She looks at Ryker. His serious expression eases, and his mouth curves up in the faintest smile.
“What kind of craving…” Shannon trails off before noticing the way Madeline rests her hand on her stomach.
She gasps. So does Anna. My eyes go wide when I put it together, too.
“Wait, are you… pregnant?” Shannon says.
Madeline beams and nods her head. Shannon hops up from the table and runs over to hug her. So does Anna. Both of them are teary-eyed as they embrace her. Scott smiles and shakes his head like he’s in disbelief. He steps over and hugs Madeline and Ryker.
“Holy crap, that’s awesome,” Nick says. He stands up and hugs Madeline, then turns to Ryker. “Dude. You’re gonna be a dad.”
Ryker chuckles. “Yeah. I am.”
He pulls his big brother into a hug, patting his back. “Happy for you, Ryker.” When they break apart, Nick clamps a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m gonna spoil the crap out of your kid.”
Ryker grins wider than I’ve ever seen. “You’d better.”
I tell Madeline and Ryker congratulations. I turn to Nick and see the giddy look on his face. He smiles wider than I’ve ever seen.
He tugs a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna be an uncle.” He looks at Madeline and Ryker. “I can’t wait to teach your kid how to skate. And play hockey. I’m gonna give the best piggy back rides, too.”
I chuckle at how adorably excited he is. That warm feeling from earlier swoops through me once more. Seeing this hockey player bad boy go all soft for his future niece or nephew is making my insides go gooey in the best way.
I didn’t think Nick would be such a sweetie when it comes to kids. But that’s one more thing about him that surprises me in the best way.
Chapter 18
Nick
Ismile at the road ahead as I drive back to the Hollis U campus with Poppy.
“I’m so pumped to be an uncle,” I say.
I glance over at Poppy, smiling at me from the passenger seat.
“You’re going to be a great uncle,” she says. A warm feeling settles in my chest at how good it feels hearing her say that.
“You really think so?” I ask.
“Yeah. You’re going to be fun Uncle Nick for sure. I can picture it now: you’re going to sneak that kid candy for dinner and let them stay up way past their bedtime.”
I chuckle. “Oh, definitely. Ryker’s gonna hate me.”
She shakes her head. “You’re going to be really sweet, too. If it’s a girl, I bet she’ll want to play dress up and do makeup and nail polish with you. And you’re going to say yes to all of it.”
I grin wide. “Absolutely, I will. Dressing up and makeup and nails are fun as hell. I’ll take her out, and we’ll get manis and pedis together if she wants.”
Her head falls back as she laughs.
We come to a stop at a red light, and she stares at me, the look on her face warm. “You’re so sweet.”
Tingles fly through my chest. I’m so used to Poppy rolling her eyes and dismissing me. It feels really, really good to hear her call me sweet. To hear her say that she thinks I’m going to be a good uncle.
“You gotta come to our mani-pedi dates too,” I say, pulling forward when the light turns green.
She laughs softly and shakes her head. “Okay. Maybe.”
I head toward the edge of campus. Her phone rings. She frowns at her phone screen.
