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Carlie ends up spending every night with me, and I even manage to convince her to move most of her things over to my house. The next week is crazy between my problems with the team and her work schedule, and I finally decide to hash everything out one night after we eat dinner.

“We can clean the kitchen a little later. I think we need to get a few things straight,” I tell her and take her hand in mine to lead her to the sofa. I notice worry shining from her golden eyes before she’s able to hide it. “I don’t want to have any misunderstandings between us,” I explain, hoping to dispel some of her unease.

“Oh.” She relaxes against me. “That’s a good idea.”

“First of all, I want you to know I almost lost my mind when you disappeared from the hotel room. I wanted to kick my own ass for not getting your name.”

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have run out on you, but I woke up thinking you’d only wanted a one-night stand.” She shrugs. “I didn’t know how to handle the morning after, so I decided to get out before you came out of the bathroom.”

Her explanation eases something deep inside of me. “I almost turned Houston upside down looking for you.” That’s an understatement. “I’m pretty sure the hotel permanently banned me after I made a scene in the lobby.” I couldn’t believe I was stupid enough to let my soulmate slip through my fingers. “I came back to Silver Spoon Falls and took my unhappiness out on my players.”

“What a waste of time.” Carlie sighs and leans against my side. “I was terrified when I found out about the baby, but I was also so happy to have a little piece of you.”

“Don’t worry, Tigress. I plan to give you several more pieces of me in the future. In fact, I plan to keep you barefoot and pregnant for the foreseeable future.”

“Now, wait a minute, Mr. Neanderthal.” She sits up straight and gives me a glare, but the smile teasing the edge of her luscious lips gives away her real thoughts. “Do I have any say in your plans?”

“You have all the say in the world.” I pull her curvy body back against me and lean over to place a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy. And I’ll even put a little effort into making sure you agree with my plan for lots and lots of kids.”

“Why don’t we wait until this baby comes, and then we can decide how many kids we can handle.”

“That sounds like a great plan to me.” A thought suddenly occurs to me. We haven’t discussed her job. “Would you consider quitting your job? I have plenty of money and there’s no need for you to work.”

“I need to think about it.” She stands up and turns to stare down at me. “I worked my rear end off to earn my degree, and I’m not sure I want to give up my career before it even gets started.”

“Take all the time you need, Tigress. I’ll support whatever decision you make.” It won’t be easy for us to both have stressful, time-consuming jobs, but I refuse to force Carlie to do something she might regret later. If my woman wants to continue working at the hospital, we’ll find a way to make it work.

This has been the goddamn day from hell. I ended up working late to deal with more player drama and finally make it home much later than usual. I rush through a shower and eat a quick dinner, then I quickly load the dishwasher. I finish up with about ten minutes to spare before I have to leave for the hospital.

I’m about to walk out the door when my phone rings. I see Dillon’s name flash across the screen and dread answering.

“I don’t care if the town is burning down. I’m busy.”

“I’m betting you aren’t too busy for this.”

“You’d lose that goddamn bet.”

“Jensen is drunk off his ass at the Park Avenue Bar, making an ass out of himself.” Fucking hell. I’m tempted to say to hell with it and let him go, but I can’t bring myself to leave my friend hanging out to dry.

“What the fuck is going on? Is it a goddamn full moon or something?” My best winger had an off day today and I knew something was going on, but I had no idea it was this serious. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him take a drink before.

“I have no idea, but you need to get down there before he pisses someone off or some puck bunny takes it upon herself to help cheer him up.”

“Can you pick Carlie up from the hospital at eleven-thirty and drop her off at my house?” I know it’s asking a lot, but I don’t have a choice.

“When did I become the Silver Spoon Falls taxi service?” Dillon grumbles.

“Around the time I became the hockey team therapist.” It’s all part of the job.

“Touché,” he grits out. “But you owe me big time.”

Before I leave, I send my girl a quick text.

Me

One of my players is drunk and needs me to come rescue him. Dillon is going to bring you home from work. I won’t be long.

Tigress