Page 109 of Three Pucks and a Baby

When I pulled away, I said to Bennett, “Be here tomorrow at five.”

“I’ll be here.”

“See you then.”

Nodding, I then turned to Theo and Grayson. “You guys have a safe flight and text me when you get there.”

With an impish grin, Grayson said, “You’re sounding more and more like a girlfriend every day.”

“And don’t forget you have a girlfriend while you’re on your own.”

“Not possible,” Theo replied, his expression sending my heart thrumming wildly.

The next day, Bennett arrived at my house at ten to five. As he loaded up all the goodies for me, I realized just how much I could get used to being a girlfriend.

When we pulled into my parent’s driveway, I cut my eyes over to gauge Bennett’s reaction to the twinkling lights and pulsing inflatables that lined the yard. “Wow!” he remarked after putting the SUV in park.

“My dad tends to go a little overboard now that he has grandchildren,” I replied.

He grinned. “Good for him. It’s epic.”

“Like in a Clark Griswold way?”

Laughing, Bennett replied, “Not like that at all.”

“You can be honest. I won’t tell him that you think it looks like Christmas exploded on our lawn.”

Bennett shook his head. “This is exactly what I want when I have my first house. I want to be the house that people hear about and have to drive by.”

“That sounds amazing.”

When I started to open the car door, Bennett stopped me. “So how are we playing this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m pretty sure since your family has never met me, they’re going to wonder who I am.”

“Good point.”

“You haven’t told them about the baby yet, right?”

Shaking my head, I replied, “At first, I wanted to wait until I was completely out of the first trimester. But then that passed, and I realized it was close to the holidays.”

With a sheepish grin, I said, “So, I decided not to drop a major bomb on Christmas.”

Bennett smiled. “And that makes total sense as well.”

“Once you meet my parents and see our relationship, it won’t make sense. I mean, we are so close. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t have told them already.”

“Maybe because of the way you conceived the baby?” Bennett suggested with a smile.

I groaned. “Yeah, my parents willsonot understand that.”

“Then it makes sense.”

“Oh, it won’t to them. Especially my mother. I swear, she will guilt trip me for months…maybe even years.”

Bennett took my hand. “Viv, this is your life and your baby. You have to do what’s best for you.”

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