I just stare at her, my gaze holding hers. “Harper, I’m not going anywhere. With or without kids, you’re mine.” When her eyes start to well up, my stomach clenches. “You know that.”
“I think I do, but sometimes I don’t think I believe it.”
“Well, start,” I insist, kissing her palm. “So, when can we tell everyone?”
She looks away once more, her face filling with apprehension. “I don’t want to tell anyone until I’m four months.”
I just look at her. I’m supposed to keep this secret that long?
“You’re not going to tell Elli for three months that you’re pregnant?”
She nods. “Both times, I told Elli and my sisters, and I lost it. I want to wait. I want to make sure it sticks, that you stick.”
I can’t be mad at her. I want to be, I want to hate that she didn’t tell me about the past pregnancies, but I won’t. I’m not surprised. She’s questioned this, us, since the beginning. She was so reluctant to commit to me, and after all this, I understand why. When shit got rough, people left. That won’t happen with me. I’m in this for the long haul. The till death do us part shit. “You stood beside me through the roughest injury of my life, kiska, and nursed me back. They thought I wouldn’t play the rest of the season, but look who’s playing next week.”
She wraps her arms loosely around my neck. “That’s all you, Jakob. You’re a beast.”
“Because of you. Because of your love, and Harper, I swear I fell in love with you all over again.”
Her eyes light up. “I love you, Jakob. I do.”
As I gaze into her eyes, I’m lost, and I don’t want anyone but her to find me. “I had hoped to be the one to support and love you through every hard thing known to man, but now… Now, it’s not a hope—it’s going to happen. It’s a promise.”
“It is?”
“Yup, it’s me and you, forever. We’ll sprinkle in some kids here and there.”
She sits up, leaning her face into mine. “I love that.”
“Good,” I say, kissing her lips. “Now, get up, let’s go meet our friends, and maybe us being so in love and moving forward will push them in the same direction.”
She laughs. “They need a lot of pushing.”
I watch as she gets up, drinking in the beauty that is my future. I can’t wait until she is showing. She’s already so beautiful, but with my baby inside her, on display, it will up that beauty by a million. “Hey, Harp.”
She looks over her shoulder at me as she slides a pair of jeans up those gorgeous thighs. “Yeah?”
“You’ll never be alone.”
Her eyes soften as she nods. “Right back atcha.”
I grin and exhale. “And I wanted to marry you before the baby because I love you. Only you. And this baby… It’s one hell of a bonus.”
The most gorgeous and stunning grin covers that sweet face of hers. She walks over to me and falls into my lap as I wrap my arms around her, kissing her hard on the lips. As we fall onto the bed, I know we’ll be late to see Shea and Elli. But being underneath Harper, her sweet lips on mine and all the love in the world coursing through my body, I find it hard to muster up any feelings of guilt.
Not when I feel like I’m winning all eighty-two regular season games.
Not when I feel like I scored all the winning goals.
And definitely not when I feel she is the ultimate prize, better than the Stanley Cup.
The next six weeks were crazy eventful.
Once it was time for me to hit the ice with my team, I only got to play one game with Shea before he got hurt. It was a straight bullshit hit, but it’s the name of the game. Our bodies aren’t made of metal, unfortunately. I worried he wouldn’t be back, but like me, he doesn’t give up. So, while I was finding my footing and also buying a house, Shea was healing and doing a great job of it, because he has come back sooner than expected.
Which is good for us. We have to have our captain.
Shea’s presence is needed on the ice; he runs shit, and we all look to him. As I sit beside him, putting on my gear, I tell him about the house and how his sister, Grace, is working her ass off to make it perfect. I’ve respected Harper’s wishes and not told anyone about the baby, but it’s killing me. I want to scream it from the rooftop. I want to wear a shirt that says: I knocked up the hottest woman in the world, but I can’t. She said a hard no on the shirt idea. Sometimes, I wonder if she even loves me. I kid. I know for a fact she does.
Things are fantastic.
“Harper is insane if she thinks I want a gray house.”
Shea jeers as he puts on his chest pad. “Gray is the new white, from what Grace is saying.”
“Great, now you’re on their side,” I grumble, and he laughs. “How’s the looking going?”
He scrunches up his face. “Elli is driving me up the fucking wall. She has this list of shit she needs, and I’m trying really hard to respect it, but it’s like nothing is good enough for her. I’ve loved like eight houses, but they don’t have everything she needs.”
“Why don’t you just build a house?”
He gives me a look. “I offered that, and she said no. She wants a house with bones that have memories or something like that. Pretty sure she got it out of a country song.”
I snort. “You’ll find it.”
“Yeah,” he says slowly. “I think I’m gonna ask her to marry me.”
“Do it,” I encourage. “Go see Harper’s sister, Piper. She set me up real nice.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “You already bought a ring?”
“Yeah,” I say happily. “I don’t know when I’m asking. I’m waiting for the right moment, but the ring, it’s perfection, totally Harper. Piper knows Elli. She’ll help you out.”
“Where?”
“Tiffany’s. Ask for Piper.” Shea nods before he laces up his skates while I make sure my elbow pad is in place. “Ready?”
A grin takes over his face, which I’m thankful for. He’s been a bit down with the injury and the frustrations with Elli. “More than ready.”
I stand, hopping on my skates. “Good. Let’s do this.”
He stands beside me, and we bump fists. “Hell yeah.”
I want to bash my head into the wall.
Grace, Shea’s sister and our interior designer, stands before us by the bar in the kitchen with paint samples, textiles, and more home shit that I really don’t care about. Harper won’t move in until the house is done. I was cool with it before, but now, I just want to live in our house. I hate her apartment. It’s so small, and I want a dog. I’m just ready to keep the ball moving, and I feel like dealing with all the house stuff is stalling us. Our conversations are only about the house or work and maybe sometimes the baby if she’s puking her brains out. She’s been really sick lately, and I hate it for her because she won’t stop. She is headstrong and works her ass off, and then she comes to the house to make decisions.
I swear, I’ll never love anyone more.
“What do you think, Jakob?” Harper asks, and I shrug.
“To be honest, I don’t care,” I say, and by the way she and Grace are looking at me, I’m realizing that’s not the answer they wanted. “I don’t even know why we’re replacing the stairs or the railing. I like them.”
“I want it to go with the rest of the house,” Harper says, shooting me a pointed look. “You said I can do what I want.”
“I know, but I want to move in,” I say, holding her gaze. “I want to live here with you, and no offense, Grace, but I want to paint and shit like that.”
“When, Jakob? You’re gone all the time, and I’m working. This is the best thing for us.”
She’s not wrong, but I still want to do it myself. This is a losing battle, and I’m over it. “Fine. Get what you want.”
I walk off, heading into our grand living room. It’s got high ceilings and a massive fireplace that I plan on doing Harper in front of. We just have to move in first. I look over to the stairs, and they’re fine to me. I don’t know why she wants to replace them. I don’t realize Harper has come into the room until her hand slides up my back. I look down at her, turning and wrapping my arm around her waist. “I’m sorry. I’m just ready to make this our home.”
“It’s okay,” she says, kissing my shoulder.
“I know I’m a pain.”
She shrugs. “I take your good days with your bad.”
I glance down at her, kissing her forehead.
“They’re gonna redo the stairs and paint the bedrooms except for the baby’s room. I want to do that with you.”
My lips quirk. “I want that too.”
“Hopefully blue,” she says softly. “A sweet little hockey room.”
I shake my head. “No, a pink princess room. With glitter and all that shit. Something to drive you wild because she’ll be the opposite of you.”
She beams up at me. “And hopefully everything like you.”
Fuck, I love this woman. “As long as she has your eyes.”
“No! Your eyes are so much better.”