Chapter 234: I’m Distracting The Opponent

"Our baby," I whispered, turning my face into his shoulder. "Are they going to inherit your reckless, stubborn streak? Or are they going to be as overly analytical as me?"

Reid let out a low, rumbling laugh that vibrated against my back.

"God help us if they get my impulse control and your stubbornness, Kain. The world won’t stand a chance." He turned his head, his lips trailing down to my jawline, pressing a soft, possessive kiss right below my ear. "But honestly? I don’t care if they want to play hockey, read books, or become something we could never imagine. As long as they’re ours, they’ll have everything."

My heart swelled, a deep, unshakeable warmth settling into my bones.

Reid shifted, pulling me a little closer into his lap as the stars began to pinprick the darkening sky above the ocean. He rested his chin on my shoulder, his breathing steady, deep, and rhythmic against my ear.

"What would you like to do tomorrow?"

"Well," I said, tilting my head back to meet his gaze with an amused smirk, "since the beach is officially a hot zone unless we want another sprint back to the gates, I say we stay well within our private perimeter."

"I like the sound of that," Reid murmured, his eyes glittering with lazy mischief. "What’s the play, honey?"

"First, we make full use of the private infinity pool," I declared. "I heard there are no cameras there because celebrities tend to visit there a lot. So, it’s just warm water and no running."

"Sounds like a plan."

The next day turned out to be an absolute, uninterrupted dream.

We kicked off the morning with a slow, weightless swim in the secluded pool overlooking the cliffside. Floating in the heated water with the ocean stretching out far below us was pure bliss, especially for my recovering leg and the subtle, growing weight in my belly.

Reid spent half the time dragging me around the water like a floating lounge chair, resting his chin on my shoulder and pressing soft, wet kisses to my neck whenever I tried to splash him.

Afterward, the villa’s private chef treated us to an elaborate, multi-course Hawaiian brunch out on the shaded patio. Between devouring fresh tropical fruit, coconut pancakes, and mountain-high piles of bacon, we dragged out a dusty set of board games from the living room closet.

What was supposed to be a casual game of chess quickly devolved into a fiercely competitive showdown.

"You’re cheating," Reid accused, narrowing his dark grey eyes as I slid my bishop across the board with a satisfied smirk.

"It’s called strategy, rookie," I teased, leaning back in my chair. "Maybe if you stopped trying to power-play your way through every turn, you’d see the trap coming."

"I don’t need strategy when I have sheer force," he growled playfully, reaching across the small table to grab my wrist, pulling me forward until my lips brushed his. "Besides, I’m distracting the opponent."

Unbelievable.

It ended with him knocking half the pieces off the board to pull me into his lap, turning our little game room into a mess of laughter and breathless, lazy kisses that lasted straight through the afternoon.

By the time night fell, the sheer warmth and contentment of the day settled into a deep, heavy exhaustion.

Later that evening, after a warm shower and a quiet dinner, we collapsed onto the massive king bed. The patio doors were cracked open just enough to let in the gentle, rhythmic hush of the Pacific waves.

Reid was already fast asleep, sprawled out on his side with his head resting comfortably against my chest. His arm was wrapped possessively around my waist, his large palm resting flat, warm, and heavy over the small swell of my lower stomach where our baby rested.

I lay there in the dim moonlight, absolute silence enveloping the room. Slowly, tenderly, my fingers threaded through his thick blonde hair, stroking the soft waves away from his forehead.

Looking down at his peaceful, sleeping face, my mind gradually drifted toward the horizon, waiting for us back home.

We couldn’t stay in this tropical paradise forever. Once this honeymoon ended and we flew back to Seattle, a completely new Chapter would begin. Reid would have to step into the massive, intimidating world of the McCoy empire, learning the ropes of corporate leadership and preparing to eventually take his place at the top.

And then there was me.

For the longest time, I had assumed that when my playing days ended, I would naturally transition into coaching. It made sense on paper. I knew tactical plays inside and out, I knew how to lead a locker room, and hockey was all I had ever known.

But every time I thought about standing on the sidelines, wearing a suit behind the glass, watching other players lace up their skates and glide onto the cold ice... a quiet, sharp ache twisted in my chest.

The trauma of my injury, of having the game torn away from me before I was ready, was still too fresh. I knew, deep down, that being that close to the ice without being able to play would only break my heart over and over again. As such, coaching was out of the question.

My fingers paused in Reid’s hair as a new, quiet realization began to take root in my mind.

I wanted to further my education. I wanted to go back to school, earn a degree, and build a path that wasn’t defined by a rink or a stick. But more than that... I wanted to build a path that ran right beside his.

Reid had given up so much for me, standing by my side when the world was tearing us apart. If he was stepping into the corporate world, then I wanted to understand that world too. I wanted to study business, management, or executive leadership—not just to keep my mind sharp, but so that one day, when the McCoy empire called on him, I could stand right beside him in those boardrooms. Partner on the ice, partners in life, and partners in business.

A soft, genuine smile touched my lips in the dark.

I leaned down, pressing a gentle, lingering kiss to Reid’s temple. His breathing stayed deep and steady, his fingers twitching slightly over my belly as if instinctively protecting our child even in his sleep.

I closed my eyes, resting my head back against the pillows, feeling the warm beat of his heart under my cheek. The future was vast, unknown, and completely unwritten—but as I drifted off to sleep, wrapped in the arms of the man I loved, I had never felt more ready.