Page 5 of Shiver

“Before I provide the results, would you mind confirming your date of birth and address as well? I need to be sure I’m speaking to the correct person.”

I give her my details, and once I’m done, she says, “Youarethe father. Your paternity test came back with a confirmatory result with matching alleles.”

My breath catches in my lungs.I’m the father.

Just like that. My entire world has been flipped upside down, and I don’t have a single fucking clue what I’m going to do about it. My jaw aches, I hadn’t even realized I was clenching it so tightly.

“Mr. De Laurentiis, did you hear me?” Stacey asks.

Clearing my throat, I take in the watchful eyes surrounding me, silent as they take in my expression. “Yes, yes. I heard you. Thank you for the information.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. De Laurentiis. I hope things work themselves out okay. Have a good rest of your evening.”

“Thanks, you too,” I grunt, hanging up.

I hang my head between my shoulders, releasing a long, calming breath. When I finally look up, it’s my father’s empathetic green eyes that I focus on as I speak my next words.

“I’m the father,” I tell my family. My heart is starting to race again, and while I know this is the information I’ve been waiting for,I’m fucking scared.

I’m not cut out to be a father. I can barely take care of myself.

Hell, I beat myself up every time a puck slips past me and blame every loss on myself. And I’ve been playing hockey my whole life. This is all so new to me, and there are a seemingly endless number of ways in which I could mess this up.

“Alright, what next then?” my mom asks, appraising me warily.

Taking another steadying breath, I tell her, “I guess I contact the social worker and go to court tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. If the judge doesn’t grant me temporary custody, it’s all kind of a moot point for now.”

They each nod slowly, afraid to say anything. “Can you call him now?” Dad asks.

“That’s probably a good idea,” I agree, heading to my room to give him a call and see where we go from here.

1. Fake It — Seether

Chapter four

Luca

Thursday, July 2, 2026

My hands are shaking as we leave the courtroom.

The moment we make it outside into the warm sun, my shoulders relax negligibly. My hands are still clammy, and my mind is a frazzled mess, but at least it’s over with, and we have our answer.

“Mind if I head back to your house to complete the home assessment? I don’t want any delays for tomorrow.”

I nod, turning on my heel and jogging down the steps of the courthouse. As I get to my car, I realize I have no idea how to put a car seat in. I know how to securely put the babyinthe car seat, but not how to properly install one.

Fuck.

It seems there’ll be a lot more of a learning curve than I had initially hoped, but at least I have the time to do it. I have a few months until the season starts, and Ale already arranged for me to train with him in the offseason so I don’t have to leave Gia at home with a nanny or burden our family so much.

Gia.She named her Giavanna, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that, given the meaning of the name.Greatest gift.Though there’s also irony at play here. How could she pick a name like that and not want her?

A chill wracks through me, and my stomach churns at the thought. Something doesn’t add up here, but I can’t figure out what without speaking to her.

***

I hold my breath as Ted surveys my home, marking things down on a list, mumbling notes to himself as he goes.

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