When she didn’t smile back, he rolled his eyes. “Take it off and see, then.”
She eyed him warily, but pulled the two tiny pieces of tape away to remove the gauze. It was a tattoo. A new tattoo.
Breath rushed out of her.
“It’s not a Stanley Cup, but—”
“It’s my name, Henrik. You tattooed my name on you.”
Again, he laughed. “It would appear that way.”
She held his wrist up to his face as if he had no idea what he’d done. “You permanently labeled yourself with my name.”
“Trust me, I know. It hurt.”
“I thought we were taking it slow. I thought—”
He cut her off with a kiss. A perfect, ‘make her forget her name, let alone the fact that he tattooed it on his body’ kind of kiss. “Damn you,” she whispered against his lips, “you’re impossible to argue with anymore.”
He kissed her again. “I know.”
She slowly pulled away, not because she wanted to, but because she had something specific she needed to finish telling him. “Wait.” She laughed when he didn’t move. “I have a surprise for you too.”
He looked at her expectantly. “I’m not sure I can handle any more of your surprises.”
“I owe you this one,” she promised, pointing at the nightstand. “Open that drawer, and look behind the box.”
He followed her instructions cautiously, pulling out the black backpack she carried upon her arrival. “I’d completely forgotten about it,” he said. “You were going to tell me about it when Derek showed up and ruined everything.”
“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “Open it.”
He unzipped the bag and pulled out a stack of papers. He flipped through them. “Are these the papers from the first time you went to the hospital?”
“Yes, it’s all the paperwork about the study. Find the giant card that says congratulations.”
He searched through the stack, pulling out the white card with spiraling handwriting on the front. He opened it up, revealing the small, black and white ultrasound photo displayed inside. He gasped. “Is this her?”
She scooted up next to him on the bed. “Yes. She was just a tiny speck. See?” She pointed at the small, round sac in the middle, smiling.
“She’s grown a lot since then.” He chuckled, glancing back at her stomach, which was now obvious in her tight-knit maternity top.
“You’re telling me. I’m going to have to go buy new pants again.”
“I can take you shopping,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “We can go tomorrow, assuming you’re allowed off bed rest.”
“I’d like that,” she whispered. “I’ve wanted to pick something up for her as well. You know, just to make it all a little more real.”
He nodded. “I know the feeling. Maybe it would help if we could work on giving her a name. That way we have something to call her when we talk about her.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, actually,” she admitted.
“Come up with anything good? Because, honestly, I threw a couple ideas past Sam today, and he looked at me like I was crazy.”
“Wait,” she breathed. “You told Sam?”
He smiled sheepishly at her. “Yeah. I kinda told him about us a while back. I needed someone to talk to.”
“So, that night at the charity event when he said he’d heard a lot about me, he wasn’t stretching the truth.”
“Definitely not.”
She shook her head, laughing. “I’m starting to think we’re going to have to induct Sam into the family.”
“I think I already have,” he admitted. “Anyone who can hold on to a secret like ours deserves it.”
She nervously played with his hand as she smiled down at the way they fit so perfectly together. “What is it?” he asked.
“Lucy,” she whispered, holding his hand tighter.
“What?”
“You asked if I’d come up with anything good for a name, and I want to name her Lucy.”
His body stilled, his hand going limp in hers as he gawked up at her. “My mother’s name was—”
“Lucille,” she finished for him. “I did my research. I would love to name our daughter in her honor.”
Henrik sat on the bed, stunned. “Y-y-you would do that for me?”
She didn’t have to say it, because he already knew her answer.
He leaned in and kissed her. “You’re amazing. I don’t care how our brothers react to the news today. I can’t wait for the world to know about us.”
She smiled. “Me too.”
***
Henrik
That afternoon, Henrik stood outside Daddy Greens, Leila’s favorite pizza hotspot, waiting for everyone to arrive. He uncomfortably played with his watch, making sure it covered his new tattoo. It burned, but the inconvenience was necessary. For now. “Thanks for inviting me to come along,” Sam said, smiling. “I know today is a big deal.”
“Big deal?” Austin questioned, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. “It’s just dinner, Sam.”
“Oh, I know,” Sam tried. “It’s just great news about Leila getting off bed rest.”
Henrik shook his head mockingly at Sam, chuckling under his breath. “You’re horrible at this.”
“Yeah, well, I never said I was good at it,” he whispered back.
“Finally,” Austin announced, pointing down the street at a cab.
Drew cautiously helped Leila out of the back seat, for which she swatted at him like an annoying fly. Once they got closer, Drew practically bounced on his heels with excitement. “Look,” he said, displaying the small piece of paper in his hands. Henrik recognized it as another ultrasound picture. “She’s beautiful! I claim immaculate conception, because this kid is too damn cute to be Derek Deroty’s child.”
“Agreed,” Sam laughed from behind him, peeking around at the picture.
Henrik grabbed the picture the same time his brother froze to stare at Sam. “What are you doing here?”
“Drew,” Leila said, walking up behind him. “Don’t be rude. Henrik invited him.”
“You have to forgive him.” Henrik sighed, too busy turning the picture of his daughter around, trying to figure out which end was up. “My brother doesn’t have a filter.”
“No,” Drew interrupted. “I want to know. What are you doing here?”
“I came to apologize,” Sam said. “If you’ll let me.”
“Wait a second.” Henrik paused, looking up. “You two know each other?”
That’s when he saw it—Sam’s shirt. It brought back the faint memory of a conversation he’d heard. It was the first time he met Sam, at a team dinner, during training camp that summer. He hadn’t been listening to the conversation, too busy scheduling his next encounter on his phone. Someone asked Sam what minor league team he played for before the draft, and he’d answered—
“The Giants.” Everyone stared at him as if he’d just spoken Latin. “The Giants,” he exclaimed again. “You played for the Vancouver Giants before you got drafted here.”
Sam looked at him, confused. “Yeah. Why?”
He whirled around to look at Drew. “You little shit. You haven’t been coming to my games to see me. You’ve been coming to my games all year to see him!”
“Henrik,” Austin bellowed, stepping between them, “you don’t just accuse people of that.”
“No. He’s right,” Drew admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. “And he knows he’s right. I never thought he’d actually put it together.”
“You never thought I’d pay enough attention to you to put it together,” Henrik clarified, before turning on Sam. “And you. You’ve been dating my brother, and you couldn’t even tell me?”
Sam sighed, looking exceptionally guilty. “I didn’t know how you’d react, or how the rest of the team would react. It’s not something you usually discuss in the locker room.”
“No. You do not get an excuse.” He pointed at him.
“Not after all the shit I’ve told you.”
“It’s different.”
“How? I opened up my soul to you that day,” he spat. “I told you about Drew, and hell, I even told you about taking Leila’s virginity. You could have at least given me a heads up.”
“Henrik.”
Leila’s hand touched his elbow, and he looked up just in time to see the stunned faces of his brother and best friend turning on him.
“I’m sorry,” Austin breathed, scratching his head. “Did you just say you told Sam about taking Leila’s virginity?”
“This Leila?” Drew added. “This very pregnant Leila?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, he shot a glare over at Sam. “Thanks a lot, rookie.”
An eruption of voices scattered around him, except Leila, who stepped in front of him, holding up her hands as if she were some kind of WWE referee. “Stop! All of you, just stop.”
“Leila,” Austin exclaimed, his voice rising. “I want answers. Now.”
“I know.” She looked at him, her smile gorgeous and untamed. “Henrik and I will explain everything in time. Right now I just want to celebrate Lucy.”
“Lucy?” Drew let out. “You’re naming her after Mom?”
Henrik nodded, unable to control the smile that burst onto his face at the thought. “Yeah, it was Leila’s idea.”
Drew snatched the ultrasound picture back out of his hand. “So, this is my actual niece? Not just pretend?”
“Yes,” he assured him with a laugh, because he knew now his betrayal would never matter to Drew. “That would be correct.”
“I knew she was too cute to be a Deroty!”
Leila gave Drew a not-so-gentle slap to the shoulder. He cringed, leaning away from her. “What was that for?”
She shot him a pointed look. “You know exactly what. You stood Sam up the other night at the charity event, didn’t you?”
Drew’s face evened back out as he looked at Sam and then back to her. “Yes, I did. He wanted to keep our relationship a secret, and I told him I needed to tell my family. We had a disagreement.”
Leila hit him again. “You should have seen his sad little face.”
“You know I wanted to meet them,” Sam tried, stepping around him. “It’s different for me. I don’t have the kind of support you do. Telling people is still a very frightening concept for me.”
“As mad as I am at him, Sam’s right.” Henrik threw a consoling arm around Sam’s shoulder. “I can understand why he has reservations about members of the team finding out.”
“And you, of all people, should understand that, Drew.” Leila hugged her best friend. “How long would it have taken you to finally tell Henrik if I hadn’t opened my big mouth?”
Drew sighed before he looked over at his brother. “I guess you’re right,” he admitted, absently scuffing his foot on the ground.
“I also haven’t seen you this happy in years,” Henrik reminded him. “Plus, you’re playing hockey again. I have a sneaking suspicion about who has been encouraging that now.
“You know about that?”
“Of course we do,” Leila said and laughed. “Mr. Darrenger told us. He said you’ve been teaching classes, and going to pickup games on Thursday nights.”
“Because no one goes to a club in sneakers,” Henrik added, giving his brother an I-told-you-so look.
“Yeah, well, I guess I do owe Sam that much.”
Sam smiled. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust your judgment.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t more understanding, because you’re right. My family is amazing, and I take that for granted sometimes.”
“Speaking of that,” Henrik announced, “can we go eat now, and celebrate the fact that our family is growing, and I’m having a daughter?”
Drew scoffed. “Forget about you. I’m going to be an uncle!” He proudly held up the ultrasound picture again, smiling as he looked over at Sam. “Want to see my niece?”
“Of course,” Sam smiled back.
Leila shot him a satisfied grin before grabbing both Drew and Sam and leading them inside. Henrik turned around to face his best friend, who still had his arms crossed over his chest, brooding.
Henrik let out an exaggerated sigh. “So? Are we cool?”
Austin eyed him for a moment before grinning. He took one step forward, and with a quick flick of his finger, landed an excruciating blow to the bridge of his nose, across the still healing scar. It sent him to his knees.
He cursed violently, grabbing his face as if Austin had just punched him.
It felt like he did, anyway.
“Yeah, we’re cool.” Austin smiled. “For now.”
Henrik cupped his hand over his face, praying for the stinging pain to fade. When he looked up, Austin stood holding the door open as if he hadn’t just assaulted him. “Was that really necessary?” He blinked back tears.
“Oh, just wait until our next practice,” Austin said with an evil grin, “and then our next game.”
Henrik managed to stumble his way by him toward the door. Austin caught him by the elbow and leaned in further, whispering, “You know, I thought I heard you talking to someone in the bathroom that night after the Devils game.”
Henrik shot him a worried look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Austin shoved him through the door. “For the sake of your nose and our season, let’s just keep it that way.”
“What about our friendship?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.
Austin rolled his eyes. “You’re the father of my niece. I guess I’m stuck with you now.”
“Definitely.”
He wasn’t going anywhere.
“Doesn’t mean I’m not still kicking your ass for lying to me. You’re going to need that new fancy face shield.”
Henrik cautiously touched his nose.
He deserved it, but it would still hurt like hell.
Cautiously allowing his best friend to throw his arm around him, they joined the others at their table. Henrik couldn’t imagine his life getting any better, and as he sat down, scooting up next to Leila, he whispered a heartfelt thank you in her ear.
An ass kicking would definitely be worth it. He took off his watch, showcasing her name forever imprinted on his skin, thrilled the world could finally know how he felt about the girl with hearts.
Acknowledgments
To my husband John who listens to my crazy ideas on a daily basis with a smile. Thank you for your encouragement and your unrelenting faith that I can accomplish anything. It’s only because of your love that the words I write hold even an ounce of truth in them.
To my parents who have always been my biggest fans. You’ve sacrificed more than any parents should, and I appreciate it more than you will ever know. Thank you for teaching me that dreams are only goals that you haven’t accomplished yet.
To Becky and Ralph for your encouragement, and the extra hands babysitting when I needed time to get things finished.
To Jeff for taking time off from studying to read and edit the first drafts. You leave the best beta reader notes. And of course for inspiring my favorite character in the series, Drew, because we all deserve our happily ever after.
To Susan Kinsey. I think you’ve read more of my stories than anyone else. Your comments inspired me to strive for more, and one day I will find a way for another character to end up drunk on the beach with two bottles of Grey Goose in honor of old times.
To Melanie, Whitney, and Kim for indulging my inner nerd from crashing a vampire ball (twice) to midnight releases of my favorite books, even on the night before my wedding.
Thank you to my family, friends, and every person who takes the time to read. Your smiles are the greatest success I could hope to achieve.
Finally, I want to thank my daughters, Delilah and Gracie. I strive every day to be a worthy example for you. To teach you love and kindness. I write for you, so one day you might shoot for that star you
think you can’t reach.
About the Author
Savannah was born in Hyden, Kentucky. She received her M.S in Speech Language Pathology from The University of Mississippi in 2009. She’s been writing since the early age of nine when she begged her parents for a type writer for Christmas.
She now lives in Corbin, Ky with her husband of eight years, John, and their two wonderful daughters, Delilah and Gracie.
When she isn’t working, or running after her kids, she spends her free time traveling the country with her husband. There is nothing better than a day of football in the grove, a late night of basketball at Rupp Arena or slapping the glass to celebrate another Washington Capitals goal.
She is a strong believer that with enough hard work and determination you can accomplish anything.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/savannahblevinsauthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vannajodee
Website:
http://www.savannahblevins.com/
The Girl With Hearts (Midtown Brotherhood #1) Page 20