Page 51

FORTY

HANNAH

Shit. He crossed another item off the bucket list.

“Daniel.” I sigh, shoulders drooping.

“Yes, dream girl?”

“I’m going to tip the gondola.”

Head thrown back, he laughs loudly, the sound echoing off the ridiculously tall ceiling painted to look like the sky. The people in line watch us with mostly amused expressions.

I rest a hand on my ever-growing belly. At seven months, I swear it gets bigger by the minute. The baby is sitting high, making it convenient to rest my arms on my stomach. Though I haven’t been able to see my toes in a month. The last time I tried, Daniel laughed at me. That didn’t end well for him.

I’m always hungry, but even a single bite of food feels like it’s sitting in my esophagus—probably because my stomach starts rounding just beneath my boobs—so finishing a meal is impossible. It’s cruel, really. I want to order one of everything on the menu, yet I can’t eat more than a few bites.

With tears in his eyes, he doubles over, still laughing.

I smack him. “You’re rude.”

Straightening, he clears his throat, doing his best to compose himself. Then he wraps his arms around my belly and smiles down at me. “Baby, you’re beautiful and I’d never let anything happen to you. Besides, the water’s like two feet deep. If we tip, I think we’ll survive.”

This time I swat his abdomen with the back of my hand. “Rude.”

“Come on, Han. It’s on your list. I promise I won’t let you fall in.”

“A gondola ride in Venice, Daniel. This is not Venice. This is Vegas.”

“We’re in the Venetian Hotel, baby. You can’t fly to Venice, and I swore I’d help you cross off every item.”

Arms crossed, which gets harder every day, I frown. Why is he so determined to cross shit off my bucket list? Every time I add something, he comes up with a creative way to get it done. I was sure that including experiences that could only be accomplished in other countries would slow us down, but no. The man brought me to Vegas, and in a single day, he’s crossed off more activities than should be possible.

“This doesn’t count,” I grind out.

His lips curl in a smirk. “So you don’t want to do it? Or how about this? We do this today, but we don’t cross it off until we go to the real Venice someday.”

I clench my jaw, but there’s no stopping my smile. “Promise?”

I’m being ridiculous. I don’t even recognize myself sometimes. All of a sudden, I need reassurance that he loves me every minute of every day. I’ve never been that woman. It has to be the baby. When my son is older, I’ll be sure to tell him about all the outrageous things he made me do. Well, maybe not all of them.

Daniel pushes my chin up with his finger and practically folds himself in half to get close now that my belly sticks out so far. “Promise.”

The moment his lips touch mine, my body heats. I wrap my arms around his neck and push in as close as I can, deepening the kiss.

A loud throat clearing breaks us apart. I drop to my heels, slightly dazed, as Daniel steadies me.

“So are you coming on the ride or can the next couple go?”

Daniel breaks into a wicked smile. “We’re coming.”

After he’s helped me back out of the gondola, he doesn’t check it off the list. I breathe a sigh of relief. Good. I don’t ever want it to end.

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Daniel leans over me as I snuggle in bed. After the gondola ride, we had coney island hot dogs in New York and crème br?lée in Paris, and if I don’t take a nap now, there’s no chance I’ll make it to the Top of the World for dinner.

“I will miss you, but I do promise I’ll be fine.”

He’s headed to a meeting, so I’ll have the bed all to myself.

Daniel smirks, still hovering silently. It kind of gives me the creeps.

“Why are you making that face?” I ask him.

“Do you have any idea how good it feels to hear you say that so freely?”

“Say what?” I ask, keeping my tone soft. My emotions are all over the place. Currently, I’m annoyed by his smirking and simultaneously melting at his words.

“That you’ll miss me. Sometimes it’s hard to believe you’re really with me. That you want me around.”

My heart cracks at the rawness of his voice. “ Daniel. ”

Eyes warming, he smooths a thumb across my cheek. “You’re my dream, Han. Sometimes that’s exactly what all this feels like. I swear I’ll wake up, and you’ll be back to calling me Baby Hall when I flirt with you, telling me I’ve got no shot at the woman of my dreams.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

He lets out a sardonic laugh. “Oh, yes it was. You were unattainable.”

“And yet here I am, carrying your child, begging for your cock day and night, constantly asking you to tell me that you love me.”

Daniel’s smile grows so wide it can probably be seen from outer space. “Begging? I don’t remember any begging.”

I pinch his stomach, and when I dig my fingers in and tickle, he squeals. In seconds, we’re panting and laughing, but the sounds quickly turn into moans. His lips find mine, and then I’m pulling his shirt off, and he’s sinking into me.

“Tell me you love me,” I whimper as he lifts my leg so he can get a better angle.

With a grunt, he thrusts deep. “I love you.”

Electricity ricochets through me when his piercing hits that spot deep inside me only he can find. “Tell me you need me as much as I need you.”

He presses his thumb to my clit and rolls it slowly. “Need you so fucking much. God, Hannah, you feel like heaven.”

With every week that passes, my nerve endings become more sensitive. So when his piercing drags against my walls in just the right way, I unravel quickly. Toes curled, I squeeze my eyes shut and give in to the wave of ecstasy washing over me.

“Open those eyes, beautiful. Neither of us is dreaming right now. This is real. You’re mine, and so is every one of your orgasms.”

It takes effort, but I force my eyes open. Like this, I watch Daniel go over the ledge with me, the pulsing of his thick cock forces his piercings to dig even further into me, sending me straight into another orgasm.

He’s right. This is real. Yet knowing that our real life is his fantasy brings me a peace I never thought I’d find.

An hour later, after I’ve given up on napping—despite my exhaustion, I can’t fall asleep; thanks, pregnancy—I’m lying in bed, scrolling Instagram, when my phone rings.

The moment I slide my thumb over the screen to answer, a yawn catches me by surprise.

“Did I wake you up?” Millie asks.

“No,” I say on another yawn. “I’m just always tired.”

She giggles. “I’m guessing all the running around Vegas Daniel had planned isn’t helping.”

I smile. “He’s sweet, and the day has been perfect. But yes, I forced him to bring me back to the room so I could nap. Pretty sure I’ve walked ten miles already today. Though now that I’m lying in bed, I can’t sleep.”

“Aw, well, tell him to rub your back or order you a cup of tea.”

I arch my back, but when I can’t get comfortable, I turn to my other side. I always end up in this position—with a pillow between my thighs and another tucked beneath my bump. “Can’t.” The word is muffled because of my new position. I adjust, patting the pillow. “Sorry. Can’t ask him because he’s not here. He had a meeting.”

“Oh with the team in Vegas? God, I really hope he doesn’t love it. Is it wrong of me to say that?”

“Huh?” I’m too groggy to follow.

“It’s just—I want you guys to stay in Boston. I want to be near my nephew, and I want to raise our children together.”

Feeling suffocated by the damn pillow, and still so damn confused, I push myself up. “Why wouldn’t we stay in Boston?”

“Um—” The line goes silent for a beat too long. “What?”

“You said you want us to stay in Boston.” My voice sounds funny. Distant. And my heart thuds in my ears. “Why wouldn’t we stay in Boston?”

“Because Daniel has an offer from Vegas. Since he’s a restricted agent, the Bolts would need to match it if they want to keep him. Hasn’t Daniel talked to you about any of this?”

My heart flops to the floor as my world crashes around me. I shake my head, but the words don’t come out.

“Fuck,” she hisses, the sound making the line between us crackle. “I shouldn’t have—he should have— fuck .”

I nod. All of those things are true. “Does he want the trade?” I ask. My voice is so quiet I’m surprised she can hear me.

“I don’t know,” Millie says softly. “He didn’t talk to me about it. Gavin told me. I guess he wanted to prepare me if—” She sighs.

He wanted to prepare his wife in case her twin brother chose to move across the country. Because that’s what partners do. They watch out for one another. They communicate.

I blink back tears. Why didn’t Daniel say anything? Does he think I won’t support him? Does he…

“It was hard on him, you know, when Gavin moved Noah into his spot with War and Aiden,” Millie says, breaking me from my spiral.

Swallowing thickly, I nod again. That makes sense. But I didn’t know how hard it was on him. Truly. He rarely talks about hockey when we’re together. He’s always talking about topics that matter to me. The baby, my books, his obsession with me.

And I never asked. God. I never ask. “You think he brought me here to see if I’d like it?”

“I think Daniel wants you with him, no matter where he is,” she says. “And I’m sure he has a good reason for not telling you about the possible trade.”

Once again, I nod, but I say nothing.

Daniel loves me.

He isn’t planning on going anywhere without us.

So I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I’ll trust that whatever his plan is, he’ll clue me in when he’s ready, and then we’ll figure it out together.