Page 72 of Her Hat Trick Daddies
“Well,” Leighton says with a smile, clapping her hands lightly, “now’s a good time to show you how to change a diaper, because Luna’s out cold. Usually, she wakes up or stirs when I bring her in from the car, but it looks like you guys wore her out.” She laughs.
“Oh, nah. Let the little angel sleep,” Andy says quickly, holding up a hand like we’re not about to disturb her.
Leighton carefully lays Luna in her crib, then comes back out to see us off, leaning casually against the doorframe. “Well? How are you guys feeling?”
David speaks first, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Like we wish we’d known her sooner.”
He says what we’re all thinking out loud, and it lands like a blow right to the ribs.
Leighton’s smile is soft, but there’s something behind her eyes. “You guys did good,” she says, voice warm but edged with something wary. “Honestly, a part of me still thought you might bolt the second you saw her, but… you proved me wrong.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” I say firmly, meeting her gaze with everything I’ve got. Then I turn to the guys. “I’ll meet you in the car. Just give me a minute.”
The door clicks shut behind them, and for a beat, it’s just the two of us. The air thickens.
I step in closer, close enough to feel the warmth radiating off her, until her back hits the door. Not a single word passes between us. I just stand there, letting the silence do the work, until there’s barely a breath of space left. My heart pounds like a drum in my chest.
Slowly, deliberately, I twist my baseball cap around, my hand finding her chin, tilting her face up to mine. I lean in, lips hovering just above hers, close enough to taste her breath, but I don’t close the distance.
She’s frozen, her body stiff, eyes locked onto mine, searching, questioning, battling something inside herself. But I don’t waver. Instead, I take her hand and press it flat against my chest.
“Feel that?” I murmur, my voice low, charged with hunger. “It’s beating foryou.”
My other hand slides up the doorframe above her head, caging her in. “You might not believe me yet, but I swear to you, I’m going to earn your trust back. You’re mine, Leighton. And now… now that you’re the mother of my child? You have no idea what that does to me. Every inch of my body is burning for you right now. And if you said the word, I’d take you. Right here.”
She exhales slowly, shakily, her chest brushing mine. Her hand slides from my heart up to my face, fingers tracing my jawwith the lightest touch. Her eyes soften, her body loosening as she tips her head back just slightly.
God, she feels it too. I know she does.
But I don’t push. I hold myself back, even though it’s killing me. Instead, I dip my head, brushing my lips against her cheek, slowly, lingering just long enough to make her shiver.
I pull back, my voice a quiet promise. “I’ll see you soon, baby.”
And then I leave, my whole body thrumming with restraint, with want, with something deeper than I’ve ever known.
***
Since we’ve got two home games this week, it’s like the universe is giving us a window. Most evenings, the three of us are at Leighton’s place or the park nearby. We follow Luna’s every step, giggle, cry like she’s the center of the damn universe. Because sheis.
I even bring up getting her a pair of tiny skates.
“She’s not getting on ice skates, Shane. She’s just two,” Leighton snaps, arms crossed.
“I’m pretty sure the three of us were on blades before we could spell our names,” I counter, glancing at the others for backup. “She’ll have an edge if she starts early.”
“Early?” Leighton echoes like I’ve lost my mind. “I don’t even know if I want her on the ice at all. Hockey injuries are no joke.”
I pause, thinking through every shattered collarbone and concussion I’ve seen firsthand. The game can be beautiful, but brutal. Still, this isn’t about her going pro. It’s about her having the confidence and ability to glide on the ice, to be part of something we’ve all built our lives around. But I keep that part to myself, for now.
Because later, when she curls into my arms, trying to say “blueberry” fifty different ways with the most serious little face I’ve ever seen, nothing else matters. Hearing her say “boo-bear” like it’s a secret code between us turns me into fucking mush. And I get it now. I get why people say becoming a parent rewires your whole damn brain. Because mine’s different now. She rewired it without even trying.
By the third night, I notice David falling quiet. He’s usually the steady one, but there’s a certain stillness in the way he looks at her. When Luna climbs into his lap and hands him a slobbery board book, he doesn’t blink. Just reads it aloud like she’s the only person in the world.
After his ex and their problems with fertility, he gave up on a lot of things. I guess we both know what it feels like to want something so badly and never get it. Until now.
And Andy? Hell, he’s always been the class clown, the guy with a shit ton of energy, but around Luna? He’s gentle.Focused. Protective. Like the second she makes a peep, his entire body tunes to her frequency.
And that makes three of us completely leveled by one tiny human.
