Slap Shot (D.C. Stars, #3)

by Chelsea Curto

“Yeah?” She reaches behind me and holds a butter knife in front of her. “Should we test that theory?” “Baby, you can do whatever you want to me,” I say, and when she gently presses the cool silver against my neck, I let out a rough breath. “I definitely have a knife kink.”

“What else do you like?” “Your perfect fucking tits. Your smile. Your hips when I hold them and fuck you from behind. How you do this small laugh right before you come and the way you whisper my name when something feels really fucking good.”

have a confession to make. It’s a secret I’ve been keeping for you for months.” “Um.” I lick my lips, nervous. I’m open-minded when it comes to sex, but I don’t know where this is going. “Okay. What is it?” “I heard you getting off one night.”

His cheeks are red, and he’s still staring between my legs. “You—” He licks his lips and grins. “You squirted a little when you came. I didn’t know if that… did that feel good?” “I did?” I touch the sheets under my ass and cover my face with my hands. “Oh my god. I’ve never done that before. I’m sorry. That’s⁠—” “The hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he finishes for me. “Look at me, Maddie.”

“You know how jealous I get.” “Yeah.” She tugs on my shirt and brings my mouth close to hers. “I do. But you’re hot when you’re jealous. It kind of makes me want to find out who your biggest rival is and wear their jersey to the arena.” “Easy there, romance reader. I don’t have any rivals, so you’re stuck wearing mine.”

“Thinking about playing in front of twenty thousand fans in a few hours doesn’t have me stressed out. But this does. I’m sweating through my shirt.” I touch my Stars T-shirt and grimace. “Disgusting.” “They’re six, Hudson.”

“Could you cover your eyes for a minute, Mads? I want to have a private conversation with Luce,” I say, and she laughs, obliging. Mommy looks silly. She does, doesn’t she? Can I tell you a secret, Lucy? Sure. She grins. I love secrets. I love your mom. Very much. I’m going to tell her soon. Do you think that would be okay with you? If I was around more? Like a dad? My friends say their daddies love their mommies. I’ve never had a daddy. Yeah. I swallow. Like a dad. Yes, she tells me with tears in her eyes. That would be okay. Mommy and I love you, too.

“We brought you breakfast.” He walks into the room and Lucy scoots over so he can join us on the bed. “Lucy and I made pancakes and bacon. With a side of mashed potatoes because they’re your favorite food.” He sets the tray in my lap, and I notice two cards next to the plates. “Happy Mother’s Day, Maddie.”

“You told me your dad used to buy your mom flowers whenever she had a hard day, so I got some seeds for you. I thought we—sorry, you—could build a flower bed on your balcony and plant the seeds. You could have flowers whenever you want, and it could be like your mom is here with us all the time.” He takes the seeds and runs his fingers over the letters on the packaging. “You… you did this for me?” “I’m sure today must be hard for you, and I wanted to do something to make it less hard.”

He clutches the seeds like they’re the most important things in the world to him, and when he glances at me, a tear rolls down his cheek. “Thank you,” he whispers. “This is perfect.”

“There’s something else I want to say to you.” “I love you,” he says all of a sudden, and I freeze. “I love you so much. You and Lucy are the greatest things to ever happen to me, and I… I love you so much it hurts, Maddie, to think about my life without you in it. I… I can’t hold it in anymore. I know I said I’d be patient, but you need to hear it and⁠—” “I love you, too,” I blurt out, a sob escaping me with the four words. “I love you so much, and I’ve loved you for so long. Even when I didn’t know what the feeling was. You’ve done so much for me and for Lucy and… I just want to make sure you’re sure. That this is really what you want, because there’s not going to be a wedding. There aren’t going to be more kids. It’s going to be the three of us, and I want to know if that’s enough.”

“I love you. I think I’ve loved you for months, but I finally let myself accept it, you know? I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.” “You’re right on time, sweetheart.”

“And Liam could’ve stopped the two goals the Owls had in the second period,” I say, and the ghost of a laugh falls out of him. “What’s so funny?” “Nothing.” A small smile, little wrinkles around his eyes. His dimple, softness in his words. “You… you’re doing exactly what my mom would do with me after a loss.”

She’d go through minute by minute and tell me all the other mistakes that happened during the game—the ones I didn’t make—and remind me I might’ve messed up, but I didn’t do it alone.”

Hi, Lucy signs as she makes her way to the living room. Great game tonight. Thanks, princess, he replies, beaming. Do you know what kind of shot I scored with? A slap shot,

His mouth moves as he reads the first couple of sentences, and I see the moment understanding dawns. The papers fall from his shaky hands and land in his lap. He looks up at us with wide eyes. “It’s an adoption petition,” he says slowly, signing at the same time. Lucy wants you to be her dad, I explain, and Lucy nods along beside me. You’re her favorite person in the world. She wants to be a part of your family, and she wants to have you be a part of ours. Legally. Officially. In every sense of the word.

“This is the easiest answer of my life.” Hudson glances at Lucy and signs, Are you sure? Yes, Lucy answers, and she lunges for him. He holds her in a hug and buries his face in her hair. I love you, she adds when she pulls away to look up at him. I love you too, Lucy girl. Hudson looks at me, and his eyes are wet with tears. “Thank you.”

I’m the luckiest guy to have such amazing girls. Get me a pen and let me sign. I would’ve said yes on day one.