Sincerely, The Puck Bunny (Totally Pucked #2)(34)

I can’t believe I created something so perfect. I can’t believe I’m a dad. I can’t believe I love her so much already, and she’s only been here two days.

“Briggs?”

Looking up, Maddison’s eyes meet mine. A small smile sits on her lips, one that’s just for me, almost like a secret that we share that no one else is privy to.

“Yeah?” I whisper, careful not to stir my little girl from her peaceful sleep. Who knows how long that will last. She’s woken up every hour on the hour to feed from her mama, and if I can hold her even a second longer, I will.

“We’re going to be discharged soon. To go home.”

I chew the inside of my cheek until it’s nearly raw. I don’t want to leave her. Not now, fuck, not ever. Swallowing thickly, I reply, “I know. I wish we didn’t have to.”

Her eyes soften, and I drag my gaze back to Olive.

“I think we have some really important things to discuss, decisions that need to be made and the hospital isn’t a place to do it.” She pauses, clearing her throat from the exhaustion that’s made her voice raspy. “If you want to come home with us today, that would be okay with me. I mean, only if you want to.”

She looks as petrified as I feel, and I understand. Both of our lives have been turned upside down in the past forty-eight hours, and it seems unreal to think that the decisions we make in the next few days will change our lives even more, forever. I just hope that she allows me to be a part of Olive’s life. Their lives.

I nod. “I’d love that. I really don’t want to leave her.”

Her lips stretch into a smile that can only be described as adoration. “She is absolutely perfect.”

“I love her so much already, Maddison. I’m terrified to pull my eyes off of her for even a second.”

“Me too. I’m paranoid that if I look away, she’ll stop breathing. She’s so tiny. Breakable.”

As if she hears us talking about her, Olive begins to stir in my arms, her eyes beginning to crack open. She gazes up at me with dark green eyes that she definitely must have gotten from her mother.

Then she begins to cry, and I know it’s time for a feeding. Every hour, it’s like clockwork. I rise from the chair and walk over to Maddison, gently setting her in her arms, and then I look away as she begins to unfasten her top to feed Olive.

She never asks me to, but I give her privacy during those times she feeds Olive. The primal part of me wants to watch her feed our daughter, and then I realize that it would probably make her feel uncomfortable, seeing as how nothing has been discussed.

Instead, I give her a grin before exiting the room to text the guys. My phone’s been blowing up from our group chat and as I scroll through the messages, I can’t help but laugh.

Graham and Hudson are currently arguing over who’s going to be the best uncle, and if I had to guess, Reed and Asher are going to join in any second.

Graham: Hell no, I’m going to buy her so much cool shit she’s going to love me the most.

Hudson: Eyeroll emoji – Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you can’t buy somebody’s love, rookie? This kid is going to love me the most because I’m going to take her to every hockey game imaginable and I’m going to get her on the ice the second she learns how to walk.

Reed: Both of you sound like idiots, you can’t buy a kid’s love and her dad’s a hockey player, you think taking her to a game is gonna win her over? Nah, I’ve got a kid, I know exactly what to do. I’ll just let you two run around in circles while I take the win.

I keep scrolling, laughing at these idiots that I call friends, until I’m mostly caught up on everything I’ve missed. Graham sends a photo of a custom jersey with his name and number on the back.

Idiots. But hell, they’re my best friends, and no matter what, they’ve been by my side and shown their loyalty. Even at my lowest, they’ve picked me up and carried me when it’s been too heavy to do on my own. I owe them everything.

Me: Look how cute she is when she sleeps.

I type quickly, adding a photo of Olive that I snapped while she was asleep, a smile on her tiny little lips. I’m proud as fuck and I don’t even care that I’m going to be blowing up everyone’s phones with Olive’s pics.

They immediately respond to the photo.

Graham: Fuck, why are babies so cute when they do simple shit? Like eat. Or sleep. Why am I having baby fever right now? Someone tell my dick to fuck off.

Reed: Dude, erase that shit from your brain right now. Babies poop, a LOT. And you might as well kiss sleep goodbye. But... B, she’s fucking perfect and I can’t wait to hold her. Holland says to tell you that she is snuggling her for an hour straight and she will physically fight anyone who stands in her way. She beat me arm wrestling last night and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was naked. Don’t let her small size fool you, she’s a savage.

I laugh out loud at that.

Man, my best friend is whipped. He’s now married to Holland, who just so happens to be his younger sister’s best friend. They had a rocky start at first, after trying to hide their relationship, but ultimately, it came out and everyone was happy for them; they just had to work through their own shit. Now, Holland’s a part of the family. And trust me when I say, I know she’ll bust my balls, and I am quite fond of them so...