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

by Chelsea Curto

“How the fuck am I supposed to focus on hitting a goddamn puck when the man who divorced the woman I fucking love sits in the stands without getting a piece of my fucking mind? He left them because his daughter is deaf. Do you know how horrible he is?”

“I love you,”

“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. I take a breath and stop signing. “I know this is a big step. You don’t have to say yes right away—or at all. We’re not married, and⁠—” “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.