Hard Checked (Ice Kings #4) - Stacey Lynn Page 0,93
in my stomach grows and thickens.
“It might not be what it looks like. I wasn’t trying to jump to conclusions about anything, honest, I just thought you should know.”
“He didn’t tell me. We’ve talked for hours. That night after the game. He’s been quiet, but I just figured it’s the game. My God.”
I fall back and rest my ass on the floor, knees bent, back to the wall.
Debbie crouches down in front of me and sighs. “Maybe it’s nothing.”
I drop my head back to the wall and close my eyes. “That night he got the divorce papers? It was New Year’s. He came here and got so trashed. So drunk I had to haul him upstairs and he passed out on my bed.” I don’t know how much he’s told the team, but I haven’t said a word about that night until now. “It wasn’t even six months ago. And he’s told me he’s loved her since he was fifteen. Why else would she be there if she didn’t want him back?”
“That doesn’t mean he’ll go back.”
I shrug, unable to think that’s a possibility. I’ve seen the way he looks when he’s talked about her. Wanting her to be happy. And us? We were supposed to be easy. Maybe me getting pregnant made both of us think things that weren’t real… or at least him.
Because if I didn’t know before now, the way my heart is shattering into pieces inside my chest, teaches me one thing… I’ve gone and fallen in love with a guy who might not actually be mine.
“What am I going to do?”
“I’d say drink, but since you’re pregnant and don’t like alcohol, that’s probably not a good idea.”
“No.” I laugh quietly. “Probably not.”
“Then take the afternoon off. Come hang out with us. Watch the game and trust that when Sebastian gets back tomorrow, you two will figure everything out.”
“Right. I’m sure we will. But no offense, I’m not all that excited about the game anymore.”
“I know.” She stands and holds out her hand. Pulling me to my feet, she tugs me toward her and hugs me. “I know you’re right. But a night with friends always helps.”
“Maybe.”
Except if Sebastian is going back to Madison, I’ll lose my new friends, too. And that sucks. I was starting to really like them.
“What are you doing here, anyway? Where’s Max?”
Maximus is the cutest and she just had him a couple weeks ago. She should be home, resting. “He’s at Paisley’s. Her parents are in town, so they’re watching Max and Angelo.”
It’s another close game, the game tied at four with only a few minutes left. The game is so brutal, Sebastian’s already been in two fistfights, complete with helmets and gloves tossed to the ground before being separated. Both Jason and Sawyer have also spent time in the penalty box, and I’ve lost track of how many goals they’ve tried to make that Vegas’s goalie has stopped.
You can practically feel the frustration pouring off the Ice Kings players as they line up for another face-off down on their side of the ice.
It’s so similar to the last game, I’ve chewed off half of my fingernails. Katie and Paisley don’t look any more relaxed.
“Come on,” Debbie says, leaning forward. She’s quiet due to the fact Max apparently really likes to eat, so even though I agreed to come tonight, I’ve barely been able to hold the little guy.
She did, however, give me the honors of changing a blow-out diaper, laughing while telling me I need to get used to it.
That was an hour ago, and he’s been on her boob ever since, sleeping while suckling.
It’s the cutest and oddest thing I’ve ever seen. Gross, poopy diaper that went all the way up his backside, it only makes me more excited about what’s to come, despite my nerves about Sebastian.
I’m focusing on the game, not on later. Not on what will happen tomorrow. Debbie and Paisley both made excellent points.
It might be nothing.
It could be everything.
I won’t know until I know and the stress won’t be good for me, so I’m trying to enjoy Paisley’s parents who hover over the babies like they’re made of the finest glass. My time with my new friends.
And biting my lip as Vegas gets the face-off, skates down the rink. Jason catches up to him, shoves him into the boards where Mikah gets the puck back and under control. He flings it over to Jude, up to Sawyer.