Jordie grinned as his eyes started to itch. Stupid allergies.

Jordie: Awesome. I can’t wait to get home.

Lacey: We can’t wait to have you home. Check out this picture. It’s my favorite so far.

He waited as the picture came in, and when it did, it was as if he took a puck shot by Shea Adler himself square in the chest. Kacey sat in all her beautiful glory with Mena Jane in her arms. She had grown her hair out, lost a little weight in her face, but her eyes… God, they were filled with all the love in the world. He knew those eyes well; they used to stare back at him just like that. Seeing her holding Mena Jane did something to his chest, and soon, he was fighting back the tears.

How could he have been so stupid? This girl was it for him, his winning goal, his heart, and he let her go. Choking back the tears, he typed back.

Jordie: It’s my new favorite picture.

Lacey: So you miss her?

Jordie: There isn’t enough character space to tell you how much.

Lacey: Come home, Jordie. Healthy.

Jordie: That’s the plan.

And then Kacey Marie King would be his.

“He just told me he loves me.”

Kacey leaned against the bathroom counter, her brows pulled together as she held her phone to her ear while looking at her reflection as Lacey sputtered on the other line.

“Say what?” Lacey exclaimed.

“Exactly!” Kacey agreed, still unable to fathom how Liam could love her. “Tell me I’m not the only one who thinks that is batshit insane! We’ve only been technically dating for a month, I think? We haven’t even slept together! You can’t love someone when you haven’t seen them naked. What if I had an elephant vagina or something?”

Lacey paused. “Um, what? I’m sorry, but what is an elephant vagina?”

“You know, like big lips that kind of look and hang like elephant ears.”

“Wow. That’s a new one.”

“Focus!” Kacey exclaimed.

“Anyway, you know that everyone is different and falls at different times,” Lacey suggested like the practical person she was, but Kacey was internally freaking the hell out. She thought when she finally heard someone say those words to her, it would be the person she really wanted. She’d never expected Liam to fall for her. She liked the idea of it, but when he said those three words, it didn’t feel right. It felt fake. Unreal and, ugh, it was killing her. She should be shitting rainbows and sunshine! Riding on a unicorn of love, but instead, she felt like she wanted to punch something. Or cry, and she really hated crying.

“No, normal people don’t fall that quickly for someone they hardly know!”

“I don’t know what to say here, Kacey. Where are you?”

“In the bathroom.”

“Where is he?”

“At the table!”

“What? You ran!” she shrieked.

“No! He said it. I said, oh, okay, and then that I had to pee and… Yeah, I did run.”

“Oh my goodness, Kacey. He probably feels like shit now,” she complained, and Kacey did feel a bit bad about that, but it freaked her out. Flight was her only option at that point.

“What do I do, Lacey?” she whined as her head fell back. “I don’t want to go out there and say it, because I don’t feel it. I don’t want to lead him on.”

“Do you even want to date him? You don’t seem very invested here.”

“I do, he’s great, but I don’t want to rush it. I want it to feel real.”

But it didn’t. Not even in the least. Something was off.

“Maybe I need to sleep with him?” she thought out loud before Lacey could say anything.

“How would that help?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t feel that soul-deep connection with him, and maybe if he is deep inside me, I’ll feel something,” she added and Lacey snorted.

“You’re insane,” she laughed. “Like you said, you don’t want to rush this. So don’t make him a notch on your bedpost to find that soul-deep connection. If he isn’t the one, he isn’t.”

“But don’t you think I should give him time? I mean, feelings develop over time.”

“You’re right, they do. But I don’t know, I don’t feel you’re 100 percent committed to this.”

She wasn’t. Maybe fifty percent, but that was pushing it.

“He’s a good guy though,” she said, letting out a long breath. “I’m so tired of all the shit guys. The ones who continually hurt me or are emotionally unavailable. I have this good guy, who apparently loves me, and I feel like, if I throw that away, I’ll regret it. And plus, I don’t want to hurt his feelings. He’s a sweet guy.”

And he was. She truly enjoyed spending time with him. They worked out together every day, went to the movies, hung out with Karson and Lacey. It was nice, but she knew something was missing. The thing was, she didn’t know how to find it. And every time she thought of “it,” Jordie came crashing into her mind, slamming into her like the defenseman he was. With him, “it” was there. Everything was there. They fit and it was what she wanted. She felt like she fell in love over and over, every single moment she was with him.

But he was emotionally unavailable and had thrown her away.

Story of her fucking life.

Liam was everything that Jordie wasn’t, but Jordie still held her heart. Was it wrong of her to continue this relationship when she wasn’t all there? Was she the one who was emotionally unavailable now? And really, how stupid of her! It had been eight months; he wanted nothing to do with her, and now this great guy did. She needed to try. She just had to. Or she really did feel she’d end up alone—the crazy aunt who watched Notting Hill over and over again, hoping for her own William to come and sweep her off her feet. Since the chap was nowhere in sight, she’d better open her eyes and see what was in front of her.