She finally had all the love she wanted and needed, but that didn’t mean anything to her family. They decided they knew better and didn’t believe in her or her love with Karson. It was frustrating, to say the least, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin her. Not when she was starting a new life. Not when she finally had her chance at true happiness. She still prayed and prayed that Karson was right when he said they would come around. The only problem was that she wasn’t very confident in that. The Martin family was very stubborn.

When her phone rang, she wrapped a towel around herself and went into the bedroom where her phone sat on the bed. She expected it to be Karson, but to her surprise, it was Rachel. Her heart ached in her chest as she hit answer. Excitement filled her at the hope that her best friend was calling to apologize and to say how happy she was for Lacey. It was a long shot, but Lacey still thought it could happen.

Happily, she said, “Hello?”

“Hey, the mock-ups for the campaign came in. I am forwarding them to your email now. Do you have a second to talk them over?”

Her heart sank as she swallowed her sob. “Yeah, hold on, let me get my laptop and throw a shirt on,” she said before putting the phone down and getting dressed quickly. Finding her laptop and entering Karson’s Wi-Fi info from the Post-it note on the fridge, she hooked everything up before logging in to her email. Like Rachel said there would be, an email was waiting for her. Clicking it, she downloaded the files and looked over each of the photos.

She loved them.

“They are great,” she said as she brought the phone to her ear.

“Yeah, Grady threw a fit though and wants me Photoshopped out of them. I told him to shut it, though.”

“Oh, okay, are you sure?”

“Yeah, I love the pictures, and if these women can be brave enough, then I can. I think we all look incredible.”

“I agree,” Lacey said with a nod. “I’ll have to show them to Karson. I think he’ll like ’em.”

“Yeah,” she said offhandedly, slowly breaking Lacey’s heart. Where was her best friend who she would giggle with and talk with about boys? They were both married now; shouldn’t they be elated about that? This is what they always wanted, but now, because Lacey was married to someone they all thought was unacceptable, all their young-adult wishes were being ignored. It wasn’t fair. And really, Lacey didn’t think it was Karson. It was the fact that she left with him, that he took her away. Because of their selfish wishes of keeping her in the same state with them, they wouldn’t accept Karson. How shitty was that?

Clearing her throat, Rachel said, “So you approve?”

“Yeah, I’m good with them. It’s going to be a great campaign.”

“I think so too,” Rachel agreed. “I am going to send it to the marketing team, and I’ll have more mock-ups soon.”

“Sounds great, thank you. Good idea you had here.”

“Yeah, so I also forwarded you some other things that need to be signed and sent back.”

“Okay, I’ll do that in a bit. I need to blow-dry my hair.”

“Okay, talk to you soon,” Rachel said and then the line went dead.

Her best friend of ten years had just hung up on her.

Tears welled up in Lacey’s eyes as she slowly shook her head. Why would Rachel do that to her? Not only was it incredibly rude but also didn’t she have any kind of respect for Lacey? She guessed not. When her phone buzzed, she looked down to see a text from Karson.

Clicking it, it said:

Karson: Got a Realtor. Wanna go look at houses today?

Lacey: Yes, that is exactly what I need right now.

She smiled as a tear slowly slid down her cheek. Rachel could try to hurt her all she wanted, but Lacey wasn’t going to let her. She had someone who loved her and supported her; screw everyone else. She wasn’t going to fight for someone’s love and respect, not when she had always tried to do right to others. She deserved better than that, and if Rachel wanted to be a bitch, fine, Lacey would ignore her.

Karson: You okay?

Lacey: Rachel is a bitch.

Karson: I’m sorry, sweetheart.

Lacey: No biggie, when are you going to be home?

Karson: Leaving in 10.

Lacey: see you when you get here.

Karson: can’t wait.

She smiled again before laying her phone down and then opening the rest of the emails from Rachel. They were nothing major, so she digitally signed them quickly and sent them back before blow-drying her hair and curling it. She did her makeup and then got dressed for the day. She dressed lighter than she would have in Chicago, and that tickled her for some reason. She was so used to the cold, but it really wasn’t that bad in Nashville. It was actually sort of warm.

It was so exciting!

Unpacking her bags, she hung all her clothes and put away her shoes. There would be more boxes coming, and she wasn’t sure where they were going to put everything. The apartment wasn’t small, but it wasn’t big enough to hold all her stuff and then her office supplies. They really needed to find somewhere else to live. When the realization that they would be doing just that as soon as her husband came home set in, she had a little more pep in her step as she hung her clothes, thoughts of Rachel’s bitchiness a distant thought.

When she was done, she gathered Karson’s blue sheets and started for the laundry room. He may have said that they were clean, but just to be safe, she wanted to wash them herself. After starting the washer, she looked in the dryer and folded the clothes in there before starting back for their room when she noticed another room. How she hadn’t noticed this earlier was beyond her but it excited her. If Karson was okay with it, maybe she could set up her office in here until they bought their first home.