He was her evermore.

Clearing his throat, he met her gaze again and said, “This isn’t easy to admit, and I don’t want you to think I am passing the blame. I’m not because it is as much my fault as his. I should have been stronger and believed in us, but I was scared.”

“You’re making me nervous, Karson. Just tell me,” she urged, her heart thumping her in her chest.

“The day I broke up with you wasn’t by choice, and I think you knew that…still know that. After practice that morning, your dad called me into his office,” he said slowly, testing her reaction, but Lacey stayed stone-faced, watching him. “I thought it was to talk about the following day, and he did mention it, but then he said that I had to break up with you.”

Dread filled her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. She’d always suspected her dad had something to do with Karson leaving, but she couldn’t accept that he would devastate her like that. He was supposed to love her, and breaking her into a billion pieces by taking her love from her didn’t express that. Looking deep in Karson’s eyes though, she knew it was the truth. Her daddy, the man who was supposed to love and protect her no matter what, had done everything to separate them.

“I didn’t want to, I hope you know that. But he brought up the fact that your cancer could come back, that I wouldn’t be able to support you and all your bills since you wouldn’t be getting the schooling for free, and that the medical bills would be beyond my pay grade. So I tried to say that I would convince you to stay home and finish school while I got established in the NHL. I figured we’d be fine, but then he threatened my career.”

Her heart hurt as she blinked through her tears, her gaze locked with his. “He did?”

“Yeah,” he said sadly, looking away. “He said he would pull me out of the game the following day, and I had to play—all the scouts were gonna be there and shit. So I did what he wanted, but I swear, Lacey, it never felt right, and I promise I regret it with everything inside me.”

She could only nod as her heart broke in her chest. Her father had not only ruined her by taking away her true love but also threatened and ruined Karson. He knew how much hockey meant to Karson and knew how to twist and turn his arm to make him play by his rules. It was disgusting and just wrong. Who intentionally hurts people like that? What was the big deal? They would have been fine, but he wouldn’t even allow them to try.

“As soon as I got to Tampa, I knew I fucked up and tried so hard to get ahold of you. Grady wouldn’t let me talk to you. I tried calling Rachel, but she wasn’t having it, and then finally, I decided to just fly up here and convince you to take me back. But then my coach bumped me down to the fourth line, and I knew that your dad had something to do with that.”

“Oh my God,” she breathed as she shook her head, completely infuriated with her father. She had no doubt that he did do that; he was hell-bent on keeping them apart.

“I know you are probably disgusted with me. I am too, Lacey, I promise, but it was my rookie year, my career, and how I was going to support you when I convinced you to take me back? But every time I went to get you, something held me back. The fear of rejection, your dad, so I just stopped and watched you from afar like a coward. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I am.”

Taking in a deep breath, she wiped her face free of tears as she shook her head. “I’m not disgusted with you, Karson.”

“You’re not?” he asked, surprised.

“No, I am disgusted with him. Your career was everything to you. You hoped and dreamed of being in the NHL. I understand that.”

“But I should have fought for you; you are my hopes and dreams. I don’t need hockey—I need you.”

She smiled, cupping his jaw in her hand. “Karson King, as much as I want to believe that I come first, I can’t compete with your love of hockey. I know that, love that about you, that you are so driven. You are hockey.”

“But I’m not complete without you,” he answered, covering her hand with his. “I hate what I did, I do, and I promise I am going to do everything to make it up to you.”

“Being mine is all I need.”

“I’m yours, Lacey. All of me.”

“That’s all I need.”

“Is it? What about your family? They are going to freak and probably try to ruin me.”

“I don’t care. They will deal because I love you, and I refuse to be without you, not since the moment our lips met in that cab.”

“Really?” he asked, his eyes clouding with emotion.

Love.

He loved her. Completely. She could see that, so with a nod, she said, “Really. I love you. So much, and nothing else matters but us. Everything else will fall into place as long as we are together, loving each other.”

His eyes searched hers as a small grin pulled at his gorgeous lips. “You believe that?”

“Wholeheartedly,” she swore, running her thumb along his jaw. “I believed it then, I believe it now. We are soul mates, Karson. We are meant to be together, and together we are complete.”

“Then marry me.”

Everything stopped. Her heart, her breathing, everything. All she could do was stare at him. Surely, she just heard him wrong.

“Say what?” she asked, a nervous giggle escaping her lips.

He eyed her and then asked, “Did I just read that wrong?”

“Read what wrong?” she asked, her body trembling. “No, wait, Oh my God, okay, just say that again, ’cause I think I heard you wrong.”