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?”