Page 63 of Stick Fight

“Yeah.” I rip into it. “I have a plus one.” She frowns and my throat grows tight. Of course, she’s not going to go back to the hotel where she was supposed to get married.

Neither of us say anything for a moment, and then she threads her fingers through mine and tugs me gently toward the kitchen, away from her sewing room and whatever secret project she’s hiding from me in there. I tell myself it’s just fabric and thread she’s hiding. Nothing more.

Ithasto be.

We step into the kitchen and I inhale the scent of garlic and tomatoes simmering on the stove. “Damn, Gabs. Smells incredible in here. You’ve been busy.”

She beams. “Oh, did you know our grocery store started stocking Gina’s cinnamon rolls?”

I blink.“Really?”

She laughs, her voice light and full of mischief. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring you home any. You kind of told me not to.”

I rub my stomach, but it’s not hunger I’m feeling—it’s something else. Something lighter.

“Look at you, looking out for me.”

She bumps my shoulder, and her eyes are full of that quiet, playful twinkle that makes my chest tighten in the best way. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Maybe not the least,” I say, grinning as I turn off the pot, then scoop her up without warning. She squeals in surprise. “While you think on that,” I tease. “I’m going to show you just how well I can look out for you.”

18

Gabby

“The itsy-bitsy spider went up the waterspout,” I sing softly, trailing my fingers up Stella’s belly. She giggles, a full-body, sunshine-in-a-bottle kind of laugh, and I can’t help but laugh too, because all I can think about is Brighton telling me how Noah leaptonto the bed, panicked over a tiny spider. She’d had to capture it and release it outside to calm him down, and from what I hear, the guys have yet to let him live it down. Honestly, it was a simple story told over dinner, but it stuck with me. Like all the stories about this big hockey family do.

And maybe that’s what scares me the most.

I’ve fallen for them. Hard. Every single one of them. And I don't even know when it happened. But now I can’t picture my life without them in it, and that realization is terrifying. Because this was never supposed to be forever. I was trained for something else, meant to be chasing a career in fashion, designing high end wedding gowns. But Cass and his father are holding that over my head, the doors to that life shut until they decide to open them.

Now here I am, holding this baby girl I’ve grown to love like she’s my own.

Stella’s curls bounce around her cheeks as she squirms with joy on my knee, her laughter lighting up the whole room. And it's not just her. It’s all of them. Zoe and her questions that make me think twice about everything, Camryn’s quiet strength, Tate’s little-brother energy, Kayce’s fearless joy, the twins—Sidney (named for Conner’s favorite hockey player) and Everly (a sweet nod to Dani’s mom, Beverly), and baby Grant, who still smells like warm milk and unconditional love. I’ve only known them for a few months, but it feels like they’ve been woven into the very fabric of my heart.

My phone pings and I freeze. I always freeze, waiting for the worst, forhisname to flash across the screen. But it's Roman. And just like that, everything in me settles. He's just left for a three-day road trip, and I miss him more than I want to admit.

Stella points a chubby finger at the screen. “Dada,” she babbles.

I smile. “No, baby girl. That’s Uncle Roman.”

I read his message. He wants to video call later, but the coach has him at some publicity thing that might run late. Typical Roman. Always trying to make time, even when time is scarce. My heart fills with all the things I feel for him, but don’t dare say out loud.

“Rara,” Stella murmurs, rubbing her eyes with a tiny fist.

I laugh gently. “Yes, Rara.”

She’s fading, and I know it’s time. “Okay, nap time, little love.”

I scoop her into my arms, and though she fusses, the moment I settle her into her crib and reach for her favorite book, the one with the caterpillars and the happy ending, she relaxes.

Happy ending.

Roman and I might have started out like a bad rom-com, but even bad rom-coms have happy endings, right? But I’m with a man who doesn’t believe in relationships or marriage, so there’s no way we’ll ever find ours.

I begin to read, my voice low, steady, and all the while I wonder how I got here. In a house full of love and family. In a life that looks nothing like the one I was living, but always wanted. Soon enough, her lashes begin to flutter, and I gently close the book. Rising quietly, I cross the room and lean over her crib. As I tuck the blanket around her tiny body, something unexpected washes over me. Longing. Sharp, sudden, and so real it steals my breath.

I want this.

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