Page 117 of Penalty Kiss
"How are you feeling?"
"Terrified. Excited. Like I might throw up from happiness." She settles back into her chair, one hand automatically moving to her still-flat stomach. "We've been talking about having more kids, but talking and actually being pregnant with No. 2 are very different things."
"He's going to lose his mind," I tell her. "In the best possible way."
"I hope so. I keep thinking about how his face looked when he talked about wanting to be present for everything—recitals, dentist appointments, bedtime stories. I want to give him all of that."
The love in her voice is so clear, so pure, that it makes my chest tight with emotion. This is what I want someday—not just the romance and passion Cam and I share, but this deeperthing, this building of a life together that extends beyond just the two of us.
"When will you tell him?"
"Tonight. I have a whole plan involving his favorite dinner and a very subtle announcement involving baby shoes and hockey pucks."
I laugh through the tears I didn't realize were falling. "He's going to cry."
"I'm counting on it. I love it when he cries happy tears."
We spend the next hour planning her surprise, debating the merits of various reveal methods with the kind of intensity usually reserved for military operations. By the time I leave Candy Jar, I'm practically buzzing with secondhand excitement.
The drive back to the facility gives me time to process everything—Cam's job offer, Lily's news, the sense that everything in our little corner of the world is shifting and growing in beautiful ways.
I find Cam in the main arena space, standing at center ice of what will soon be a regulation rink. His hands are shoved deep in his pockets, and there's something contemplative about his posture that makes me approach quietly.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
He glances over, his expression soft. "Just trying to picture it. Opening night, you know? The stands full, the lights bright, kids from town getting their first taste of real hockey."
I slip my arms around his waist from behind, resting my cheek against his shoulder blade. "It's going to be amazing."
"I keep thinking about all the ways it could go wrong. What if we can't find good enough players? What if the town doesn't support us? What if—"
"Hey." I turn him around, framing his face with my hands so he has to look at me. "Remember what you told me about not letting fear make decisions for me?"
His mouth curves in a rueful smile. "That advice is a lot easier to give than to take."
"Lucky for you, you have a very smart fiancée who can remind you of your own wisdom when you need it."
"Very lucky," he agrees, leaning into my touch. "How was Lily? What was her news?"
"She's pregnant."
His eyes go wide, and then he's grinning so broadly I'm surprised his face doesn't crack in half. "Really? That's incredible! Levi's going to be a father again?"
"She's telling him tonight. And if you spoil her surprise, I will use my eidetic memory to catalog every embarrassing thing you've ever done and share it with your parents."
"My lips are sealed." He mimes zipping his mouth shut, but I can see the joy practically radiating from him. "Gosh. Can you imagine Levi, dad of two kids?"
"Actually, yes. I think he'll be amazing at it."
Something shifts in his expression, a thoughtfulness that wasn't there before. "Do you want that someday? Kids, I mean."
The question catches me off guard, not because I haven't thought about it, but because I've been afraid to hope for it too openly. "Do you?"
"I asked first."
"Yes," I say softly. "Someday. With you."
The smile that spreads across his face is tender and fierce and full of promises. "Good. Because I've been thinking about little girls with your blue eyes and boys who inherit your brain and my complete inability to take anything seriously."
