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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

MARLEE

T he buzzer sounds, ending the second period, and the usual swirl of chaos begins. Fans filing out for snacks, music thumping, the team clearing the ice. It feels good to be in the arena watching the man of my dreams do what he does best.

Okay, second best because the tongue lashing I got between my thighs this morning when Ledger woke up might be the very thing he does best in this world.

Not going to lie. Still smiling over the sound of him calling me a good girl, I take a minute to stretch and reach for my water bottle but also notice that Layken isn’t moving.

She’s got this weird grin on her face, the kind she wears when she knows something I don’t.

“What?” I ask, suspicious. “What’s wrong?”

She shrugs way too casually. “Nothing. Just…stay put.”

“Layken.”

“Seriously. Stay here. And don’t pee. Or cry. Yet.”

“What are you?—”

Just then Lumin, aka Ella, skates onto the ice and over to the boards right in front of where Layken and I are seated. She crosses the wall and up the few stairs stopping at my seat as the crowd cheers for her obvious shenanigans.

“Lumin! What are you?—”

She takes my hand and with her other hand on my back, gently guides me down the stairs to follow her. “Where are we going?”

Without saying a word, she gestures toward the doorway to the ice where a few arena staff members are waiting for me. “What’s going on?”

Katrina, one of the staff members I’ve talked to several times, smiles at me and opens the door to the ice. The lights in the arena drop and a spotlight beams across the ice, sweeping toward the tunnel.

A familiar voice crackles through the speakers: “Ladies and gentlemen, before we begin the third period, we have a very special intermission surprise from your very own number thirty-three—Ledger Dayne!”

I blink as the crowd roars around me.

Wait. What?

I look toward the tunnel just in time to see him. Ledger skates out under the lights, looking straight at me, grinning like a maniac.

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

“What is he doing?” I hiss at Ella, who doesn’t answer.

I glance back at Layken, who is now joined by Scarlett and Corrigan, all of whom are suddenly filming with their phones while wiping tears from their cheeks.

“Enjoy the show,” Ella whispers from inside her Lumin costume. “This was all his idea, by the way. I just helped with delivery.”

My brows furrow. “Boxes?!”

The crowd is amped. Ledger waves as if he’s greeting his own personal fan club. I half expect him to rip off his jersey to reveal a shirt that says WHO’S YOUR HOCKEY DADDY?

Instead, he watches as Lumin skates to center ice and places three pucks on tiny stands spaced out in a perfect line. Each one is painted white with a sparkly question mark.

“No,” I say under my breath. “He did not.”

Ledger picks up a mic.

“So, you might’ve heard some news floating around…about me and my girl, Marlee,” he says gesturing to me. “Expecting a few little rookies.”

The arena fills with laughter and applause.

“A few meaning three,” he announces with a happy nod. “That’s right, triplets. Because apparently when I go in, I go all in .”

The crowd roars.

My face is on fire.

But I’m smiling just the same.

“And tonight,” Ledger continues, “we’re going to find out who’s joining the team.”

I slap a hand over my mouth. “Oh my god. I cannot even…”

Lumin skates around each puck. Her sparkly wand in hand, she waves it around each of the three pucks and then brings Ledger to the first. He gives me one last look—a softer one, just for me—and winks before winding up. “I love you, Marlee.”

Tears already spilling from my eyes, I choke back a laugh. “I love you too, Daddy Dayne!”

CRACK.

The first puck explodes into a puff of pink mist against the glass.

Oh, my God!

The arena erupts.

I blink hard, trying to absorb what just happened.

A girl.

One of them is a girl.

Ledger loops back for puck two, raises his stick and?—

CRACK.

Blue.

My hands go to my chest and I swear to God, my heart might actually come out of my body.

One girl. One boy.

My mouth forms the words, “ No way. ”

Someone behind me shouts, “This is better than The Bachelor !” and I laugh because of course she’s right.

Ledger pauses before the final puck. Spins in a slow circle, soaking in the moment like the showman he is. He gives a high-five to Lumin and the rest of the team skates out to stand behind him. He gives them each a fist bump and then, with a dramatic flourish, he takes the shot.

CRACK.

Pink.

The crowd explodes again. I’m laughing, crying, completely overwhelmed.

Two girls. One boy.

Our little trio.

Our family of rookies.

In his excitement, Ledger takes a victory lap around the ice, his arms up in the air with his stick in hand, a pink mist following behind him from the last crack of the puck.

Then out of nowhere he lowers his stick a little too much and trips over it, face planting against the ice.

For a moment, I’m worried he’s really hurt but then in pure Ledger Dayne dramatic fashion, he rolls over and pretends to make snow angels in the pink and blue dust.

Griffin skates over to help him up and then he points his stick toward me and bows. He bows like this is a figure skating competition. I blow him a kiss through watery eyes and then he skates over to me and wraps me up in the biggest hug my belly and his uniform will allow.

“I love you so fucking much, Marlee.”

“I can’t believe you did this!” I cry happy tears. “And you did it without me knowing?”

“Ella can keep a good secret but the entire downstairs hallway smells like cinnamon rolls right now.”

I throw my head back in laughter as the players file over to us, clapping Ledger on the back and giving me hugs.

“Bro,” Griffin yells, “you’re so screwed!”

“Two daughters?” Barrett shake his head and whistles. “Say goodbye to sleep and your bank account!”

“I’m starting a diaper fund for you, man,” August says, clapping him on the shoulder.

Ledger’s grinning, red-faced, and glowing with pride as he yells back, “I’m already practicing ponytails and braids, boys!”

He looks up at me one more time, lifts his hand to his chest, and says, “I love you.”

I wipe tears off my cheeks. “I love you too, you ridiculous, amazing human.”

And right there, in a freezing arena filled with beer, nachos, and way too many people, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the man I will spend the rest of my life with.

We’re barely out of the arena parking lot and I’m still clutching the gender reveal pucks Ledger had someone grab for me. One’s stained pink, the other blue, and the last looks like it got smacked with cotton candy.

Ledger glances at me as he turns onto the main road, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “You haven’t said anything in, like, five minutes. Are you mad I turned our unborn children into pyrotechnics in front of ten thousand people?”

I burst out laughing. “No, I’m not mad. I’m… still trying to process what happened. One minute I’m eating arena nachos, and the next, I find out I’m carrying two girls and a boy . Via exploding hockey pucks . ”

He grins. “So…not mad?”

“No! Shocked is more like it. Emotionally short-circuiting. And possibly craving more nachos.”

He chuckles, one hand reaching across the console to squeeze my thigh. “I just wanted it to be special. For you. For us.”

“Well, mission accomplished. I will never forget the moment you face-planted doing a victory lap with a pink smoke trail behind you.”

“That was for dramatic effect,” he deadpans.

“You tripped over your own stick and you know it,” I tease, giggling.

He mutters, “She’s never letting it go.”

We drive in silence for a minute, the glow from the dashboard lights soft against his face. I turn toward him, watching his expression shift from relaxed to something quieter, deeper.

“You okay?” I ask.

He exhales through his nose. “Yeah. It’s just…it’s real now. I mean, it was real before, but tonight made it feel real , real . Like…we’re really going to be parents. To three tiny humans.”

“Terrifying, isn’t it?”

“Completely. I mean, I don’t even keep plants in the house because I always forget to water them. I don’t have pets because how the hell could I possibly take care of one with my schedule?”

I laugh again, but this time I reach over and take his hand in mine. “We’re not going to be perfect, Ledger. But we’re going to love the crap out of these kids. And we’ve got people who love us who will help us any time we need it. We’ve got a whole village of helpers.”

He swallows hard. “I want to be good at this, Marlee. I want to give them everything I didn’t have. I want them to feel safe. Always.”

“You already do that for me.”

He turns to me, eyes a little too shiny for the tough hockey guy image he usually pulls off. “You’re everything I never thought I’d get to have. You and these three babies…you’re my whole damn world.”

And just like that, the emotional dam I’ve been holding back all night finally cracks.

“I love you,” I whisper, choking on happy tears. “Even when you make major life announcements with fireworks and puck shrapnel.”

He smiles, lifting our joined hands to his lips. “And I love you. Even when you sob-laugh and threaten to pee during sentimental moments.”

“Fair.”

“Still craving nachos?”

“Absolutely.”

He signals for a detour.

“I know a 24-hour taco truck,” he says.

“God, this is why I love you.”