“When? You own an NHL team, are raising kids, and have to love me. I’m needy, woman,” Shea demanded, and that had Baylor sputtering with laughter while Elli rolled her eyes.
Before she could argue with her husband, though, Jayden interjected, “We’ll revisit this later. Let’s have our kiddo first.”
Baylor shared a look with her husband and then nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“Yay, I can’t wait!” Elli leaned into her husband, who was looking at her like she owned his world. And Baylor guessed she did; they were what every couple wanted to be. Everyone loved the Adlers, and boy, did they love each other.
“Jay, can you play with us? Daddy, come on,” Shelli said then, pulling Baylor’s attention to where all the kids stood, dripping with water but still holding their hockey sticks.
“Now?” Jayden asked, laughing, but he was already standing, taking the stick Posey held out to him. “Yeah, let’s go. You’re going down, Shea.”
“Please, I’m going to ruin you,” Shea said, taking the stick Owen was offering.
“Okay,” Jayden laughed as he kissed Baylor’s forehead.
“Hey, I want to play,” she said, slowly getting up, but he stopped her.
“No, you stay here, talk woman stuff,” he said, kissing her once more.
“But I want to beat you,” she complained as she rolled her eyes at his comment. “You know I can.”
That really had him laughing. “Please.”
Getting up, she took his stick and challenged, “Wanna see?”
While she could see the competitive need to beat her in his eyes, she also saw a flicker of worry. “You don’t need to be running around with your knee still healing. Plus, I don’t want you to get hit in the belly. But afterward, it’s on.”
Holding his gaze, she knew he was right, but she wanted to play.
It was obvious he didn’t want to fight as he sighed. “I don’t want you to get hurt, baby. So we’ll shake on it now that, once you’re ready, we go to the rink, and then we can watch me kick your ass.”
Glaring at him, she scoffed. “You mean, me kicking your ass,” she corrected, handing him back the stick and holding her hand out. “It’s on.”
Taking her hand, he shook it before kissing her hard on the lips. “You’re going down.”
“Yeah, okay,” she teased as she lowered back into the seat, and the kids all dragged him off to play.
Looking to Elli, Baylor found her friend shaking her head. “You will always be the most fearless and headstrong woman I know,” Elli said and then laughed. “I love it, though.”
“Thank God he does too.” Baylor smiled as she watched the kids play with Shea and Jayden.
As Jayden cut left around Owen to go right around Evan, he shot, only to miss the goal, and she smiled. While she would have made that, she knew she had picked a great man to love, to marry, and then get pregnant by.
Now she just needed the baby to come so she would have the perfect life she never knew she always wanted.
3
Lucy & Benji are getting married!
“Why am I here?”
Baylor’s sister-in-law Avery, who was married to Jayden’s baby brother, Jace, looked over at her and shrugged. “Because Lucy is mean.”
With Avery’s daughter, Ashlyn, on her hip, Jayden’s big sister, Lucy, glared. “I am not. This is a family affair. We all have to be here and enjoy it. Love each other and encourage each other as we go through this. Because what would my wedding be without my beautiful and amazing sisters-in-law?”
Baylor scoffed as Avery laughed. “Mom told you to say that?”
Lucy nodded. “Yes. I hate this and want to go home.”
“You do not,” Autumn cooed, coming over and kissing her granddaughter’s cheek. “You love it! And Baylor, sweetheart, even though the dress doesn’t fit you now, we have to make sure you like it.”
“Mom, we all hate the dresses,” Claire, Baylor’s other sister-in-law, who was married to Jayden’s older brother, Jude, said as she wrapped her arm across their mother-in-law’s shoulders. “It’s a bridesmaid dress. No one ever likes their bridesmaid dresses.”
“That’s true. Yours was ugly as hell,” Lucy said, and Claire agreed.
“I love them all. Now hush, all of you, because my sweet little baby girl is coming out in her precious little dress,” Autumn exclaimed, going to the podium as Lucy’s daughter, Angie, walked up in her junior bridesmaid dress. It was a soft, baby-blue color that brought out the blue that flaked in her green eyes. Her brown hair was a mess on top of her head, but no one could stop the grin on her little face.
“I’m a bridesmaid!” Angie cheered, and everyone grinned.
“Yup, and the prettiest one ever,” Autumn gushed, kissing her cheeks.
“Hey!” Claire, Avery, and Baylor all said jokingly together as Lucy laughed.
“I can’t wait,” Angie said, grinning up at her mother and grandmother as they asked for things to be tightened and shortened here and there.
As Baylor watched, she held her belly, rubbing it until Claire came over, pressing her hand into Baylor’s bump. “Is it moving? Aw, it is!” Claire giggled, and Baylor smiled.
“It’s always moving. It’s awesome.” It really was; it was her favorite part of her pregnancy…until it got on her nerve. Then she was in hell.
“Doesn’t it drive you crazy not knowing what it is?” Avery asked, placing her hand on Baylor’s belly. “I needed to say he or she. I had to know.”
Baylor shrugged. “Nope, I’m excited for the big day. To finally find out.”
“Well, it kills me not knowing!” Lucy said, playfully glaring back at her. “I don’t know if I should buy a suit or a dress for them. And if it’s not a boy, I won’t have a ring bearer.”
“That’s fine, Ashlyn and the new baby can do both. Plus, no one cares. They’re there to make people go awwwww,” Avery said, drawing it out as she tickled Ashlyn, who giggled loudly for her mommy.
“And you know everyone will,” Claire said, taking Ashlyn from Lucy and kissing her cheek. “Or at least, I will.”
Baylor smiled. “You’re next, Claire.”
She laughed. “Nope, not ready. See, we know about this thing called birth control, and we use it,” she teased, and everyone laughed.
“Hey, I was on it!” Baylor called to her as Claire grinned back at her.
“That’s what they all say.”
“Not me. I wasn’t, and we had faulty condoms,” Avery said with a snort, which sent them all into fits of laughter. “But I wouldn’t change a thing,” she said, grinning at her little girl.
Baylor couldn’t wait to feel that way because at that moment, she was rethinking ever getting pregnant again.
“Yeah, so watch out for faulty birth control and condoms,” Baylor warned, and Claire waved them off.
“Duly noted, but until I’m back with Jude full time in Los Angeles, we aren’t having any babies. It would just be too hard on us,” she said, and Baylor nodded. They had been apart for a couple years now, with Claire’s job in Vegas and Jude playing for the Kings, but it had worked. They were more in love than Baylor ever thought they could be, but she also knew Autumn was waiting for her oldest boy to have a baby. Autumn Sinclair was all about babies, hence the out-of-control baby shower she was planning.
“Plus, we all know everyone is waiting for Benji and Lucy to have a baby,” Claire said, and Lucy scoffed at her.
“Whoa, no. We don’t have time.”
“Yes, you do,” Avery said, and Lucy laughed.
“And so do you. Why don’t you have another?”
Avery giggled hard at that. “No, I don’t! I’m currently working with an awesome songwriter for Selena Gomez. Plus, we’re waiting until we can drink legally before we add in another.”
“You’ll need it,” Autumn agreed, and that had everyone in stitches.
“Okay, girls, go try your dresses on,” Autumn called, and when everyone got up, Baylor stayed in her seat.
They looked back at her, and she shrugged. “What? I could maybe get it up my thighs, but even I’m not sure on that. So I’m good.”
“Party pooper,” Claire teased.
“Yeah, who told you to get pregnant when we had a wedding coming up?” Avery added, and Baylor snorted.
“Aren’t they already married?” Baylor asked, and that made them both grin as they headed toward where Autumn and the salesperson were waiting for them.
Looking around the cute little shop, Baylor had a smile on her face as she rubbed her belly. While there was no point for her to be there, she was glad she was. She loved her sisters-in-law, along with her stepmother slash mother-in-law. Add in Angie and Ashlyn, and Baylor was in heaven. Growing up with only her dad, she had yearned for a big family like the one she had now. Yeah, they were all crazy, but God, she loved them. She couldn’t wait for her little bundle to join them.
It would be complete bliss.
When her eyes met a section of the store with a sign that read Maternity, she found herself getting up and heading toward it. Looking through the dresses, she thought they were adorable, and a part of her wished she needed one. She didn’t, though.