Stick Play (Boston Bucks #4)

Epilogue

Gina

S ummer Break

We didn’t want to wait to get married, so we tied the knot as soon as the NHL season was over—the Bucks made playoffs but were eliminated after losing to Florida in game six. Zoe, of course was our flower girl while Brady stood for Ash, and Melanie was my maid of honor. We also involved Lucas and Josh, giving them the roles as ushers, and they loved it. Well, Josh loved it. Lucas is still a moody teenager, in need of a male influence.

As the warm Caribbean sun shines down on me, I lift myself up to see my husband swimming to shore. He pulls himself upright and I sigh. I will never get used to the fact that I married such a handsome man. As I look at him now, my fingers itch to touch him, but that will have to wait. He has something secret planned for us, and while we agreed no more secrets, he assured me I was going to enjoy this. What he doesn’t know is that I have a little surprise for him too.

He holds his hand out to me when he approaches, and I can’t take my eyes off the beads of water sliding down his beautiful, muscular body.

“Hey, babe, you ready?”

“I am.” I push up from my seat and go up on my toes to kiss him. He snatches my bag from the sand and tosses it over his shoulder. “I love it here,” I murmur. “Maybe one day we can all come back, Zoe, your dad, Maria, Elena and the boys.”

“I bet they’d love that, but right now, I want you all to myself.”

“I want that too.”

We walk down the private beach, and I have to say, I’m happy we don’t have to worry about anyone taking our pictures. After my post, the media went crazy, and we were big news, so was our wedding. But the media will grow tired of us, because yeah, when it comes right down to it, I do old lady mother things, and Ash does old man father things, and that just doesn’t make for good news.

We walk until we come to a boardwalk, and we step onto it. Ash stops when he comes to a tour boat. “We’re going for a boat ride?” I ask.

He grins like a child ready to burst on Christmas morning and I love it. “Yeah.”

I sigh again. I still love it when he says that one word in that deep husky tone. It does the strangest things to my body. “What are you up to, Ash?”

He whistles innocently. “Climb on, and let’s get into our life jackets.”

I do as he asks, and the captain of the boat brings us jackets and introduces himself. “Are you ready to see some marine life?”

I gasp and turn to Ash. “Are we…”

He finishes my sentence with, “Swimming with the dolphins, yes.” He grins. “I believe that’s the plan. Isn’t that right, Captain?”

“That is the plan.”

I throw my arms around Ash and hug him. “Thank you. I’ve always wanted to do this.” We break apart and I close my fingers around my dolphin necklace, which means so much to me.

The captain begins, “Okay, before we go, there are rules.”

I slip into my life jacket and as we buckle up, the captain tells us the rules. We nod in agreement, not wanting to do anything that would threaten any dolphin’s health or their habitat. After our instructions, we settle back for the boat ride and the captain starts the boat, taking us into deeper waters.

I can’t seem to stop sighing, and Ash nudges me. “Better than work.”

“Better than work,” I agree. I’m definitely not worried about the café. Maria, who’d been helping me out, is now manager of the place. She’d been looking for a place to live, and after Ash asked if we could move in with him, they took over my place above the café. It worked out well for all of us, and I have to say, I love having them in my life.

My place was small for a family of four, so when Elena decided she needed her own space, it was rather convenient that Grant just so happened to have a spare room for her. That makes me laugh. If they think we’re not on to them, they’re wrong. They’re not as sneaky as they think they are. Just like we weren’t as sneaky with our friends or with Grant. Seriously though, what a big happy family we’ve become. A huge smile crosses my face.

“Something funny?” Ash asks and tugs on a strand of my hair.

“Just thinking about family and how happy I am.”

He kisses the side of my head and I put my hand over my stomach. “Oh no. All this motion.”

Panic moves into his eyes. “You’re seasick. Should we turn around?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer. “I’ll talk to the captain.” He makes a move to get up, and I tug him back to me.

“No need. I have meds in my bag.” I point to the bag on the other side of him. “Can you get them for me?”

“Of course.” He reaches into my bag and roots around. He pulls out some antacids and examines the label. “Are these strong enough? I’m not sure they work on seasickness.”

I gesture with a nod. “There should be something else in there.”

He reaches in again, and when he can’t find anything beneath my beach towel, he pulls it out, sets it on the seat and dumps the rest of the contents onto it.

The second his eyes land on the white stick, he stares at it with confusion, like he has no idea what he’s looking at. Then his head lifts as understanding dawns. “Did you do a covid test?”

I laugh at that. I guess he’s seen lines on covid test kits and just assumed that’s what’s going on here.

“No. I didn’t swab my mouth for this test.” I hold his gaze. “I peed on that stick.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, he jumps to his feet, his mouth open but no words forming. The boat turns slightly, and since he doesn’t have his sea legs yet, he nearly falls.

“Whoa.” I jump up and put my arms around him.

He grips my shoulders, and inches back to meet my gaze. “Gina, babe. We’re pregnant.”

I nod. “We’re pregnant.”

“How…when…did you find out?”

I nudge him. “I think you know the how part. For the when part, I found out this morning when you went for a run on the beach. I had a bit of cramping, so I thought I’d give it a try. I was waiting for the right time to tell you.” I glance out at the warm waters of the Caribbean surrounding us. “I think this was the right time.”

He puts his arms around me and picks me up. “We’re having a baby.”

“We are.”

He stops hugging me and sets me down gently. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t hurt the baby, did I?”

I laugh, and it doesn’t surprise me that he’s going to be that kind of attentive, caring partner during pregnancy, and after.

“The baby is a peanut, Ash.”

He frowns. “Maybe you shouldn’t swim with the dolphins.”

“I’m swimming with the dolphins,” I tell him firmly and plant my hand on my hip. “This is a dream come true, and the baby.” I point to my tummy. “And the mommy.” I point to myself. “Are just fine, so daddy can relax.”

“Daddy.” He laughs. “I still can’t believe my little girl calls me that and I get to call her my daughter.”

The love shining in his eyes as he talks about Zoe wraps around my heart and hugs tight. They’ve grown so close, and she has discovered her love of hockey. So have the boys, naturally. Ash takes the three of them skating every chance he gets. Honest to God, he is the best man I’ve ever known, and I get to call him husband.

“Speaking of little girls.” I cup his cheek. “Will a tiny baby girl scare the hell out of you?”

He grimaces. “Oh, God, yes. She’s going to be so tiny and delicate.” He looks at his hands. “How will I even hold her without breaking her?”

I chuckle. “You’ll be fine, but perhaps you’re hoping for a boy.”

“Here’s the thing.” He goes so serious it’s amusing. “I’ve been giving this some thought.”

I arch a brow, anxious to hear this. “Oh, you have, have you?”

“Zoe really wants a sister. So, if we have a boy, and I’m okay with a boy or a girl, but if we have a boy, that means we’re going to have to keep trying until we have a girl. I kind of like the idea of that.”

“Ah, what if we keep having boys?”

“Then we keep trying.” He pulls me tight and snakes his hands around my back.

“But…when do we stop?” Just how many children does this man I call husband want? “I mean, just how big do you want this family to grow?”

The playful look on his face is so adorable, and if we were alone on this boat, I’d show him just how much I love him. “Let’s just say our house is probably going to be too small.”

“It has eight bedrooms,” I practically shriek, and he pulls me tighter against him and laughs.

“We don’t have to move. Some of the kids can share a room.”

I poke his chest. “Ohmigod, I get it. You want to grow your own hockey team.”

He shrugs casually, “Maybe, but what I really want is to grow old with you.”

“Yeah, with your own hockey team!” I smile up at him. “But seriously, I want to grow old with you too, Ash.” As the boat slows, I point down as his erection presses against me. “Now get that thing under control. We’re swimming with dolphins, and we don’t want them to think that’s a squid. Not if you want to make your own hockey team.”

He laughs, picks me up and spins me around, and as he kisses me with all the love and happiness inside him, I realize Camryn was right all along. Wishes really can come true.