“Do you think you can stay here tonight? With me?” It shouldn’t be a big thing, but I’m nervous asking, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies lets loose in my stomach. Or maybe it’s JJ moving around in there.

“Of course I’ll stay.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Hanna?”

“Maybe you could give me a hand in the bedroom.”

“Unpacking?”

I shake my head no.

A slow, knowing smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “You need some connection and stress relief?” His fingers trail up my arm, causing a wave of goosebumps to break across my skin. “Or are you just looking to cash in on some snuggles?”

I can see the hopefulness mixed with heat in his gaze.

“Can I be greedy and say all three?”

That smile grows wider, and with it, the promise of a perfect distraction. “Absolutely. Anything for you, Hanna. You know that.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The Things That Keep Me Up at Night

Jake

IT DOESN’T TAKE long for Hanna to settle into life in Seattle. It’s made that much easier by Queenie’s enthusiasm and the way the hockey wives fold her into their group. I also sit down with King so we can talk things out. We decide it’s best for him to answer to Alex when it comes to the team, and that I can understand the difficult place this puts him in. He seems receptive, and I have to trust that he’ll tell me if things aren’t okay.

Over the next month, Hanna and I split most of our time between her place and mine, and more often than not, a sleepover ensues.

At this point, I have a small section in the closet at her place for those mornings when I have to go straight to work, and she has the same at mine. Although, she’s working remotely these days, so she only ever really needs to get dressed from the waist up. She’s taken to stealing my grey sweats and letting the waistband sit under her bump. Once all her Zoom meetings are done for the day, she trades her blouses for t-shirts. Half the time those are mine, too.

I don’t know what it is about seeing her dressed in my clothes, but I can’t deny, or hide, how much of a turn-on it is. The parts below the waist find her particularly appealing.

It’s a Saturday afternoon, and I’m working on the schedule for next week while Hanna tackles a few emails. “Are you sure you’re okay with the guys coming over for poker night? I can cancel if you want.”

Hanna doesn’t look up from her laptop, which is perched on the lap pad, her legs stretched out and propped up on the coffee table with a pillow. As usual, she’s wearing a pair of my sweats and a shirt that reads LOADING on it. Queenie bought her the shirt. “You don’t need to cancel. Besides, Queenie’s picking me up in an hour, and we’re heading to Lainey’s for movies and mocktails.”

I flip my pen between my fingers. “Are you going to come back here tonight?”

She stops typing and looks up at me over the rim of her blue light glasses. “I figured I’d go back to my place. Why?”

“Just wondering. You know, you’re always welcome to come back here if you don’t want to miss out on my legendary spooning skills.”

She grins. “That’s a kind and generous offer, Jake, but my night will probably end a lot earlier than yours, so I think the safer bet is to stay in my own bed.”

“If you change your mind, the invitation is always open.”

Hanna sets her laptop on the table beside her and stretches, exposing a couple inches of rounded belly. “I’m thinking about taking a cat nap so I’m not passing out on the girls before nine. Are you interested in joining me?”

“Definitely.” I roll my chair back and round the desk, extending a hand and helping her out of the chair. She’s twenty-four weeks now, which means she feels like she can relax a little. Her fears and worries are real and understandable. For me, it’s been much different than the first time I went through this.

Kimmie had never been excited about the baby—she’d cried over stretch marks. She’d been emotional and angry a lot of the time. I’d spent the majority of her pregnancy reassuring her that once Queenie was born she’d feel better. That it would get easier when she had her body back.

But with Hanna, it’s clear she’s in love with this baby, and it makes it easy for me to fall in love in the same way. We’re both all about JJ, and it’s such a shift from what I experienced last time around. Reaching the point where the baby has a chance of surviving even if Hanna goes into labor early feels like a weight has been lifted and gives us both the room we need to breathe and be excited together.

Obviously, we want him to stay put for as long as possible. All the test results have come back clear, including the amniocentesis and neural tube defects. We have another ultrasound scheduled for early next week, between exhibition games. Every time I see our baby bouncing around inside her belly, I’m reminded of how real this is going to get in a few more months. I’m a hybrid of nervous, realistic, and excited.

As for my relationship with Hanna, my goal is to make her as comfortable as possible at my place, so by the time the baby finally arrives, she’ll be ready to give up her house and move in here. Based on the number of sleepovers we have every week, I’m going to say I’m well on my way to making that happen.

_______________

QUEENIE PICKS HANNA up at five, and the guys are supposed to start arriving at six. I head out to the pool house where the food and poker table have been set up. That way the smell of wings, burps, and beer isn’t the predominant and unpleasant odor in the house, should Hanna change her mind about coming back here tonight.

A group of us gets together once a month for a card night. I stay up way too late, drink too much beer, and usually sleep until noon the next day. It’s been a thing since I moved to Seattle and took the GM position.

In that group are some of my buddies who work in NHL upper management, Bill, the team physician, and Alex. Occasionally, Rook joins us, and tonight happens to be one of those nights. He’s also bringing along Bishop, who’s decided to grace us with his presence. Bishop has never attended poker night before, so this should be interesting, if nothing else.

Alex, Rook, and Bishop show up first, which isn’t unexpected. Alex brings a bottle of scotch, and he cracks it open while I pull lowball glasses from the cupboard.

Rook holds out his hand to stop me from pouring three fingers into the third glass. “You mind if I make myself a coffee first? Otherwise I’m going to be passed out before the game even starts.”

Bishop makes a noise that sounds like a snort and a scoff. “Nice opening line, dude. If you spend the night bitching about how much your wife wants to fondle your crown jewels, I’m switching your body wash for Nair.”

Alex laughs. “This sounds like a story I want to hear.”

Rook gives Bishop the side-eye. “Lainey’s ovulating, so I’m basically her personal joystick for the next few days.”

“Rough life.” Alex snickers into his glass.

“He’s trying to lowkey brag about all the sex he’s having.” Bishop rolls his eyes.

“I’m not bragging, asshole. I’m more than happy to take care of my wife’s needs, but she’s a little hardcore right now about it because it took more than half a decade to give Kody a sister and she’s determined to make sure Aspen isn’t out of diapers before we have the next one.”