Page 31

Well I was about to hold a super cute baby until you decided to be paranoid for the tenth time today.

Guilt floods me for not only assuming Bennett left them alone, but I also need to do a better job of trusting that he can take care of them if I’m not there. Easier said than done when I’ve been doing this alone for the most part over the past five years.

“I think I’ve got to talk to Benny and Scar, though. Gunner is far too enamored with Cadence for my liking,” Griff says over the phone and my heart squeezes at the thought of Gunner making new friends, even if said friend’s dad is clearly overbearing.

Kenna’s laughter echoes in the space. “We’ve talked about this, Hotshot. She’s eight. Boys and girls can be friends at any age, but it’s especially common when they’re in elementary school.”

Griff scoffs. “Really? I seem to recall a time when you and I were simply friends .”

“Alright, baby. We’re going to pay and head over. Love you and see you soon,” Kenna says before ending the call. She shakes her head and mutters, “Men. I tell ya.”

When we walk into Kenna and Griff’s house a few minutes later, we’re met with the odd combination of men hollering over each other and children’s laughter.

“They must be in the basement,” Kenna tells us as we hang up our jackets in their front entryway.

“You’ve got a beautiful home,” I compliment her, and as I take in each room we pass, I love all of the accents and decor they’ve chosen for each space .

We walk down the carpeted stairs of the basement to find quite the scene before us, causing the four of us to pause mid-step on the stairwell.

On their hands and knees are four grown men—professional athletes, mind you—with miniature hockey sticks in their hands playing with four kids.

They’ve moved the furniture into a corner of the large living room to create a makeshift hockey rink, complete with miniature plastic boards and nets.

It looks like Bennett, Gunner, Griff, and Cadence are on one team, leaving Carson, Leo, Lainey, and Jax on the other.

I look around the space to find an amused Gemma holding baby Rowen on a barstool in the far corner out of harm’s way.

“I hope you boys are playing opposite-handed and you’re going easy on them!” Kenna strains to be heard over the chaos ensuing below.

Jax shoots what I’m assured is a foam puck, whizzing across the room, and hitting Bennett square in the ear.

“Ah, you fudge nugget,” Bennett groans as he bends his neck at an odd angle to rub his ear against his shoulder so he doesn’t have to take his hands off his mini stick.

Bennett regains possession of the puck and sends a pass to Gunner, who is wide open in front of the net. Gunner takes a shot at Carse, who is playing goalie, and sends the puck under his elbow right into the back of the net.

“Flip yeah!” Bennett shouts, tossing his stick on the ground as he rushes over to Gunner and twirls him off the ground. “Atta boy! I knew you could do it, Champ!”

My heart melts to the floor, and I’m officially a big ball of mush as I take in their shared moment of glory. Bennett’s happiness is only outshined by Gunner’s look of pure joy. Meanwhile, my ovaries are over here doing their own happy dance .

“Holy shit. Daddy Bennett? I think my IUD just threw itself out. Did my ovaries just high five? My uterus just did a backflip.”

“Okay, okay. We get it, Alexa . . . down girl. There are kids present,” Kenna reminds her.

“But I don’t think you understand. I don’t even want kids and seeing that . . . whew. It was a religious experience. I think I need to go to confession.”

“Are you even Catholic? And wait, couldn’t Bennett be, like, your brother-in-law some day?” Kenna asks.

That earns her a round of laughter, Alexa’s peeling into a hysterical sort, pausing the game of mini hockey below as the guys peer up at us. Alexa snorts. “That’s never going to happen.”

The doorbell rings and Griff hops to his feet. “Food is here,” he announces before running past us up the steps, only stopping briefly to give Kenna a kiss. “You look gorgeous, Sunshine,” he murmurs.

The rest of the group turns to follow him up the steps, but I make my way to where Bennett is taking a fussy Rowen from Gemma’s arms.

“Hey, big guy. What’s the matter? Are you hungry?

Yeah, me too. Should we go upstairs and get us both fed?

That way you and I won’t be so grumpy,” he rattles off to the infant as if they’re having a complete conversation.

I watch as Rowen gives Bennett a big smile, causing one of the biggest grins to eclipse Bennett’s face, and the sight has butterflies taking off at warp speed in my stomach.

“Don’t get too big of a head, I hear when babies smile like that it’s probably because they just passed gas,” Gemma tells Bennett, patting him on the shoulder as she goes upstairs. Gunner follows after her, leaving me alone with my fiancé. Well, and the adorable baby he’s cradling in his big arms .

Bennett smirks when he catches me ogling him. “Careful, Little Red. You look like you’re about one baby giggle away from having your way with me.”

I gawk at him, shaking my head at his comment. “No, I’m just surprised you know how to hold a baby considering you don’t have any nieces or nephews yet.”

“I consider myself to be Cadence, Rowen, Leo, and Lainey’s honorary uncle. I’ve known them all since they were babies and, believe it or not, have done my fair share of babysitting over the years.”

I must do a poor job of concealing my surprise because he chuckles as he takes in my shocked expression.

Bennett crowds my space, reaching out to wipe my chin, all while holding Rowen like a football in one arm. “You had a little drool right there. Don’t worry, I got it,” he teases.

I playfully swat his hand away before turning my attention to Rowen. “Hey there, little guy. Aren’t you a cutie?”

“Not as cute as me though, right?” Bennett questions with a huff.

“Jealous of a baby, Benny?”

“I mean, you don’t use that sweet voice with me very often. In fact, I don’t think you’ve ever been sweet with me at all.”

“And here I thought you preferred me either snarky or submissive. I didn’t realize you wanted a sweet girl,” I mock-coo at him.

“You’re right,” he rasps as he wraps his free arm around my shoulder and pulls me in. “I much prefer you submissive. How about you let the snark out now and save the submissive side for when I have you on your hands and knees for me later?”

Damn, he’s good.

“Well, I was planning to be sweet by coming over here and thanking you for today. ”

“You can thank me later, Red,” he tells me, throwing a wink my way as we head upstairs.

I plan to thank him in kind over and over for today.

Little does he know, he gave me so much more than a couple of hours with friends—he gave me peace of mind that the two people who mean most to me in this world were safe and cared for.

By someone who I’m realizing has taken up residence in my heart.