He wasn’t getting by Karson though. Not with Lacey in the building.

Poke checking the player, Karson caught the puck and then rushed back down the ice. He had JT behind him and knew that he also had Brooks and Franklin to his left. Crossing the line into the Kings’ zone, Karson faked a shot, knowing that JT was behind him. Like he knew he would, Thomas sent it over to Franklin, where he sailed it past the goalie’s shoulder with ease.

It was a beauty of a play.

As his teammates wrapped him up in a hug, congratulating each other, the crowd went wild. Karson looked up to find his wife screaming her head off as she jumped up and down, and his grin grew even more.

Seeing her like that felt fucking amazing.

But knowing that later he would be tangled in the sheets with her felt even more miraculous.

Life couldn’t get any better.

Lacey chewed on her lip as she stared at the calendar on the fridge in her new home.

In four days, Karson was leaving for two weeks.

For the first time since they were married.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She knew it was his job; she knew he had to go, but for the last month, they had been inseparable. They did everything together with only the company of JT. Went to the movies, dinners, shopped for the new house, and hung out, enjoying each other. She even went to watch him practice and then to all his games. Wherever Karson was, there was Lacey, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Besides being completely engrossed in each other, they’d also moved into their new house. It was easy to say she loved it. Every single detail of the house was spectacular to her and everything she’d dreamed of. She loved it when they looked at it, but seeing all their furniture in place, along with bringing in new stuff, was actually making it a home. She loved the raised ceilings, the beautiful hardwood, and the kitchen was to die for. Karson had wanted to hire a decorator, but Lacey had it under control. She made their home everything they ever wanted. It screamed Lacey and Karson. Before, she had never seen herself living in Nashville in a country-chic inspired home, but she was doing it.

And she couldn’t be happier.

Well, that was until she saw that her husband was going to be leaving her.

She knew it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. She was leaving a week after he was for Chicago for a weekend, and surely she would be fine until then. She had lived by herself before. Plus, she had work she could do. Stuff to clean. And things… Who was she kidding? She was going to be lost without him. She had no friends, didn’t know what she could do while he was gone, and really, she was scared. She was usually good by herself, liked it actually, but now that she was spoiled by his love, she didn’t want to be apart from him. She was being selfish and she knew that, but it didn’t stop the worry that settled in her chest.

Running her fingers through her hair, she turned to take the glass of sweet tea she had just poured to the counter where her computer sat. Karson was at practice, and when he got back, they were supposed to go to the mall to look at stuff for the house. Later that night they would go over for dinner at his captain’s house with some of his other teammates. She was nervous to meet his friends, but then again, after meeting JT, she figured she could deal with anyone. Also, the wives would be there, so maybe she would make friends. At least then she wouldn’t be lonely when Karson left.

Leaning on her hand, she clicked through the emails that Rachel had sent her. Rachel had been a little better, but it was nowhere near the relationship they had before she left for Nashville. Lacey didn’t realize how dependent she’d been on her friendship with Rachel until she didn’t have it. It was weird not being able to call your best friend to bitch about your husband leaving his nasty clothes all over the place or how messy he was or how she was nervous that he was leaving. If Lacey even mentioned Karson’s name, Rachel would change the subject. She wouldn’t even entertain the idea of Karson.

Lacey was soon accepting that her life with Karson was one thing and her business with Rachel was another. It bothered her to the core, but what was she supposed to do? It was getting to the point that when she called Rachel, it was only for work and that was it. She didn’t even ask about her nephews anymore; she saved that for when she texted Grady, which was only once a week.

She missed them.

All of them. And while it was killing her, she still couldn’t regret marrying Karson. She was so happy. He made her smile constantly, sometimes without even being around. He loved her and had no shame showing it at a moment’s notice. He was considerate and kind, and man, he burned up those sheets. Just thinking about his lip curving in such a sinful way and his dark seductive eyes capturing her before he devoured her could have her grinning like a schoolgirl in seconds. They worked and she wouldn’t feel sorry for that. Not when she was more in love than she had ever been in her whole life.

While she loved all of them—Karson, her dad, Grady, Rachel, and the boys—she just wished there was a way to have some kind of balance. To get her family to love him as much as she did. She knew it was a long shot, but there was no hurt in praying it would happen. Or that at least they would try.

Clicking out of an email, Lacey went to the order summary for that day. She wanted to make sure that the new piece she had designed was selling well. It was freaking gorgeous in her opinion and all Karson’s idea. It was a black corset, but instead of regular lace ties tying it together, he said to use hockey laces. He thought it would attract all the female hockey fans. Looking at the numbers, she could say that he was right. It was a hit, and she couldn’t wait to send it off for mass production.