Page 67 of Three Pucks and a Baby

Sucking in a harsh breath, I took a tentative step forward. At the sight of two lines on the first test, my knees buckled, and I had to brace myself on the counter to keep from falling to the floor. I didn’t even bother looking at the others.

Somehow I just knew.

“Oh shit,” Carlee muttered.

And now she knew.

All that was left was for the guys to know.

“How am I going to tell them?” I bemoaned without thinking.

Carlee’s blonde brows furrowed. “Them?”

“Oh God,” I wailed, covering my hands with my eyes.

“Vivian, what do you mean ‘them’? Is that like his preferred pronoun or something?” Carlee questioned.

Peeking at her through my fingers, I said, “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

“No shit!” She snatched my hands away from my eyes. “Are you telling me there’s more than one possible baby daddy?”

“Yes.”

“Vivian Whitlock, just how many men did you bang over the last month?”

“Three.”

Carlee’s eyes bulged comically wide. “Three?!! You haven’t been with three men in the last five years.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“This is too much. I gotta sit down.” Staggering backward, Carlee flipped the lid down before sitting on the toilet. After swiping the hair out of her face, she jabbed a finger at me. “Okay. Start talking.”

As I drew in a deep breath, I leaned back against the vanity. “There was more than one hockey player,” I began.

Throughout the rest of the story, Carlee hung onto my every word. When I finished, she’d been leaning forward so far on the seat that she almost fell off the toilet. After a few moments of stunned silence, she remarked, “Holy motherfucking shit, Viv.”

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” I replied with a rueful smile.

“And you haven’t seen or heard from them since you cut them off that night after the threesome?”

I shook my head. “I mean, they said if I ever changed my mind, their door was always open.”

“More like their flies were always open.”

“Well, that too.”

Rising off the toilet seat, she came over to me. After placing her hands on my shoulders, she said, “Forget about the guys. The first thing you need to do is decide what you want.”

When I realized her meaning, I replied, “In this case, there’s no question–I’m having this baby.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. Regardless of how unexpected this is, I am thirty. I’ve always wanted to be a mother. Sure, I wanted to be married to the man of my dreams when it happened, and not single with three potential men as my baby’s father. But, hey, we don’t always get what we want.”

“That’s a fucking understatement.”

Cocking my brows at her, I said, “And I have to tell them, right?”

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