The nurse sighed. “I can give you thirty minutes. I’ll come back after I’ve finished the rest of my rounds.”
“Thank you,” he replied and eased himself out of the armchair he’d crammed himself into. Jacques stretched, his vertebrae cracking as he did. Then he stepped closer and ran his fingers through Carina’s hair.
“How are you?” he asked. “Any pain?”
“Carina’s pregnant?” I countered. My eyes were wide, and my heart was beating out of my chest. It was a good thing the nurse hadn’t checked my vitals after getting that kind of news.
“Yeah. You don’t remember her telling us?”
His smile split his lips. I imagined it looked much like my own. Jacques’eyes lit up even in the semidarkness of the room, and I wished I weren’t stuck in this damn sling. I wanted to hug him so fucking tight.
“No.” I shook my head. “That’s amazing.” My smile slipped. “Wait,isit amazing? Like, is she staying now?”
“It is, and she is.” He sighed and his own smile slipped. “She was leaving because she didn’t want to ask us for money, and she can’t work here in the States on her visa. She didn’t want to cause any trouble for me if we went through with the divorce and she was pregnant. She was going to go home and raise the baby.”
“Those fucking divorce papers,” I muttered.
“I’ve already rung Michael and instructed him to destroy them.”
“How did he take it?”
Jacques shrugged. “Eh. You know how he is. Not well, but honestly, I need to do what’s best for us, and divorce isn’t good for anyone.”
“Good. I didn’t want her to leave.”
“Do you remember her saying ‘I love you’?”
My gut sank, and I shook my head. “No,” I whispered, wishing that I hadn’t been so loopy under the anesthetic.
“Well, I do love you, drummer boy,” Carina mumbled.
Jacques leaned down and kissed her temple, and she snuggled into me more. I tightened my arm around her shoulder and pressed my lips to the top of her head.
“Love you too, darlin’,” I whispered.
I was still thinking about it days later. I couldn’t believe that I was going to be a father. It scared the hell out of me. I was terrified of becoming my parents, but I knew Jacques, Rusty, and Carina wouldn’t let that happen.
Smiling, I pressed a lazy kiss to Carina’s belly and mumbled, “Peanut, I’ll be a good daddy, I promise. I’ll teach you how to ride a pony. Papa will teach you how to skate, and Dad will show you how to make lots of things. Mommy will be the best around.”
Carina ran her fingers over my jaw and said, “I’ll teach Peanut the violin.”
I hummed. I could just imagine the two of them playing concerts for us. I’d never been more content. I loved Jacques and Rusty with my whole heart. I loved our life together. When Carina had come along, I’d fallen for her in a hot minute. She was everything I’d never known I’d wanted. But now… now I understood what true happiness was.
Carina gasped and gripped my shoulder. My heart pounded in my chest, and I was suddenly very awake. I struggled to sit up, but Carina choked out a half laugh half cry and whispered, “Oh my God, I can feel the baby. I just felt a flutter.”
“Really? Where?” I sat the rest of the way up and held out my hand.
She placed it on her belly and looked at me. I’d never seen her smile so beautifully before. Her eyes were glassy, and her hair was tied up in a messy bun atop her head. My T-shirt—an old Escondido Fire Department shirt—stretched tight across her boobs and belly, and the loose cotton shorts she wore were a faded grey. If I hadn’t already fallen in love with her, I would have right there.
“Linc,” she called. “I felt the baby.”
“No way!” He came running over and rested another hand on her belly. His gaze was filled with awe. “I can’t wait for the doctor’s appointment.” He looked at his watch. “Speaking of, we should probably head off soon.”
“Oh, shit, it’s that time already? I need to get changed,” she said, putting down the e-reader she was holding.
“I’ll get Jacques,” I offered.
He was in the gym doing a light workout. We were attending the team’s friendly pre-training camp practice match tonight. It was a chance for the coaches to check out what work they needed to do to bring the team up to scratch during the preseason and for the team to catch up and have some fun family time before the next few grueling weeks. Once Monday rolled around and the team began their training camp, Jacques would be focused on giving the team the best opportunity to get the cup that shall not be named.
