Chapter 20
twenty
“You really didn’t have to take me out to lunch. I know Brett is busy with the guys, but I can be alone,” I tell Cora.
She laughs. “We are basically besties now. That’s not how this works.”
I shake my head. There is no telling them any different.
The past couple of weeks have been amazing. We are now twenty weeks pregnant and have a little banana inside of me. Or at least that is what Brett tells me.
I secretly love how he is all about what size the baby is. It makes me feel like he really is part of this. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up to him talking to my belly. He says it’s so the baby recognizes his voice at birth.
It’s sweet, is what it is.
“This place looks closed. Where is everyone?” I ask her as we step inside.
Then people jump out and yell surprise.
I’m shocked.
Grace, Peyton, Wyatt, Kellan, Clay, and Beckett are all here, along with Brett.
“Did you know about this?” I ask him.
He shakes his head no. “It was a surprise for me too.”
I look around and see all the baby decorations. “Is this a baby shower?”
Cora nods. “Yep. So come on, Mama. Get your sash on.”
She walks over and grabs the item, bringing it back to put it over my head. I smile when I look down and see it says “Baby Mama.”
“You didn’t have to do all of this.”
Grace steps forward, giving me a hug. “Of course, we did. Now come on. Peyton said we can’t play games until you get fed, so food first.”
They lead me over to a table set up with place settings. Brett sits over with the men while I’m surrounded by the girls. The servers bring out food, and I’m surprised to find it’s all the things that I have been able to keep down.
“How did you know?” I ask the girls.
“We have been paying attention. We don’t want you to get sick. Eat up. I am so excited about the yarn game. I want to guess how big your baby bump is,” Cora says.
Peyton laughs. “Oh, I want to see the baby bottle game. The guys are going to look so silly.”
“Diaper game. It’s going to gross the guys out,” Grace says, nodding.
“When did you guys put all of this together? You didn’t need to rent out a whole restaurant,” I say, shocked by the lengths they went through.
“Oh, honey, this is nothing.”
I turn and smile at the older lady coming into the room.
“Mom, you made it,” Cora says, going to hug the woman.
I watch as everyone stands to greet her, so I do the same.
“You must be Emery. I’m Louise, you can call me Louise or Mom. I have heard such wonderful things about you. You were right, Brett. She’s gorgeous.”
I blush as I look over at Brett. He looks sheepish.
“She’s a nurse. I was worried about you throwing up all the time,” he says, as if that explains why he called his best friend’s mom.
I guess it kind of does.
“Don’t worry. I’ve seen it all. I work in the emergency room. Sit. Let’s eat. I want to get to know my newest daughter-in-law.”
Just like that, I’m adopted by yet another person. I find it wild that Brett grew up with little to no affection, yet he was able to build this family unit for himself.
I love that for him and for our child.
We chat as we eat, laughing about old stories Louise tells about raising her two children. It makes me feel more at ease.
When we are finished, the games start.
Peyton is the closest in guessing my baby bump size, while Beckett wins the baby bottle drinking challenge, but then complains about his mouth hurting.
The most surprising of all is Brett. While the other guys joked about how gross the diapers were as they stared at melted candy inside of them, trying to guess the candy bar, he had no issues at all. He smiled and said that he couldn’t wait for the first blowout. It would mean he was really a dad.
That warmed my heart.
“He is going to be a great dad,” Louise whispers to me as I watch him help his friends clean up after presents.
“He really is. I got lucky. I could’ve ended up with a deadbeat,” I tell her.
“You could have. Instead, you got a forever man. The question is, do you want forever? There’s no shame if you don’t feel what he does, but he does feel for you. A lot.”
I swallow hard. “I know he does. I think knowing he was a playboy before me still plays on my mind.”
“He was, but he’s changed. You changed him.
You don’t have to tell me what you feel, but if you feel even an ounce of what he does, you need to tell him.
He has gone his entire life without hearing the words.
Sure, he gets them from his buddies from time to time, and I tell him every single time I see him, but it would mean something different coming from you. ”
“How do you know I feel them?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “A mother knows, but I won’t fault you if you can’t or won’t go there with him. Either way, I will love you and that baby the same.”
“I…” I start to say, but she cuts me off.
“Not me, Emery. I don’t need to hear it. He does.” She nods at the man who is now staring in our direction with nothing but love in his eyes.
She’s right. He deserves to hear it.
And he will. Tonight.
Tonight, I will take the leap and tell Brett that I have fallen so deeply in love with him and beg him not to break my heart.
Emery has been shooting me these shy smiles most of the day. It’s like she doesn’t know how to be around me anymore, but in a good way. Driving back to the hockey house was silent, but it felt right. I didn’t know what to say to her, but I also feel like I didn’t need to say anything.
This afternoon said it all.
I cannot believe our friends threw us a baby shower. It was only the second time since Clay and Beckett got drafted that we were all able to be together. It felt good having the crew back together, even if it was temporary.
Then there was Emery. She was beaming the whole day. It was like they gave her all of this attention that she wasn’t used to having, and she was eating it up.
Which is crazy because she is a figure skater. She has had audiences scream her name and cheer for her.
It’s different, though. I get that. It’s not the same as at the arena when you have people doting on you who truly care about your well-being.
When we get to the house, I help her out, leaving all the gifts in the car. I unlock the door, leading her up to my room.
“I’d like you to stay here tonight, if that’s okay,” I tell her.
She nods, stepping closer to me. “Brett, I need to tell you something.”
I swallow hard. “Anything.”
“I’m in love with you.”
Those words were not what I expected, and my breath catches in my throat.
“What?” I manage to croak out.
“I’m in love with you. It’s your fault, really.
You are so amazing. You treat me so well, but it’s not only that.
It’s the way you talk to our baby, even when I’m sleeping.
The way you care about your friends and take care of them.
I won’t lie and say that I’m not still scared.
I think part of me will always remember that we started out as temporary.
That you were a playboy who slept around, but I can get past that.
Please don’t break my heart,” she whispers.
I cup her cheeks. “Never. I will never break your heart.”
She leans up and kisses me. I kiss her back, pulling her into my body.
“I want you, Brett. All of you. Will you stop holding back?” she asks.
“I love you more than words can describe, buttercup. I was only holding back to preserve the little bit of my heart I still held in my hand. That is now securely in yours. I am yours. Wholly and completely.”
She pounces on me then, kissing me hard enough for me to fall back into the door.
I laugh as I move her body until she is at the bed.
Slowly, I start to strip her of her pretty sundress and matching panty and bra set.
When she is naked, I push her back on the bed before I strip myself of my own clothes.
“Sex during pregnancy can hurt, so I need you to let me know if it hurts at all. Okay?”
She laughs. “I think I need to do more research. You know way more about this than I do.”
“Because I want to make sure I am what you need at all times,” I tell her, leaning over to kiss her as my fingers find their way to her clit.
She gasps as I start to circle it. “I only need you.”
The fact that she said that and means it sends shockwaves through my body.
I don’t want to fuck this woman. I want to show her with every touch and caress that I love her.
Slowly, I kiss her until her body is fully relaxed while my fingers continue to play with her clit softly. Only enough to turn her on, but not enough to get her off. When she pulls back and stares up into my eyes with nothing but love and devotion, I notch my cock at her entrance.
I’ve only gone bare one other time, and it’s what got us here. Sliding into her wet heat, I remember how good it felt. Even that night, it felt like something had changed between us. We weren’t Emery the skater and Brett the hockey player anymore. That night, I felt as if we were as one.
The same feeling overtakes me now as I begin to thrust into her slowly.
Her hands roam my shoulders and chest as her hips meet me thrust for thrust. Hiking up her leg, I change the angle, making her eyes roll into the back of her head as she moans.
When she opens them to look at me again, I know I’m not the only one feeling this.
Love.
I never imagined that Emery could love me, but she does. Lord knows I’ve loved the woman for far longer than I care to admit.
She loves me, though, and I love her.
I let that thought propel me into thrusting harder, pressing against her clit with each one. I grind into her, not even pulling out far, chasing that orgasm that I can see is right there on the surface.
When she finally comes, her body takes mine with it, spilling inside of her, filling her up.
The idea of implanting yet another baby has my cock jerking inside her even more, giving her every last drop.
Shit. Do I have a breeding kink?
The thought enters my head as I kiss her face. When she smiles up at me, I know the world will be all right.
Pulling out, my cock starts to harden as I see the white liquid spilling from her. Quickly, I scoop it up and push it back inside of her.
Yeah, I think a new kink has been unlocked for me. We won’t be able to get pregnant again anytime soon, but this won’t be our only kid.
Not if I have anything to say about it.