Laces and Lace (Assassins #6) Read online

  “Oh, okay,” she said sounding a bit stunned. “So things are good with you two?”

  “Yeah, they are great,” Lacey answered as she shut down her computer. “We are going out to look at places to expand Lacey’s Lace here in Nashville.”

  Rachel went silent for a second and then very forcefully asked, “What?”

  “What? What’s the problem?”

  “You want to open a store in Nashville? That isn’t crazy to you?”

  Lacey’s brow came up. “We don’t think so.”

  “We? So this is Karson’s idea?”

  “No, it’s mine too,” she said, not sure why it mattered. “We think it would be good to expand and have something here for me to maintain. I miss doing that.”

  “Then come back! You two haven’t even been married a year, and you want to open a store? What if you guys break up? Divorce or something!”

  “We won’t,” Lacey yelled back. “Why are you so upset about this? This is my business. I know what I am doing.”

  “Oh, it’s only your store? So I haven’t been here every single step of the way?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Lacey said a little less sharply. “I just don’t understand why you are so against it.”

  “I am thinking of you; you aren’t. You are letting him blind you into a decision that isn’t good for you.”

  “He didn’t blind me into anything. This was my idea; he just supports it.”

  But like Lacey hadn’t even said anything, Rachel said, “He’s a hockey player, they move from team to team all the time, so no telling if you’ll be there for another month or year. Plus, you guys’ relationship is still so new, and honestly, it could end at any second. Between him running all over the US with chicks throwing themselves at him, and then the fact that you don’t know him, it’s just stupid to do this. Don’t make a mistake that you can’t come back from.”

  “I don’t agree,” Lacey said, shaking her head.

  “Have you talked about how long he’ll be there? It’s going to take two years just to get it off the ground and running. Then what? He leaves and you stay there? I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  She might be a tad bit right, but Lacey wasn’t ready to admit that. “I don’t know. I was talking to his boss, and she wants to do a campaign with all the hockey wives wearing my stuff.”

  “That’s a great idea. Let’s do it, but wait on another store. We’ve been doing just fine with one for the last six years.”

  Lacey bit her lip. “I don’t know. Don’t you think it’s time for a change?”

  “Lacey, it’s been nothing but change since you got with him. Relax a bit. Wait it out. Make sure this is real.”

  “But it is,” she said softly. “We are forever.”

  “Sure you are,” she said, but Lacey didn’t think she meant that. “But what are you going to do, open a new store wherever he goes? You’re a hockey wife now. You have to do what he wants.”

  “And I’m fine with that because what I want, he wants.”

  “It doesn’t work that way. You have to be smart about this.”

  “I thought I was,” Lacey said, completely annoyed with this. “I mean, all I said was I was going to go look and now we are arguing.”

  “Lacey, I am saying all this for you. Don’t get up under something you can’t get out of.”

  “Okay, I hear you.”

  Even though she really didn’t agree, there was some truth and something to consider in Rachel’s words. She had been there from the beginning and knew that this wasn’t an easy feat. She had worked hard for Lacey’s Lace, and she would do the same for the next one but this time with the help of Karson. But maybe she should wait. Lacey hated the doubt that Rachel caused. She should just ignore her, but she couldn’t shake the idea that maybe she was right.

  She loved her store, treated it like it was a piece of her, and she didn’t want to leave pieces of her all over the damn United States. Maybe one store was enough. The online sales were awesome, but even with that, she wanted to expand. It was always a dream of hers to be all over the place, helping women because not everyone wanted to shop online. They wanted to try stuff on, and she wanted to give that to people. She did, but was it smart to do that now?

  “Ugh, I think I’m gonna be sick. We can talk more Friday. Talk to you later.”

  “Yeah, feel better, or take a test or something. Bye,” Lacey said, hanging up the phone and letting out a breath.

  She had no clue what to do.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Looking up, she found Karson leaning against the doorjamb, his shorts hanging low on his hips, barefoot and bare-chested. His hair was all in a frenzy, and the stubble on his chin was dark and sexy. In other words, he was fucking hot.

  “Hey, good afternoon,” she teased with a grin as he came over and leaned into her, kissing the top of her head.

  “Good afternoon,” he said pulling her out of the chair and into his arms. He was all warm and homey and she never wanted to go anywhere. She could live in his arms. “What’s wrong?”

  Running her fingers along the lyrics on his chest, she let out another breath. “Just thinking about expanding.”

  “That shouldn’t make you huff. It should make you happy.”

  “It does, but it also makes me nervous,” she admitted, meeting his caramel gaze. “Rachel thinks it’s a bad idea.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I bet she does.”

  Rolling her eyes, she complained, “Karson.”

  Leaving his arms, she turned to go to the coffeepot to pour him some as he said, “What? Seriously? Of course, she doesn’t want you to do that. More roots here and putting you farther from them. I bet your dad will be calling in no time.”

  Huffing, she poured milk and sugar in his cup before bringing it to him and saying, “It’s not only that. What happens when you move?”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he said, taking the cup. “Thank you, by the way.”

  “You’re welcome, but how do you know that? Hockey players trade to teams all the time.”

  “This is true, but with the deal they are working right now, I’ll be here for seven years. And if I do move, which I doubt, I’ll probably retire so I can raise our kids. But if I don’t, it will be fine because we will hire a team to run this store. We will be okay.”

  There was a whole lot of stuff in his answer that made Lacey’s stomach twist, but still, she wasn’t sure it was the best idea. “I just remember how hard it was opening Lacey’s Lace, and I don’t know. It makes me nervous.”

  “So you are letting fear keep you from this? Just because of the doubt that Rachel caused? That’s crazy, Lacey. You have a good thing in this company. Something you can capitalize on. Everyone believes in you. Believe in yourself and leave the naysayers in your dust.”

  Running her fingers through her hair, she took in a deep breath. “I don’t know. She was there from the beginning, Karson.”

  “What are her reasons for not doing it? Because I’m a hockey player?”

  “Yeah, and that our relationship is so young. We could divorce or something.”

  “Do you believe that?” he asked and she shook her head. “Okay, then what’s the problem? I eased the first worry, you smashed the second, so what other reason is there not to do this? Not to take the chance. Plus, we are looking, baby, not signing paperwork.”

  There wasn’t another problem, and he was right, but still, she wasn’t one hundred percent committed.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should wait a bit.”

  “For what?” he asked, his expression telling her he was not happy at all. “What are we waiting for?”

  “I have no clue,” she answered, shaking her head. “But I don’t know if I’m ready.”

  “You were ready before you talked to Rachel.”

  “I know, but now I’m not sure,” she said as he stood, draining his coffee.

  He shook his head as he exhaled a long breath. “I’m