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I winked at her. “Only on the ice.”
Dev made a grumpy noise. “How about you clowns go out and get the bags? And put a shirt on.”
I gave him the finger. “In a minute. I want to show Nova her room.”
River rolled his eyes at me. “He’s basically been watching the Lifestyle channel for a week to get it right. We could’ve just hired an interior designer but…”
I waved him away, moving around the recliner to Nova. I gave her a hug, wrapping her gently in my arms, the baby between us. “I’m glad you’re here. Come on, let me show you your room and the nursery.”
Dev grunted something not very nice, before telling her, “Don’t mind Rigby—he’s a hugger.”
Normally, I’d snark something back and then force him to hug me, but I didn’t have time. Both of the guys pretended not to like it, but when I hugged them, I felt their bodies relax. They just weren’t used to it—another byproduct of their upbringing.
“Touch is one of the cornerstones of human development and happiness, Dev. Hugging makes you happy. You should try it.” I gave him a haughty look and held my hands out for Huey. “May I? There’s a whole bunch of stairs between here and there.” Not that I thought she’d drop him.
Nova handed me Huey with only a little hesitation, and I held him in my hands and pulled a goofy face at him, making him smile. Or maybe he was pooping. I didn’t know enough about babies to decipher.
She eyed me up again, her eyes lingering on my abs, and I swallowed down my grin. Looking over at the guys, I saw they were both glaring at me. I rolled my eyes at them and moved toward the stairs.
“Let’s go. If you hate it, you can always change it. Just didn’t think you wanted to sleep inside beige. The other room was gray, and honestly, that’s even worse. I kept it pretty neutral, so you can redesign it to your taste.” I looked over my shoulder to make sure she was keeping up. She was looking around the place, her head whipping from side to side. “We’ll give you the full tour in a minute, but I think it's nice to know where your own space will be, right?”
She nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Okay, so all the bedrooms are on this floor,” I explained. “When Huey gets bigger, we’ll put a baby gate up here, stop him from making a run for it down the stairs.” I pointed to my bedroom on the left-hand side closest to the stairs. “This is my room. Just knock if you need anything, anytime.” I tried not to make it sound sleazy. “Down that hall is Devan’s room. And off to that side is the games room and home cinema.” I moved off to the right, down another short hall. “Down here were the guest rooms, but we’ve turned the middle one into a nursery and I got them to put a doorway between your two rooms. The nursery has two doors; the other one opens out into the hallway just outside Devan’s sitting room, so just let him know if you ever need a hand with Huey. I promise you, he’ll be all too happy to help.”
I shuffled the baby on my chest a little higher. “We’ll all be happy to help. You just need to ask. Isn’t that right, champ?” I cooed at the baby. I was kind of nervous for this part. “The doors all lock from the inside, though, just in case you’re worried. I want you to feel safe here until you know you can trust us completely.”
There was a short, plain hall, then it opened up into the bedroom. There was a soft pink abstract painting on the wall, and I’d tied it with the blush comforter set on the brand new bed. Hints of gold and deep forest green were dotted around the room, including the occasional chair in the corner and a pale wood bookcase, with just a couple of books to make it look less like a hotel.
“Like I said, change it however you like. The ensuite is through there.” I pointed off to the left. I scratched the back of my neck self-consciously when she said nothing, so instead I led her into Huey’s room. It was like hockey met the zoo, and I heard her soft laugh as she came inside. “With two uncles as professional hockey players, there weren’t a whole lot of ways this could go, I’m afraid.”
I’d had a hell of a lot of fun decorating this room. There were polar bears and penguins on skates, as well as our logo, and everything was done in the blues and yellows of the IceCaps colors. Lying across the rail of the crib was a tiny little IceCaps jersey, and she picked it up.
“River got him that. I’m pretty sure he investigated how small ice skates actually came. He can’t wait to teach him.”
Nova huffed out a chuckle and turned around in a circle, gazing around the room. “It’s beautiful, Rigby. Thank you. Both rooms… I mean, you didn’t have to go to all that effort.”
Stepping closer, I handed her back the baby. “I know this seems like a lot, but I swear it to the hockey gods, you’re going to be happy here. The guys… they don’t know how to express themselves sometimes, but they’re happy you’re here too. Huey needed a mama, and it’s going to take a little while to come to terms with the fact that this all turned out for the best, even if they have no legal rights to Huey. A house full of bachelors and a nanny is no way to raise a kid, but they’ve never had the influence of a mother in any way that wasn’t painful.”
She frowned, and I bit my tongue. Ah shit, I’d said too much.
Pasting a grin on my face, I guided them back out into the hallway. “Dev’s room is through there if you need him,” I said, pointing to the closed door. “Now, let me show you the rest of the house. Did I tell you we have a pool?”
ChapterEight
NOVA
I was overwhelmed.This wasn’t a house—it was a freaking mansion. It had a pool, cinema, gym… and Devan’s sitting room? A full-blown library. The ensuite to the nursery had been converted to a butler’s pantry, and had everything I’d need to make bottles in the middle of the night, or bath him, or anything.
Rigby bounced around me like an excited puppy, wanting to show me everything all at once. A half-naked puppy. A sexy, half-naked puppy. He showed me every square inch of the house, Huey cradled easily in his arms as if he weighed absolutely nothing at all.
When we got to the kitchen, I gasped. “Oh. My. God.”
He grinned, and it was a heartstopping expression on his handsome face. “Right? None of us can really cook—we usually get shit sent in—but even I know this kitchen is impressive. Do you like to cook?”
Ilovedto cook. More specifically, I liked to make chocolate. It had been nearly impossible in my tiny apartment, and not much easier in my parent’s house. But with these marble countertops, and a six-burner stovetop?
Holy shit.
