Chapter Thirty-One
No Better Way to Be
Livia
The suite smelled like hot pretzels and melted cheese, and the spread laid out across the counter was nothing short of obscene. Chicken fingers, nachos, charcuterie, sliders — basically everything you could possibly want to inhale during a hockey game.
And every aroma that was currently making me ill.
I subtly popped another ginger chew between my teeth, all my hopes and dreams wrapped up in me surviving the next four weeks until the second trimester. Everyone swore it got better then, and I was banking on it.
Still, it was worth it to face my nausea and be at the game with the girls. It wasn’t often we were all in town and our schedules lined up perfectly to make it happen, and I was soaking it in.
The game had yet to start, so we were all huddled up in the food and beverage area of the suite — well, everyone except for Ava, who, of course, couldn’t possibly miss warmups and the pregame fun.
She was down in her seat in the front row of the box, foam finger at the ready, leaning forward to see all the action.
Chloe kept a close eye on her from where we stood, and she still had that newlywed glow about her, her smile radiant.
Grace and Mia were arguing over which travel destination was more worth a fourteen-hour flight — Japan or Australia — while Maven and I gabbed with Chloe about the renovations she was doing on the house she now shared with Will.
Ten minutes before game time, Grace popped up like a Jack in the Box, nearly sloshing her wine out of the cup. “Oh! I forgot to tell you bitches! I’ll be in Tampa through playoffs.”
“Wait, really?!” Chloe lit up. “You never stick around here longer than a week!”
Grace shrugged. “I know. I mean look, I’ll still be traveling. I plan to hit a few of the away games. But… I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of things, been a lot of places… but I always miss this place when I’m gone. I think maybe it’s time to hang out for a while. Plant some roots.”
“Careful,” Maven warned with a rasp. “You sound a lot like a woman ready to settle down with a fine ass defenseman.”
“I settle about as much as a stubborn corporation in a lawsuit,” Grace shot back quickly. She sipped her wine, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I just maybe want to travel a teeny tiny bit less.”
“It’s okay to want to stay in one place for a while,” Chloe said softly. “Doesn’t mean you have to get married or anything.”
Grace sipped her wine again, apparently done with the subject, and the rest of us shared knowing smiles.
“Speaking of settling down, how’s newlywed life treating you?” I asked Chloe.
She sighed dreamily, leaning against the high-top table we were gathered around. The light from the ice caught her ring just right, throwing diamonds everywhere. “I still can’t believe I’m married. I feel like I blinked and Will and I went from sneaking kisses to promising forever.”
“And I feel like that could be a song,” Mia teased, lifting her champagne to her lips. She had a glow of her own — tour exhaustion softened by pure giddy anticipation of her summer ahead.
“I have a feeling you’ll have lots of song inspiration in just a couple months,” Maven said. “Tour over, honeymoon loading.”
“Is it weird that I miss tour already, but simultaneously can’t wait to fuck off and dive off the face of the planet for a summer?” Mia asked.
I squeezed her hand. “Your fans will be waiting eagerly when you return, whenever that is, and you should take your sweet time. You’ve earned it.”
“I wish I had a relaxing summer to look forward to,” Maven chimed in. “Looks like our initiative to make sure every kid in Tampa Bay has a place to rest their head at night has caught fire. We’ve had invitations to work with nonprofits all over Florida to do the same.”
“Don’t act like you’d want to relax even if it was an option,” I said with a suck of my teeth. “We all know nothing makes you happier than being in the community like that.”
“And we all want to help,” Mia chimed in. “So, tell me where to send the check.”
“And tell me where to show up for work. I love to get dirty.” Grace said that last part with a wink and a shimmy of her hips that had us all giggling.
“So, Livia…” Chloe said next, about as subtle as a train horn. “You and Carter, huh?”
I sipped my water with a sly grin. “Do I win the prize for most shocking development of the group this year?”
“I definitely hold last year’s title,” Mia said, and no one argued.
“I mean, look,” Grace said, holding out her hands. “We all knew he was obsessed with you. But I’ll admit, I’m surprised to see it reciprocated.”
I smiled wider then, warmth blooming in my chest. “If you knew Carter like I do, you’d be obsessed, too,” I said simply.
That earned a chorus of soft awws and cheeky smirks.
“He really is a sweetheart,” Maven said. “He always has been. I remember when I was assigned to follow Vince around and how… awkward it all felt at first. Carter was the first to crack a joke and make me feel comfortable.”
“He does always bring the best energy to the function,” Grace added, tilting her head side to side. “No matter what the function is.”
“And he’s worked so hard to be where he is now. He would literally call Will and ask him for advice after games when he was playing in the AHL,” Chloe said.
“I didn’t know that,” Mia mused. “But I do know that while Aleks pretended Carter annoyed him earlier this season, he loves him. I think Carter is his favorite of the group.”
My chest swelled with pride as they talked about him, and I nodded.
“He’s just… attentive in a way I didn’t know men could be.
He’s always checking in on me, making sure I eat when I’m too busy at work, paying attention to the little things like my favorite cookie or the kind of jewelry I wear…
and don’t even get me started on how patient he is.
I’m a maddening woman,” I said on a laugh to no arguments.
“But with him… I’ve never felt so cared for in my life. ”
They all melted at that.
I paused, sipping my water. “Plus, his dick is huge, and he hasn’t said no to a single kinky thing I’ve suggested.”
Maven elbowed me as the rest of the girls dissolved into a fit of laughter.
“Well,” Grace said, raising her glass, “I just want to go on record that I called this ages ago. I swore I saw something between you two even at that charity golf tournament.”
Chloe leaned forward, eyes mischievous. “Okay, but does this mean you’re still freezing your eggs?”
I rolled my lips together, gaze falling to my hands that were wrapped around my cup of water. My eyes flitted to Maven, who looked ready to burst, and I decided it was time. “Well,” I said. “Turns out… I won’t be needing to do that.”
Confusion flickered across their faces as I lifted that cup in my hands, drawing more attention to the fact that I wasn’t drinking.
And then I watched the realization dawn slowly — each pair of eyes narrowing, lips parting, a little head tilt from Chloe.
Maven was chewing her lip so hard I thought she’d draw blood, but she didn’t dare say a word.
She already knew. She’d been the first I’d told.
“Oh my God,” Mia gasped.
“No way,” Chloe whispered, her hands flying up to cover her smile.
“Do not tell me you’re pregnant?!” Grace squealed, practically climbing over the table.
“Okay,” I said with a shrug. “I won’t tell you.”
I sipped my water with a smug wink, and then they all lost it.
The suite exploded into a fit of high-pitched screams.
They swarmed me with hugs, voices overlapping in a chorus of no way and holy shit and this is going to be the cutest baby to ever live! Immediately after that, it was a gazillion questions aimed at how I was feeling and if I had anything figured out.
Mia, of course, brought back her designer baby shoes joke, declaring she already had a few bookmarked for when the shower invites went out.
Grace kissed my cheek and promised she’d be here every step of the way, that this was even more reason for her to stay local for a while.
Chloe looked like she might actually cry.
And Ava, sweet Ava, started chanting “Baby Osprey” like it was a team cheer as soon as she ran up to find what all the commotion was about and Chloe broke the news.
Of course, she ran right back down to the seats once the chaos had settled.
It was impossible not to feel the overwhelming love in that moment, and my smile was impenetrable. But underneath that smile, a tangle of nerves still lived in my chest.
I was excited, yes — I felt that more than anything, especially since Carter hadn’t even blinked when I’d told him. He’d just pulled me into his arms and said we’d figure it out together, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And since then, he’d been all in.
The fear that had kept me up at night had faded more and more with every grocery run he made for ginger ale and crackers, every podcast he queued up, every kiss he laid against my temple, every time he said he couldn’t wait to meet our baby.
Still… fear had a way of lingering, like smoke that clings to your clothes long after the fire’s out.
And sitting here surrounded by my best friends, I realized I wanted to say it out loud.
I’d kept my friends in the dark on so many things in my life, so many feelings, but I needed them through this.
I needed to be vulnerable, even if it was hard.
“I know we’re all buzzing over this,” I said, wiping the tears from laughing away with a swipe of my thumb. My smile waned a bit. “But… can I admit that I’m also a little scared?”
“Well, of fucking course you are,” Grace said. “It’s a baby. It’s a whole ass human that you have growing inside you.”
“I’d be more concerned if you weren’t scared,” Mia added.
I nodded. “It’s not even really being pregnant or giving birth. My relationship with my mom is just so…”
“Fucked,” Grace finished for me, and we all laughed at that.