Page 125 of Stand Your Ground

Jaxson smirked, snapping his gum as he waddled past us on his skates. “Yeah, fired up to see me score on the power play your dumb ass just handed ’em.”

The chirps kept on, but I didn’t miss Daddy P’s nod of encouragement as he stood, like he wanted me to know everyone had faith in me taking that first line. And then we were filing out, one by one, the lights and roar from the crowd thundering almost as hard as my heart.

And for the first time in my career, I didn’t feel the weight of the moment.

I felt ready.

Because I’m going to be a dad.

No Better Way to Be

Livia

The suite smelled like hot pretzels and melted cheese, and the spread laid out across the counter was nothing short of obscene. Chicken fingers, nachos, charcuterie, sliders — basically everything you could possibly want to inhale during a hockey game.

And every aroma that was currently making me ill.

I subtly popped another ginger chew between my teeth, all my hopes and dreams wrapped up in me surviving the next four weeks until the second trimester. Everyone swore it got better then, and I was banking on it.

Still, it was worth it to face my nausea and be at the game with the girls. It wasn’t often we were all in town and our schedules lined up perfectly to make it happen, and I was soaking it in.

The game had yet to start, so we were all huddled up in the food and beverage area of the suite — well, everyone except for Ava, who, of course, couldn’t possibly miss warmups and the pregame fun. She was down in her seat in the front row of the box, foam finger at the ready, leaning forward to see all the action. Chloe kept a close eye on her from where we stood, and she still had that newlywed glow about her, her smile radiant.

Grace and Mia were arguing over which travel destination was more worth a fourteen-hour flight — Japan or Australia —while Maven and I gabbed with Chloe about the renovations she was doing on the house she now shared with Will.

Ten minutes before game time, Grace popped up like a Jack in the Box, nearly sloshing her wine out of the cup. “Oh! I forgot to tell you bitches! I’ll be in Tampa through playoffs.”

“Wait, really?!” Chloe lit up. “You never stick around here longer than a week!”

Grace shrugged. “I know. I mean look, I’ll still be traveling. I plan to hit a few of the away games. But… I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of things, been a lot of places… but I always missthisplace when I’m gone. I think maybe it’s time to hang out for a while. Plant some roots.”

“Careful,” Maven warned with a rasp. “You sound a lot like a woman ready to settle down with a fine ass defenseman.”

“I settle about as much as a stubborn corporation in a lawsuit,” Grace shot back quickly. She sipped her wine, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I just maybe want to travel a teeny tiny bit less.”

“It’s okay to want to stay in one place for a while,” Chloe said softly. “Doesn’t mean you have to get married or anything.”

Grace sipped her wine again, apparently done with the subject, and the rest of us shared knowing smiles.

“Speaking of settling down, how’s newlywed life treating you?” I asked Chloe.

She sighed dreamily, leaning against the high-top table we were gathered around. The light from the ice caught her ring just right, throwing diamonds everywhere. “I still can’t believe I’m married. I feel like I blinked and Will and I went from sneaking kisses to promising forever.”

“AndIfeel like that could be a song,” Mia teased, lifting her champagne to her lips. She had a glow of her own — tour exhaustion softened by pure giddy anticipation of her summer ahead.

“I have a feeling you’ll have lots of song inspiration in just a couple months,” Maven said. “Tour over, honeymoon loading.”

“Is it weird that I miss tour already, but simultaneously can’t wait to fuck off and dive off the face of the planet for a summer?” Mia asked.

I squeezed her hand. “Your fans will be waiting eagerly when you return, whenever that is, and you should take your sweet time. You’ve earned it.”

“I wish I had a relaxing summer to look forward to,” Maven chimed in. “Looks like our initiative to make sure every kid in Tampa Bay has a place to rest their head at night has caught fire. We’ve had invitations to work with nonprofits all over Florida to do the same.”

“Don’t act like you’d want to relax even if it was an option,” I said with a suck of my teeth. “We all know nothing makes you happier than being in the community like that.”

“And we all want to help,” Mia chimed in. “So, tell me where to send the check.”

“And tell me where to show up for work. I love to get dirty.” Grace said that last part with a wink and a shimmy of her hips that had us all giggling.