“Yeah.” Gemma swallowed thickly. “I just—“ Her eyes, glassy with unshed tears, met mine. “Is this real?”
“We’ll get it confirmed by a doctor, but I’ve heard false positives are pretty rare.”
“We’re having a baby.” She said it almost as if she were trying to convince herself.
I eased the stick from her fingers and set it back down. Clasping our hands, I brought them over my chest so she could feel my beating heart.
“I love you, and I love our growing little family.”
She nodded. “Yeah, me too.” Pausing, she added, “Can we sit on this for a bit? I don’t want to ruin Dakota and Braxton’s big day.”
“Of course.”
I could promise not to say anything, but it would be a wonder if no one noticed I was about to burst with excitement. I was walking on air.
This was the best day of my life so far, and I knew there would be many more incredible ones ahead.
“We’re here!” I shouted as Gemma and I burst through the tunnel and onto the home team bench at Speed Arena.
“About damn time,” Braxton called back from where he stood with Dakota at center ice. A carpet had been rolled out so they could venture out there in street shoes.
There were so many family and friends in attendance that both benches were packed with people, and I settled Gemma in front of me, my view unobstructed over her head.
“All right, Charlie girl, you ready to do the honors?” Braxton asked his nine-year-old niece, who was geared up, stick in hand.
Her helmeted head bobbed, and she skated back a few feet.
“Ready, set, go!” Braxton yelled.
Charlie dug her skates in, racing toward a puck resting before where Braxton and Dakota stood. Pulling her stick back, she swung, and a cloud of pink dust burst into the air.
Everyone cheered as Dakota and Braxton hugged in excitement over learning their baby was a girl.
My hand, looped around Gemma’s waist, slid lower, the palm coming to rest over where our own baby was growing. I wondered if our little Speed baby would be a boy or a girl, but truthfully, it didn’t matter. I would be thrilled with either.
At the end of the day, our child was an expression of love, the culmination of all my dreams coming true.
The baby news had eclipsed everything else, but suddenly, I remembered Gemma had wanted to tell me something earlier.
When I spun her around, she peered up at me in question.
Dipping my head, I placed my lips to her ear, whispering so as not to be overheard. “If you didn’t know about the baby, what were you about to tell me back at the house?”
Panic, icy and cold, slid through my veins when she pulled back with a frown.
“My brother called.”
I tensed immediately. We still had guards at the house and following us everywhere we went.
“Did they find your father?” I asked, praying they had so my wife could sleep soundly at night, knowing the threat to us had been neutralized.
“No. He’s getting married.”
“What?”
Concern flickered over her features. “I think I have to go home to Chicago. Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
I stared at her for a full minute before I found my voice. “You want to go back?”
