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.