I held out my hand. “I’m Kayden. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Riley,” I said.
She shook her head. “None of that, please. Val is fine. It’s nice to meet you too. You must really be something if you captured the hearts of these two.” She looked me over like she was looking for the reason, but just then Kaylee came running back into the room with a talk, dark-skinned man on her heels.
“This is Carl,” Olivia said. “Carl, you remember Jace, and this is our boyfriend, Kayden.”
I stepped forward to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you. How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” he said. “Feels like I got a whole new ticker now.”
Val laughed and pressed her hand to his chest. “Well, you don’t, so don’t go getting cocky on me.”
He kissed the top of her head and we made small talk for a few minutes, talking about the hockey game we were headed to and my job. In the end, it wasn’t quite as chill as the vibe at Sloane and Lavi’s, who’d treated me like they’d known me forever right away, but I certainly feltwelcome and accepted by Val and Carl. Jace gave Kaylee a small Harrison jersey and she pulled it on over her clothes and started yanking on each of our arms to get us to leave for the game. We said our goodbyes and headed for the arena.
It didn’t take long to get inside and find our seats but Jace and Olivia each had a drink in their hands, so I carried Kaylee through the crowd until Jace pointed to our row and we slid in next to a woman with long, dark hair and a small baby bump visible with her jersey tucked in to her jeans. She smiled broadly upon spotting us.
“Hey, Soph,” Jace said, embracing her. He gave Olivia room to squeeze by him so she could hug her too, and Olivia and Sophia sat down next to each other, while Jace and I got Kaylee settled between us. Olivia and Sophia were already chatting and another wave of feeling like the odd man out crept over me. I tried to ignore it as Jace made a point to introduce me to his cousin’s wife.
“Sophia, this is our boyfriend, Kayden,” he said.
Sophia leaned forward and waved from several seats away. “It’s so nice to meet you. Leo’s mind has truly been blown for the last twenty-four hours that his perpetual bachelor of a cousin decided to settle down with two partners, so there was a lot of speculation on his part about how hot you must be to have captured Jace’s attention. He can’t wait to meet you.”
I laughed. “Well, I hope I don’t disappoint him.”
“You won’t,” Olivia said.
Sophia laughed and seemed to smile in agreement. Olivia asked her about her pregnancy and the two of them got lost in conversation again. As I watched, the nature of how well they already knew each other hit me. Kaylee broke into a bag of chips and Jace sipped his beer.
His eyes roamed over me and my skin heated. “Are you okay, Kayd?”
I nodded. “I just feel like it’ll take forever for me to catch up. You and Olivia already share so much.”
He reached around Kaylee and squeezed my shoulder. “It won’t take long.” He looked at Kaylee who was watching intently as the lights dimmed for the players to take the ice. “Hey, kid, can we switch seats?”
She nodded before doing a quick shuffle with Jace. He set his beer down on the ground and put an arm around my shoulders. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going to tell you all about Leo’s hockey career, starting from the age of five, and then I’m going to tell you about how he and Sophia got together.”
I turned to face him. “Why?”
He gave me a quick kiss. “To help you catch up, baby. We’re not going to leave you behind. So, listen carefully.”
I rested my head on his shoulder and listened intently as he dove into a story about how Lavi got Leo his first part of skates—and a puppy—when he was five. By the end of the game, Kaylee was sitting in my lap, and I knew more about Leo than I knew about most people in my life, proving that if there was one thing Jace could do, it was make me feel like I was a part of his family in record time.
We went to alate dinner with Sophia and Leo after the game, which meant Kaylee was up well past her bedtime and it wasn’t a surprise at all when she fell asleep in the booth. Whatwasa surprise was that she curled up in my lap just before she did. I’d never held my sleeping daughter before, and my heart grew two sizes in that moment. I’d have stayed there all night, talking with the four of them about whatever they wanted aslong as it meant holding Kaylee. Olivia and Jace sat on either side of me and both seemed equally as touched by the moment.
These were the little things I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to. A lot of parents didn’t treasure these moments by the time their child was Kaylee’s age, but I had a feeling I’d never stop treasuring them, and that felt like a gift in its own way. There was so much about our situation that felt like kismet. When we were finally done chatting and everyone was ready to go home, I carried Kaylee to the car and strapped her into her car seat.
Leo and Sophia hugged us all goodbye, and I felt grateful for the way they’d immediately put me at ease in their presence.
“Thanks for getting an extra ticket for me at the last minute. It was great to meet you,” I said to Leo.
Leo smirked at me and clapped me on the shoulder. “Welcome to the family, man. I’m glad Jace has two awesome partners who love him.”
I caught the flash of a camera from across the street and turned toward it but couldn’t make anything out in the dark.
“It was really great meeting you, Kayden,” Sophia said as she came in for a final hug. “Guess we’ll be seeing you for Christmas at least?”
“Yeah.” I smiled as I shut Kaylee’s door. “Looking forward to it.”
