. I don’t want to be away from Hannah either.

Our jobs make that impossible, and I can’t change that. But I can make sure we spend as much of our time off together as we can.

So my goal over the next few months is twofold: to make Hannah fall in love with me and to create the family of my dreams with my dream girl.

“All right, peanut, good talk. I love you. Now I gotta focus on waking up your mama.” As I press a kiss to her belly, her fingers slide into my hair, and she tugs.

“I think the baby can hear you.”

A bolt of excitement courses through me. “Why? Did you feel a kick?” I press my hand to her belly.

She smiles. “No. Should I be able to?”

I crawl up her body and brush my lips over hers. “Morning. And no, the books say you’ll probably notice it around sixteen weeks. You’re only thirteen.”

With a sigh, she slides a leg over mine, cuddling into me. “You’re so good at this stuff.”

A peace I’ve never known before settles into my bones as I stroke her hair. It’s a gift, the simple ability to touch her. “I just like to read. Like to be in the know.”

She smiles. “Yeah, what else do you like reading?”

“Articles about hockey. Articles about sex.”

Does she have any clue that her articles in particular are the ones I love to read? Should I tell her? If she wanted people to know she was Calliope, she’d say so, right? For now, I’ll keep the knowledge to myself. “Now most of the articles are about babies. I’ve been following a vlog created by a group of dads. It’s really interesting.”

Hannah hums. “It’s good one of us knows what’s going on.”

At the flat tone of her voice, I tuck my chin and assess her. She looks almost… lost .

“What if the baby moves and you’re not there?”

As much as it pains me to admit, it’s probably better to be realistic about it. “You travel a lot, Han. That will probably happen.”

She peers up at me from beneath dark lashes. “But I don’t travel all the time.”

Cautiously, I eye her. “No, you don’t.”

She bites down on that plump bottom lip of hers. From what I can tell, it’s always swollen. How can it not be with the way she’s always gnawing on it? “So if I’m at home and the baby kicks, maybe I wouldn’t have to call you. Maybe I could just reach over—” She walks her fingers across my abdomen and grasps my hand, then places it on her tiny belly.

Every cell in my body is dancing with excitement, but I’m doing everything I fucking can to hide behind a calm facade. I don’t want to scare her, but fuck do I want that. So I just nod, attention locked on where my hand rests. “It would be amazing if I could be there for that.”

“But it doesn’t happen for at least another few weeks? So?—”

My heart stutters. “The guys on the vlog say it varies. Some of their partners felt it a couple of weeks earlier.”

When she looks back at me, I swear I see a flicker of hope in her pretty eyes. “Yeah?”

I glide my hand across her stomach, soaking in her warmth. “Yeah, and you’re so tiny to begin with. I bet it’ll be easier to feel smaller movements.”

“Right, and we wouldn’t want you to miss that,” she whispers.

Staring down into her gorgeous blue eyes, I swallow down the emotion threatening to spill out of me. “I don’t want to miss anything.”

“I don’t want you to miss anything either.” She’s quiet for a moment.

Damn, I wish I could read her mind. Is she thinking what I’m thinking? Does she want me around for it all the way I’m desperate to be there for every milestone, no matter how small?

“So maybe when we get back to Boston, you’d consider staying with me for the night?”

My stomach swoops, and I swear my heart doubles in size. “I’d happily stay the night at your place any time you want me there.”

Her lips twist. “That would help when I get cravings, I suppose.”

Eager for any excuse to be near her, I nod. “Yeah, I’m more than happy to run out to get whatever you’re craving. Are you craving something right now? I can head into town before we go.”

With a grin, she slips a warm, soft hand beneath the waistband of my boxers. “Not the kind of craving I was referring to,” she says as she strokes me with just the right amount of pressure.

And then the girl of my dreams slides down my body and proceeds to give me the best morning head any guy has ever received.