He moved his nose slowly up hers, his eyes never leaving hers as he whispered, “Nothing could ever measure the amount of love I have for you, and nothing in this world could change that. I love you, Lacey Martin, and I am going to give you the life you deserve. Me and you, against everything.”

Pausing at the door, Lacey let her head drop back as she swallowed the tears that were begging to fall. It had all seemed so perfect, almost magical, and honestly she didn’t know how it went so fucking wrong. Shaking her head, she took in a deep breath before reaching for the door that led to the box where her family would be. As soon as the door opened, everyone turned to look, and while the boys were happy to see her, her father and Rachel both looked as if they had just seen a ghost.

“Aunt Lacey!” the boys chimed as they ran to her, hugging her tightly around the legs. She grinned as she bent down, kissing them both on their noses. They both wore their daddy’s jersey, matching Lacey and Rachel. Her father wore an expensive, Italian suit, always wanting to make an impression.

“Hey guys,” she said, kissing them again. “Ready for the game?”

They both nodded quickly. “We are gonna win!” Zander exclaimed.

“Daddy is going to score us a goal!” Flynn informed her.

“What a good daddy,” she said before standing up and ruffling their hair. “Rachel, they need haircuts.”

“We do not!” they exclaimed, running away from her to the window where they could watch warm-ups.

“Yeah, they do, but they won’t let me touch their heads, or anyone else, for that matter,” she said, standing up and coming toward her. “And to what do we owe this pleasure? I’m pretty sure all I see on the ice besides the gorgeous red jersey of my husband is a whole team of purple and black and a certain number sixteen.”

Lacey ignored her and said, “Man, Rachel, don’t you look stunning tonight? Doesn’t she look beautiful tonight, Daddy?”

“Of course she does. My girls are the prettiest in the state of Illinois,” Nate said with a grin. “Didn’t know you were coming tonight,” he said, coming over and kissing her softly on the temple. “You look happy.”

He said it like he was stunned, and it pleased her how much spending the night with Karson showed. He brought out the good in her—the greatest, even—and she just felt amazing. Complete. And she couldn’t lose that. She had prepared herself for the worst tonight. She had even convinced herself that he may have left her for another woman, which was probably so freaking dumb, but she thought it and thought how she would react. It was the only thing she didn’t think she could forgive, so everything else was good, and she had a chance at happiness. A chance she couldn’t let go of. She had no clue what was going to happen because both their lives were so busy and insane, but they would figure it out. And things would be right because they were together, and together, they could do anything. She still believed that. No time apart could change that.

“Thanks, Daddy,” she said before taking the glass of wine he offered.

“Anytime, honey,” he said, toasting his drink with hers and then both of them taking a sip of their respective beverages. Clearing his throat, he asked, “I thought you didn’t go to Assassins and Hawks games?”

Lacey shrugged. “I didn’t want to be home alone today.”

He nodded. “So it has nothing to do with Karson King why you’re here now?”

Lacey had never lied to her father. She respected him way more than that, but as she looked deep in his green eyes, she shook her head slowly and lied. “Not at all, Daddy.”

“Good,” he said, obviously satisfied with her answer. “He is bad news, Lacey, and will do nothing but hurt you.”

Swallowing, she nodded her head before taking a long sip of her drink and walking toward where Rachel sat so she could see the ice. Her heart was pounding against her ribs as she looked out on the ice for Karson, and she hated that she had to lie. She wished she could just tell him that, yes, Karson was back in her life and she didn’t intend on letting him go, but he wouldn’t understand that. He would get mad and raise hell. Something she wasn’t in the mood for yet, not until she figured out what was going to happen between them.

It didn’t take long for her to find him. He basically took up the whole ice, his number sixteen the only number she saw. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, his brown hair gleaming in the light. He looked huge, the pads always making him seem even bigger than he already was. He was such a presence on the ice, and off it, for that matter. She knew she couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

“You look kind of dressed up to be at a hockey game. Hoping to run into someone?” Rachel asked as Flynn crawled into Lacey’s lap. She wrapped her arms around her sweet little guy and kissed him on the back of the head.

She wished she had thought that maybe Rachel would notice that she was more dressed up than normal. She did spend a good three hours to make sure she was practically perfect. In a thigh-length, high-waisted, black skirt, she’d tucked her blue long-sleeved blouse into the skirt before tossing her Martin jersey over the top and putting on black tights with black ankle boots. Her hair was down in big curls with a black knit hat. She wore her makeup dramatic with dark eyes but yet very elegant, with a light pink on her lips. She knew she was sophisticated but sexy and hoped to God that Karson would appreciate it.

“Don’t know what you are talking about,” she answered, her eyes following Karson across the ice. He deked around people, passed the puck, ran into his teammates playfully, and just looked so resplendent. He was honestly stunning.