“What do you mean?”

Clicking send, he said, “Check your email.”

“Okay?” she questioned slowly. He heard her computer open and then it sounded of an email. “What is this?” she asked and he cleared his throat again.

“It’s a puck bunnies site where pictures of hockey players are posted. Are you there?”

“Yeah,” she said sharply. “And on the front page is my husband with some tramp practically in his lap.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how pictures were taken.”

“Oh, and look, they tagged my site. Bet I’ll get a lot of traffic from this,” she said, and he didn’t miss the sarcasm.

“Yeah, told you I was going to be the one apologizing,” he said, forlorn.

He didn’t say anything and the silence was killing him. Finally, she said, “I thought you said she kissed the side of your mouth.”

“It’s the angle. She didn’t kiss me full-on, I promise.”

“Hm,” she muttered, and it was as if she was slowly jabbing him in the gut with the butt of a hockey stick. “My dad said she kissed you but didn’t say if it was the side or not,” she said offhandedly and that irritated him.

“Talked to your dad about it?”

“Yeah, and he denied all your claims,” she said, the sharpness back in her voice.

Shaking his head, he said, “Don’t doubt it. Bet he told you he would never do that to you because he loves you so much and never wants you to be unhappy.”

“Funny, ’cause that’s exactly what he said,” she snapped and his blood boiled.

“You know he did this, right? He probably took the fucking pictures himself.”

“Oh, be real! Like my dad knows about this site.”

“I’m telling you, this is his doing,” Karson promised. “I have no way to prove it, but I wish you’d believe me.”

“I don’t know what to believe. You told me that it wasn’t that bad. This is bad. This looks like you guys are planning something.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Lacey, you know me better than that. I don’t want anyone but you.”

“So you say,” she retorted. “How do I know what you do when I’m not there?”

He couldn’t believe this. “So now you don’t trust me?”

“No, I do,” she cried, and even though he was mad, it cut him down to size. He didn’t like hearing her cry. “I can’t believe this has happened, and I wish you’d leave my dad out of it. I really don’t think you’d do this to me because I know how much you love me, but why bring him into it?”

“Because he is to blame for it. He set the whole fucking thing up!” he yelled, and when she took in a deep breath, he regretted saying that. It was over and he knew the truth. While it would be ideal for Lacey to believe him, he had no proof, and there was nothing he could do to change her mind. Her dad had some kind of hold on her and it drove Karson crazy, but he was her dad and he had to respect the stupid son of a bitch. So, swallowing his pride because he refused to lose her, he said, “But, you know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for this girl coming up to me and taking a picture of her kissing me and posting it online. I am sorry they tagged your site, and I’m sorry that this looks bad. My lawyer is on it, and hopefully, everything will be taken down soon.”

“That would be great if that could happen,” she muttered as she sniffed back her tears. He wanted nothing more than to be there with her, to hold her and make it better, but he was six states away.

“I’ll make sure of it. I’m sorry.”

“I just want it all to go away, and I want you to stop blaming my dad for stupid shit. This wouldn’t have been a fight if you hadn’t blamed him. I had no problem believing you. I trust you.”

Biting his lip until he tasted blood, he held in his retort. If she fucking trusted him, then she would know her dad was a lying fucking dick. But fine, he wouldn’t blame her dad for shit anymore. He’d bite his tongue and pray that he didn’t come between them, but Karson couldn’t shake the feeling that Nate Martin would.

That he would succeed for a second time.

“Okay, I love you, Lacey,” he said, closing his eyes as he leaned on his hand. This was so exhausting, but he’d keep on fighting just to hold on to her. Nothing was going to come between them. He wouldn’t allow it. Lacey was his forever. “So much, and I’m sorry that we are dealing with this shit. I miss you and can’t wait to be home.”

“I love you, text me when you get in,” she said, but Karson didn’t believe one bit that she meant the words.

And that scared him to the core.

Lacey checked the clock for a third time.

It was well past three in the morning, and she hadn’t heard from Karson. Letting out an annoyed breath, she couldn’t believe that she allowed herself to end their phone call the way she had. It was childish and stupid of her. She basically just brushed him off, and he deserved better than that. When she told him she loved him, she better mean it every time or there was no point in even fighting for their love.

She was a being a bitch, but then, he was being an idiot.

Instead of owning up to the mistake he made—or not even that he made, the situation he was put in—he was trying to throw the blame on her father. She wasn’t saying that she was sure that her father hadn’t set Karson up, but she did find it hard to believe. She really did think that Karson was being paranoid. He didn’t like the situation and needed an out; her father was that out. That was going to have to stop or things were going to get real ugly quick. She wouldn’t stand for that. Not when she had already put a stop to her dad bad-mouthing and bashing Karson. They needed to learn to get along because she needed both of them in her life.