Hard Checked (Ice Kings #4) - Stacey Lynn Page 0,80
they must be the size of saucers. Possibly dinner plates.
Wow.
“And you’ve made it work?” If I could suck back words before they reach someone’s ears, I’d grab the closest vacuum. What a stupid question. Obviously they’ve made it work. She’s sitting there with a ring on her finger and a baby in her arms but…
It’s so oddly strange and crazy that more hope builds.
It is possible Sebastian and I can make this work, even if nothing has gone the way we originally thought.
“Well, yeah.” Paisley kisses the top of Angelo’s head and leads me toward the kitchen. “I mean, I love the guy. And that accent? Ha. It gets me every time.”
She wiggles her brows and I laugh. My stomach hurts I’ve laughed so much tonight.
I’m enjoying spending time with the team and their girlfriends, wives, fiancées. No one seemed surprised when I walked in, hand in hand, with Sebastian, so I’m guessing he told them to expect me. The women have made me feel welcome ever since we walked in hours ago and Katie told me where I could stash my purse and shoes if I wanted. Between the tour, hanging out on the patio with Sebastian for a while, and spending time with the girls I don’t see nearly as often as the rest of the team, I’m having an absolute blast.
It’s been so long since I’ve had good friends to spend time with, I’ve forgotten how much I love being social.
I’ve been carrying around a bottled water the entire time I’m here, but now that we’re back in the kitchen, unease forces me to bite my lip.
“Do you like red or white wine? Or beer? We have a whole bar if you want something.” Katie’s standing behind the counter, uncorking a new bottle of red.
I stare at all the alcohol for a moment. “Funny. Usually I’m the one asking that question.”
“I bet.” Katie grins.
Hannah, the goalie Byron Maddox’s wife, comes up and slides next to me. She reaches for a white wine bottle and holds it out for me. “Wine?”
“I’m good with water, but thank you.”
She eyes me curiously. “Not much of a drinker?”
“Never really acquired the taste.” Which is true. Also, I’m not exactly screaming I’m pregnant. Sebastian didn’t say anything about mentioning it to his friends, so I’m not going to be the one spilling the beans by any means.
She winks at me and brings the glass to her mouth. “How odd. I don’t know if I could survive.”
“Then it’s people like you who keep people like me in business.”
“Happy to do my part for the economy,” she says, both of us chuckling.
“Oh thank goodness,” a new voice says, entering the kitchen, gaze on me and a bottled water in hand. I met her briefly before but don’t remember her name. “Another knocked up woman who has to stay sober with me. Thank goodness I’m ready to pop. I need a glass of wine like seriously bad.”
“Um.”
Every person in the room has laser-focused on me. Every single one has eyes the size of Texas.
“You’re pregnant?” Katie asks, the first to seemingly remember how to breathe. Or speak.
“Oh shit. Y’all didn’t know?”
“No Debbie and now you’ve made her look like she’s going to puke.” That comes from another woman, Paisley, I think. I’m too frozen to say anything.
“Maybe it’s morning sickness,” Debbie - is her name, says. “I puked all the time.”
A warm arm wraps around my shoulders coupled with the familiar scent of Sebastian’s cologne. “That was supposed to stay a secret, Debbie. Sawyer and his big freaking mouth.”
“Oh. Oops.” She shrugs nonchalantly and takes a drink of her water.
Katie is still staring at me. “You’re pregnant? For real?” Her question ends on a squeak and then she slides her gaze over everyone who’s now in the kitchen. “What the hell? You guys are too damn fertile for your own good!”
There’s an awkward laugh. Not from me. I’m still frozen silent. I’ve become an iceberg in the middle of the kitchen and Sebastian squeezes me.
“Little does she know,” he murmurs in my ear. “You’re freaked. I didn’t mean for this to come out. Not tonight. But it’s good. They’re happy for me. For us, I promise.”
I nod although it feels forced.
“So when are you due?” Debbie asks like she hasn’t dropped a bomb at my feet. “This guy is coming in May and I hope like hell it’s not when Sawyer’s playing an away game.”