Grinning as she pulled back, she nodded. “Well, you are the girl, so it makes sense.” As he glared, she shot him a wink before turning to go to the door. “See ya, hot stuff.”

“I’ll text you when I have Angie.”

“Sounds good. Thanks again,” she said, heading out the back door, but then she paused before shutting it. “And don’t worry about Rick. I can handle him.”

Looking back at her from the microwave, he shook his head. “It isn’t that I don’t think you can handle him, babe. It’s that you shouldn’t have to. That is what makes me mad and makes me want to tear him to pieces. You don’t deserve that shit.”

She smiled. “I know.”

He nodded slowly, taking a bite of his pie. “Go to work before I take you upstairs.”

She feigned shock before shaking her head. “Oh, no way, I’ll never leave!”

“That’s the point,” he called as she shut the glass-paneled door. Holding his gaze, she turned her lips up as she waved and he grinned back. She headed for her office, not even wanting to go. She’d much rather go upstairs with Benji, lie with him, but she had things to do and she was sure he did too. With a little pep in her step as she inhaled her potpie, she closed the distance between his house and her office and realized she was smiling. For no damn reason but that Benji just made her happy.

It was odd, having someone who cared about her enough not to want her to be disrespected by anyone. Of course, her family didn’t want that, but they were supposed to feel that way. She was their blood, but Benji had no ties to her. No reason other than he wanted to, and that just filled her with all kinds of feelings. To have someone want to be there. To offer to help and know they weren’t put out by it. That they genuinely wanted to provide assistance, to make things easier, was really nice. And man, he loved Angie. He was just…he was just perfect and, God, that scared her to the core.

Because nobody that good existed.

Or at least, they didn’t for Lucy.

It was sad, but she was just waiting. She knew it would happen, that moment when it would be too much—dealing with Rick, dealing with the fact that she had a kid and that Angie came first—and Benji would say to hell with it. A part of her wasn’t even sure she was worth it. She was snarky, she was bitchy, but then, with him, she wasn’t. Or at least, she wasn’t that bad, mostly. But she knew he would run the other way sooner rather than later. For that reason, she was sure, she was hiding her heart. That was the main reason she held back from moving in with him even when it made so much sense and felt right. No, she had to be careful. Because as much as she wanted this to be forever, she was pretty sure it was only temporary.

And that made her smile disappear.

Pushing aside her worries because she needed to work, she headed through her office that was completely set up and beautiful. Benji had done an excellent job, and as Rayne sat behind her desk, a grin on her face as she worked, Lucy felt complete. She always wanted somewhere for her office that would feel like home. The little guesthouse that was now her office was home. It felt right. Just as Benji did. But she couldn’t think of that right now.

No, she had work to do.

And she had to call Rick in an hour.

Deciding she really didn’t want to do that, she tried to text him one more time.

Lucy: Are you meeting me at the rink to get Angie? She’ll be done by six thirty.

To her surprise, he actually answered.

Rick: That’s fine.

That’s fine?

Nothing was ever fine with Rick.

As uneasiness filled her stomach, she considered texting him back. But what would that do? Nothing. It would be a waste of time, or worse, it would turn into a fight. Instead, she put her phone to the side, grabbed her scissors out of the wrong drawer, though it did make her smile, and got to work.

But the uneasiness never went away.

Especially when he got to the rink twenty minutes before he was supposed to. Her day was going so well; she had gotten a lot of work done, and Benji had hung with Angie before practice while she finished up. She hadn’t even worried. She knew Angie was good, and watching Benji say good-bye, promising he would see her before he left on Monday, did things to Lucy’s heart. It was a good day with the promise of a great night with his game and then having a late dinner with Jayden and Baylor.

She was excited, but one glance at Rick’s face and she knew he was about to ruin her day.

He came toward her, and she held her breath as she tucked her hands into her pockets, her breath quickening as she tried to act unaffected. When he sat down, he leaned on his legs, looking out at the ice. Exhaling a breath while he shook his head, he didn’t look at her as he said, “This really is a dumb sport. She’s a girl—she needs to do girl shit.”

Biting her top lip, she clenched her fists as she watched Angie shoot, making the goal. Shea tapped her on the head and she beamed before going to the back of the line. “She loves it. Whatever makes her happy, makes me happy.”

“Whatever,” he said, leaning back, his eyes still on the ice. “My lawyer contacted your dad.”

“I know.”

“Your dad, ever so nicely, told him to fuck off.”

Nerves ate her alive as she nodded. “I know.”

His neck started to get red but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to just agree to something she knew would jeopardize Angie. “I feel we should do the smart thing and settle things out of court,” he said.