Page 85 of Surprise Mother Pucker

“Oh…well, that’ll be an interesting sight. I will want to keep her with me for the game, though. It’s the first time I’m taking her somewhere so loud. I’m sorry.” I bit my lip.

I loved the enthusiasm when it came to Charlotte, but sometimes, I just needed to be in control of the situation. She was still my baby, and this was a new thing for her. If she was distressed or upset, I wanted to be there for her.

Even though seeing one of the guys baby wearing her would have been the cutest thing ever.

“That's completely understandable. I'll let the idiot know. He can baby wear her around the house next time she's cranky.”

“That actually sounds like a great plan,” I admitted. “I really wanted to get one when she was little. I feel like it could be useful for a newborn.”

“We can order a newborn one for you for when the little one arrives,” Charlie said as he passed me Charlotte’s coat. “I must say, I love how much clothing she has here now. For such a tiny human, she’s got quite the wardrobe.”

“It’s because half of it is always in the laundry!” I laughed, picking Charlotte up and letting her snuggle into my neck. I would be lying if I didn't say that I enjoyed that she chose to snuggle with me and wasn't desperately reaching for one of the guys again.

“Come on,” Charlie said, gently helping me put on my own coat. “The others are going to meet us at the rink. Do you have Char’s ear defenders?”

“Yep, in my bag, as well as some crackers and a bottle of formula.”

Charlie raised a brow. “Are the crackers for you or for Charlotte?”

I shrugged. “Whoever needs them at the time.”

The rink was packed. Everywhere I looked, people milled around, going to the food stations or heading into the large arena. The atmosphere was bustling, and I was nervous thatCharlotte wasn't going to like it, but to the contrary, my daughter was watching everything with wide, excited eyes.

The lobby was loud, but it wasn't anywhere near as loud as the arena was going to be, so I hadn't put her defenders on yet. Eli and Micha met us by a fried food stand, both pulling me in for a hug.

“Sorry we couldn't bring you here,” Eli said into my hair.

“It's not your fault you had class.”

His face broke into a smile as he greeted Charlotte warmly. “Hey, sweet baby, there’s a lot going on, isn’t there?” he cooed, letting her grip his finger.

“I think she's loving it,” I admitted.

Me? Not so much. My pregnancy nausea was rearing its ugly head, and I was starting to get lightheaded from how seriously nauseated I was feeling. Still, this wasn't anything new. I just needed to power through and get to our seats.

“Can we sit?” I asked in a breathless voice.

The guys all reacted immediately, like they could tell just from the tone of my voice that I wasn’t feeling well. Eli’s hand pressed against my back as he guided me to our seats, Charlie walking in front of us, creating a path, and Micha at my side.

We were in front-row seats, and as I popped Charlotte on my lap and took a good look around, I exclaimed, “Wait, there’s people on the ice already! I thought we got here early.”

Micha chuckled and held my hand that wasn’t bundling Char up in my lap. “The teams are just warming up. Our team will be on the ice soon, and they'll skate around for a bit before the game starts.”

Eli and Micha were sitting with me, but Charlie had run off to the merch stand for something. He had tried to tell me what, but it was loud, and he wanted to get back before the game started, so I simply nodded.

“Oh, okay!” I said as Charlotte did her best to lean forward and touch the glass.

Micha chuckled. “Looks like we have a little hockey fan in the making!”

“Looks like it,” I agreed, watching my sweet baby.

Eli pulled the ear defenders out of my bag and slipped them on her head. I had been mentally preparing for a fight when she didn’t like wearing them, but to my relief, she didn't even acknowledge them.

We weren’t the only people in the front row of our section. Three seats down from us were a gaggle of women practically pressing themselves against the glass as they ogled the players. Despite the cold weather, they were wearing hardly any clothing. Even though I was around the same age as them, I couldn’t dress like that anymore. I was a mother; I had stretch marks and saggy bits.

I loved my body—it had made my baby and was making my second baby—but sometimes I did miss my old physique. They all looked so happy and carefree, while I, on the other hand, was nauseated and frumpy.

Charlie returned with a large soda, pulling me out of my pity party. He handed it to me and pulled a red fabric item out of the plastic bag. I narrowed my eyes for a moment, trying to figure out what he was holding.

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