“I love her, Austin. You know that. Hell, you’ve always known that.”
Austin’s lips stretched tight before placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “I know this sucks.”
“No,” he argued. “She’s alive. You didn’t see her lying there, barely breathing. You didn’t hold her in your arms, wondering if maybe it would be the last time. Leila is alive, and so is that child. That is the only thing that matters, and that, Austin, is by far the best fucking news I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Austin pulled him in for a hug, attempting to squeeze the life out of him. “Leila may never love you, but by God, I sure as hell do.”
“I know.” He could only hope he still felt that way once he was free to make his final confession.
The door opened behind them, revealing Drew, who also wore a weak smile. “Leila wants Austin and me to go home and get her things since she’s going to be here a couple days, which, of course, is Leila’s code for she wants to talk to you alone.”
Henrik looked back at his best friend. “You don’t have to worry about me, all right? I would never let anything happen to her.”
Austin nodded. “I trust you.”
Again, he felt it, just like the night Leila had spoken the words. Even after all the shitty things he’d done, his family still believed in him. It was amazing how three simple words could have so much significance.
He said his goodbyes to Austin and Drew, and stepped back in the room. Leila sat up in the bed, a nurse at her side drawing blood. He rushed over and took her hand just as she stuck her. Leila winced. “Well, your nose doesn’t look any more broken than it did the last time I saw you. I’m assuming you lied to them?”
He smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “I thought it was something we might want to tell them together.”
The nurse removed the needle and started cleaning up. Leila still looked at him, though, her eyes flashing with light. “Together?”
“Yes, Leila. Never doubt that.”
He held on to her for dear life. After everything he’d experienced in the last twenty-four hours, he was more certain than ever that he could never truly be happy without her in his life. “I will always be here for you.”
She looked down at her hands, seemingly ashamed. “I was afraid you’d be angry,” she admitted. “I mean, I should have mentioned to you that night that I wasn’t on any kind of birth control.”
“Maybe,” he smiled, running his hand across her cheek, “but I should have asked. It doesn’t matter now.”
“We’re going to be parents.” Her features were straight. Serious. “You’re going to be a father.”
He laughed. It was a little bit hysterical. “Not going to lie, but you’re probably going to have to say that a couple hundred more times before it actually sinks in.”
“This is major, Henrik. This baby, it’s going to change our lives forever. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
He gripped his hand in her hair, willing her to hear the confidence he felt. “Will the thought that I’m actually going to be a father always sound shocking to me? Probably. Will I be horrible at it? Most likely. But Leila, I promise you, I will never regret you or—” he paused looking down at her stomach and then back over at the monitor “—do you know yet? Are you far enough along?”
She gave a slight nod, smiling from ear to ear. “It’s early, but they think it’s a girl. I found out right before you came in.”
“A girl? I’m going to have a daughter.” He shook his head at the thought. “Fucking serves me right.”
“Yeah,” she said, laughing. “That’s what I thought too.”
He continued to laugh as he leaned over and pulled her mouth to his. Perfect. The Leila kind of perfect. “I love you. I’ve never meant something so much in my fucking life.”
He felt her smile against his lips, her reassuring hand gripped tight around his shirt. “I love you too.”
Chapter 26
HENRIK AND LEILA’S REVEAL
Leila
Four days later, Leila finally made it home. She’d barely been settled in for twenty-four hours, and she already wanted to string Drew up by his ears. Technically, she was on bed rest until her next doctor’s appointment that afternoon. Drew wouldn’t allow her to set a foot on the floor. He made her breakfast—burnt and black— and lunch in bed, all while badgering her with questions about Derek, and more importantly, the details of conception.
She could fake a lot of things, but the details of conception wasn’t one of them.
Needless to say, by the time Henrik arrived after lunch, he was a welcome sight. She motioned for him to shut the door as soon as he walked through it. “Lock it,” she instructed.
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? Your brother is what’s wrong.” She raked her hands through her hair, trying to calm her nerves. “We’ve got to tell them, Henrik. I can’t ward off his questions about Derek forever. He wants me to get a lawyer. He’s micromanaging my every move.”
Henrik held back a laugh. “He’s a Rylander. You should know by now that micromanaging other people’s lives is what we do best.”
“We are telling them,” she said gruffly. “Today.”
He sat down on the bed next to her. “We can if that’s what you want. I’m not happy about missing your doctor’s appointment today anyway, and this way, I won’t have to fight Drew to take you next time.”
“I know they will probably be upset, but we can tell them after my appointment, and I’ll have a new picture of the baby to show off. It will distract them.”
“It will distract Drew, but Austin is doubtful.”
“So, it’s settled,” she said, gushing out her relief. “We can meet for dinner after your practice?”
He nodded, touching his black and blue nose gently. “It just started healing too.”
Leila grabbed his wrist, noticing a piece of gauze taped around it. “What happened to you?”
“Oh. That.” He suddenly grinned nervously. “That’s nothing.”
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.”