“Thank you,” I murmur. “We actually have the first appointment today.”
“Good. That’s so exciting, Jensen. I’m happy for you, man.” His voice is genuine and surprisingly warm compared to the usual stern tone we hear at practice. “If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
“I will.” I rise to my feet and stretch my hand out to his, shaking it. “Thank you.”
It dawns on me as I crutch out of the room and head out to meet Lainey at our car. I just wanted to tell someone in my life, someone whose opinion I truly valued, and he was the only one I could think of.
I’ll tell the guys soon enough, but I know that the moment I tell them, they will tell their partners, and we haven’t even dealt with Cole yet, so I didn’t want to risk that snowballing into a bigger issue.
But we will, and when we do, I know these guys are going to freak out in the best ways and be the best uncles.
Lainey waves at me with a bashful smile as I approach the car.
“Hi, baby.” I slide into the seat and tuck my crutches in the backseat. “How’re you feeling?”
“Good. Nervous. Excited.” Her lips are gently pressed together, and her inner eyebrows are tipped up.
Reaching over, I take her hand in mine. “Everything will be perfect.”
She nods, exhaling her worries away. “You’re right.”
Tell me why I was the nervous, sweating one when they did the ultrasound. Lainey’s only eight weeks along, so we knew that the baby would be super tiny, but I still feel overwhelmed with emotion as I look down at the small photograph in my hands on the way home from the appointment.
They did blood work, confirmed the pregnancy, went through a thousand family history questions—some answers we weren’t sure of on Cole’s end. But I’ll find those answers out myself so we’re aware of any potential health concerns.
After a quick exam, they did the ultrasound, and I fought back tears the entire fucking time, holding Lainey’s hand. It’s weird that I feel so proud and connected to the baby, as if it really is mine, but maybe that’s because in my mind, it is.
Lainey teared up when the small fetus came into view on the machine. It was such a special moment, and I’m so happy that I was there for every second. I’m not going to miss a singleappointment. I don’t care if I have physical therapy or upper-body training; I’ll schedule around it to be by Lainey’s side because it’s exactly where I’m meant to be.
“I wish they offered larger print sizes,” I murmur, wishing I could get an eight-foot one printed for our living room.
Lainey giggles as she pulls into the parking garage of my building. “I’m sure we can get bigger ones.”
“Alsoooo”—I drag the O out—“Coach Carrington helped me with HR and reporting our relationship.”
“Wait, what?” Her eyes widen. “I haven’t told Caitlin.”
“It’s okay. We got ahead of it, and as long as we’re professional at the arena and during work, then it’s totally fine,” I assure her.
“I thought it was frowned upon for staff to see one another?” she murmurs softly, probably still concerned that this is going to blow up in our faces.
I chuckle. “I think they stopped worrying about that after the recent history this team has with doing that.” I take her hand in mine. “Trust me, it’s okay.”
She takes a deep breath. “Okay. I guess that means we’re official now.” She smirks.
“Oh,that’swhat makes us official.”
She giggles, and my heart soars, and I feel giddy, like a kid on Christmas. I know that my hormones aren’t the ones changing, but I feel so all over the place with emotional swings.
Lainey and I head upstairs and into our place while my knee is aching, begging to be iced and propped up. The sun is setting, casting a warm glow over the city, clearly visible from the giant windows.
Crutching over to the oversize chair, I spin it so it faces the glass and drop down into it, scooting all the way so my shoulders are against the back. “Sit with me?”
Lainey dance-walks over to me, bubbling with joy since we left the appointment. She crawls toward me, positioning herself perfectly between my legs, nestling her back into my chest.
I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. “I lo?—”
Her phone rings loudly, cutting off the three words nearly slipping past my tongue. What is with my body’s incessant need to express my love for her?
