Biting into her lip, she looked at her phone as he dropped his hands and started out of the kitchen. As she watched his retreating back, she knew what she wanted. Reaching over, she rejected her father’s call. When the ringing stopped, Karson looked over his shoulder at her and his brow came up.

“You aren’t going to answer that?”

She shook her head. “Nope, I’m gonna take a shower with my husband, and then we are going to go out and look at locations for my new store,” she said, coming up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “And I expect lunch and maybe a new pair of boots.”

Grinning, he kissed her temple. “I’ll do all that, and I’ll even do you against the wall in the shower.”

She nodded, her lips pursed. “I think we have a deal, husband.”

“Good, let’s go, wife.”

The search for a new store went well, but Lacey didn’t fall in love. He understood that the space would call for her to love it and didn’t push her on the matter. He wanted her to settle there. He wanted her to have a store and something to do there. But most of all, he wanted her to be comfortable, and if the locations they saw didn’t do that, then they would wait. They did get some ideas though, and she seemed excited.

Things had been a little tense between them, but he blamed it on himself. He was still irritated with her whole family, and the fact that she didn’t fully believe him really bugged the hell out of him. She seemed to move on from it, hadn’t mentioned their fight or anything. When her father kept calling over and over again, she finally answered it and Karson was surprised when she said she was going to do what she wanted.

He wanted to think that she was finally done being under their thumb, but he still felt like he’d never really shake the Martins until Lacey did. She had to put them in their place, but to do that, she had to believe Karson. It was a tangled web of crap and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he wasn’t going to let that bother him. He was about to go to the Adlers’ house for dinner, and he was going to enjoy this time with his wife.

“It was just, with my store back in Chicago, I walked in and knew it was it. You knew? Kinda like with our house. I just knew it was ours, ya know?” she asked, leaning back in the car, running her palms down her jeans. She was wearing the new cowboy boots he had gotten her with some tights jeans and a billowy copper colored shirt that made her eyes shine. Her hair was in big curls down her shoulders while her makeup was soft and classy on her beautiful face. Karson had no problem saying his wife was all kinds of hot.

“Yeah, I get it, and I completely understand,” he said, kissing the back of her hand.

“Okay, so you aren’t upset I didn’t pick something?”

“Not at all. This is a big decision,” he answered with a grin. “It will happen.”

“For sure,” she agreed before letting out a long breath. “I don’t want to leave tomorrow.”

He liked how unmotivated she was to leave because he didn’t want her to leave either. “Can’t cancel, huh?”

She shook her head. “Nope, I love speaking for the foundation.”

“I know, wish I could go and support you.”

She grinned over at him. “In a perfect world, you would be there, but no biggie, I’ll be home before you get home from the game on Saturday.”

“Cool,” he said as he pulled into the Adlers’ driveway. Shutting the car off, he got out and went around to help her out. Smiling a thanks to him, she held his hand as they headed to the front door.

Elli answered the door before they knocked and grinned widely at them. “Hey, y’all! Come on in!”

“Hey!” Lacey said with as much enthusiasm as Elli had. They hugged tightly before Elli leaned up to kiss Karson’s cheek.

“So glad y’all could make it. Quinn has been begging for Ms. ’Acey, and Shelli and Posey want their nails done pronto, so good luck to you. Shea is in the garage with Evan and Owen, shooting the puck, obviously. So disperse how you please, and I am going to finish dinner.”

“Do you want help before I’m attacked by your kidfolk?” Lacey said, and Elli laughed as Karson took her coat and hung it up.

“No, go get attacked. If I have to hear Quinn call your name one more time, I’m gonna flip. He’s killing me. He loves Lacey something fierce.”

Karson grinned. “She’s easy to love.”

Lacey blushed as she waved a hand at him. “He has to say that.”

“No, I don’t,” Karson laughed as he kissed her temple. “I want to say it.”

“Aw! I just love y’all so much!” Elli basically cheered as Karson grinned against Lacey’s temple.

“I’m gonna go play with Shea and the boys,” he said, and she leaned up to kiss his jaw.

“Okay, have fun,” she said and he smiled back before heading to the garage. He couldn’t help but feel amazing as he headed toward the garage. Lacey was bright and excited to be there. She hadn’t been like that ever since coming to Nashville, and he felt down in his soul that she was adjusting. That she was making Nashville her home.

Once in the garage, after greeting his captain and the boys, they played some intense two-on-two. Since Karson and Shea were giants, the boys made them play on their knees. And only because of that, they lost to some five-year-olds.

“You two cheated!” Karson complained as he got up slowly. Playing intense hockey on his knees was probably not the best idea.