“Fucking pussy,” he said, setting Karson with a disappointed look.

“Leave me alone.”

Lacey laughed as Mrs. King said, “I love your bras. They are so comfy.”

“I love the thongs,” Kacey said with a grin. “So does my boyfriend.”

“Now that’s just gross, Kace. I don’t want to know that,” Karson said, making a face of disgust, his father mirroring him.

“Me neither. Shit, kid,” he said, shaking his head.

That had all three women laughing, and Lacey couldn’t stop grinning.

When Mrs. King’s laughter subsided, she asked, “Your cancer hasn’t returned, has it?”

Lacey shook her head. “No, ma’am. I have been cancer-free for a very long time.”

“That’s awesome. I know that always worried Karson,” Kacey said as her mom nodded.

“We are glad that it hasn’t and that you are healthy,” Mrs. King said with a nod.

“I am too,” Lacey said with a grin, her heart swelling in her chest. It was such an amazing and breathtaking feeling. These people cared about her. Loved her, even. How did she get so lucky to go from starving for love to being completely immersed in it?

When she felt someone staring at her, she glanced over to find Karson looking at her with nothing but love shining in his eyes.

He was the reason.

Soon the game was over and Mrs. King shooed them off to get freshened up before dinner. As much as Lacey wanted to be alone with Karson, she wanted to spend as much time as she possibly could with his family. She was enjoying herself immensely and didn’t want to leave the following morning. Not when she felt more a part of the King family than she did her own. It was a horrible thing to think, but it was the damn truth.

Following Karson through the immaculately beautiful house, Lacey found that Mrs. King’s taste was very bright and happy. Her home matched her personality to a tee, and Lacey couldn’t wait to get something for the house, maybe for Christmas or for her birthday, or even Mother’s Day. It had been so long since she had bought anything for anyone on Mother’s Day. It would be a bittersweet change. One she was ready for, she felt.

When they came to a door that said “Karson,” she glanced over at her husband with her brow raised. “They made a room for you here?”

“I mean, I did buy the house, the least they can do is have a shrine for me,” he said matter-of-factly.

Shaking her head, she laughed as she pushed the door open, and sure as shit, it was a shrine to Karson along with a bed and dresser. Every inch of the walls was covered in pictures of him from when he was a baby on skates until a year ago when he held the prized Cup above his head. There were even all his hockey awards and medals through the years and his high school and college diplomas.

“You finished college?” she asked, surprised, as she turned to look back at him.

He nodded, a sheepish grin on his beautiful face. “I promised you I would.”

Her heart stopped as she gazed into his showstopping caramel eyes. Closing the distance between them, she wrapped her arms around his middle and met her lips to his as pride poured out of her pores for him. As she slowly kissed him, her hands fisted the shirt he wore, and her eyes stung with happy tears. She couldn’t believe that he’d kept his promise. That he’d continued his schooling and got his diploma. All for her.

Pulling back, she cupped his face, running her thumbs along his jaw. “That is amazing. I am so proud of you.”

“Thanks, babe. I’m glad I did it. I have that security.”

“Yeah, that’s why I wanted you to get it,” she said, a tear leaking out of her eye.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, catching the tear and wiping it away.

“Because I always wondered and prayed all this time that, even if you weren’t with me, I always wanted you to succeed. And I’m just so proud of you, Karson. I love you so much.”

His face warmed as he hugged her tighter in his arms. “I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t promised you I would. I’d already let you down once—couldn’t do it again.”

That had the tears falling in earnest. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled her nose in his chest and just cried. She hated that her father had done what he did. All that time gone, time they couldn’t be together to push and help each other to succeed. It was heartbreaking and just so unfair. She knew who the love of her life was, so why did she have to wait so long to get him?

“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he whispered, kissing her temple.

“I just wish that I’d been there.”

“But you’re here now, that’s all that matters,” he said softly.

She nodded, wiping her cheeks before looking up into his glorious face. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional. My family has me all kinds of fucked up, and being here, seeing how much your family has welcomed me is a reminder that when we get back to Chicago, it’s gonna be ugly.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, but we only have to be there for a day, and then we are off to Nashville.”

He was right, but the dread was heavy in her stomach. She didn’t want to deal with her family. She wanted them to be like the Kings. Elated that she had found her heart and soul and welcoming to Karson.

“Are you comfortable though, Lacey? My dad is a little hard to deal with, and my mom is suffocating as hell. Kacey is just a crazy bitch,” he wondered and she wanted to laugh. He actually looked worried. Hadn’t he seen that she was in heaven in the Kings’ household?