“I don’t know,” Lacey said, worried.

“Don’t worry, sugar. I’ll sleep with one eye open,” JT rumbled in her ear, kissing her jaw.

“So what, you two are together?” Lacey asked.

“Fuck no,” JT said and Kacey agreed.

“Hell-to-the-fuck no.”

“But you guys are acting like you are,” she said, confused. They were kissing and holding hands. Lacey didn’t think you did that after a one-night stand.

“I respect her. Care how she feels. She’s special, but she also knows this was a one-time thing. I don’t do relationships,” JT informed her.

“Yeah, and I’m good with it,” Kacey said and she was telling the truth. Or at least masking her feelings really well.

Shaking her head before looking at JT, Lacey said, “Couldn’t just keep it in your pants, huh?”

He shrugged. “She’s hot and she put it on me. Couldn’t say no.”

“Whatever, you pushed me into the wall and— Well, I’ll save the details,” she said, her face turning red.

“No, don’t. Come in here and whisper them to me,” he cooed, and then he slowly shut the door as his mouth met Kacey’s, leaving Lacey alone in the hall.

“I thought it was one time,” she mock-whispered at the door.

“Maybe two,” JT groaned through it and Lacey made a face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered. “Karson is going to kill you two,” she yelled under her breath at the door, but when she didn’t hear anything but heavy breathing, she took that as them not caring. Deciding that her turkey needed her attention, she started for the stairs. She hoped that went as planned because so far, her day was full of unexpected surprises.

But the rest of the day was no different.

She guessed everyone woke up on the right side of the bed because yesterday was a thing of the past and everyone was actually civil. Well, if you called Karson threating to kill JT while her father glared at Karl and Sabrina bitched about everything and anything civil, then yeah, it was civil. Along with all that, Zander broke her glass shelf with a hockey puck, and Flynn told her the colors didn’t match in the living room. Rachel was quiet but helpful while Regina suffocated her with love. But really it didn’t bother her. Her dinner was great, and she was able to spend all kinds of time with all the people she loved while being enveloped in the love that Karson gave her.

There wasn’t a moment when he wasn’t kissing her, touching her, or just being near her. When she glanced outside to check on the guys, he met her gaze and she knew that he was thinking of her. He tried to talk to her dad, and even though it didn’t work, he didn’t let it bother him; he kept smiling. He and Grady were best friends again, and it was beautiful seeing him with her nephews. He was so loving and attentive to the kids and it killed her inside.

Since yesterday when they had talked about her keeping the doctor thing a secret, she kept thinking about the kid issue. She really needed to talk to him about that, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t doubt that it would go to hell, and then they would be trying to figure out how to get back from it. It was inevitable, and she knew she couldn’t wait much longer to tell him. He loved her and she loved him; they’d work it out.

Together.

She hoped.

“Best damn dinner I’ve ever had, sweetheart. Good job,” Karl said, rubbing his belly, demanding Lacey’s attention. “Got yourself a winner, son.”

Lacey beamed as Karson grinned. “Yeah, she’s a keeper.”

Everyone smiled and then Nate said, “Your mother would be proud, Lacey. That was a beautiful dinner.”

Pride warmed Lacey’s chest as she leaned into Karson. Meeting his gaze, she kissed his lips and knew exactly what she was thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Karson.

Karson felt like he had just said goodbye to the Martins, but that was two weeks ago, and, unfortunately, he was already back in their presence. At first he wasn’t looking forward to coming back to Chicago—he wasn’t fond of this place—but he was surprised when he found himself having fun off the ice. He thought this trip would be crappy since her dad would surely be around twenty-four-seven, and he was, but Karson just ignored him. There was something about helping Lacey hand out gift bags to breast cancer survivors that made dealing with Nate Martin worth it.

Watching Lacey in her element had to be like watching him in his. She was so caring, so spectacular as she talked to each woman about her struggles and tribulations. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. The annual Lacey’s Lace Foundation Drive was everything Karson had always imagined it to be and was glad to be there to witness it. The women were inspirational, but his wife was an angel. Everyone loved her almost as much as he did, and he was lucky to be able to come to such an event.

But his in-laws, yeah, they still hated him.

Everyone was all smiles until they realized that Karson was standing in the doorway. Then just as quickly as their grins came, the look of distaste replaced it.

With his lip curling up, Nate asked, “You brought him?”

Lacey rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah, he’s playing tonight, and he wanted to be here for the drive.”

“Why?” Sabrina sneered. “You don’t even care.”

“Actually he does, and please don’t talk to him like that,” Lacey demanded. “He has been amazing. The ladies eat him up.”