Laces and Lace (Assassins #6)

by Toni Aleo

  “What a good daddy,” she said before standing up and ruffling their hair. “Rachel, they need haircuts.”

  “We do not!” they exclaimed, running away from her to the window where they could watch warm-ups.

  “Yeah, they do, but they won’t let me touch their heads, or anyone else, for that matter,” she said, standing up and coming toward her. “And to what do we owe this pleasure? I’m pretty sure all I see on the ice besides the gorgeous red jersey of my husband is a whole team of purple and black and a certain number sixteen.”

  Lacey ignored her and said, “Man, Rachel, don’t you look stunning tonight? Doesn’t she look beautiful tonight, Daddy?”

  “Of course she does. My girls are the prettiest in the state of Illinois,” Nate said with a grin. “Didn’t know you were coming tonight,” he said, coming over and kissing her softly on the temple. “You look happy.”

  He said it like he was stunned, and it pleased her how much spending the night with Karson showed. He brought out the good in her—the greatest, even—and she just felt amazing. Complete. And she couldn’t lose that. She had prepared herself for the worst tonight. She had even convinced herself that he may have left her for another woman, which was probably so freaking dumb, but she thought it and thought how she would react. It was the only thing she didn’t think she could forgive, so everything else was good, and she had a chance at happiness. A chance she couldn’t let go of. She had no clue what was going to happen because both their lives were so busy and insane, but they would figure it out. And things would be right because they were together, and together, they could do anything. She still believed that. No time apart could change that.

  “Thanks, Daddy,” she said before taking the glass of wine he offered.

  “Anytime, honey,” he said, toasting his drink with hers and then both of them taking a sip of their respective beverages. Clearing his throat, he asked, “I thought you didn’t go to Assassins and Hawks games?”

  Lacey shrugged. “I didn’t want to be home alone today.”

  He nodded. “So it has nothing to do with Karson King why you’re here now?”

  Lacey had never lied to her father. She respected him way more than that, but as she looked deep in his green eyes, she shook her head slowly and lied. “Not at all, Daddy.”

  “Good,” he said, obviously satisfied with her answer. “He is bad news, Lacey, and will do nothing but hurt you.”

  Swallowing, she nodded her head before taking a long sip of her drink and walking toward where Rachel sat so she could see the ice. Her heart was pounding against her ribs as she looked out on the ice for Karson, and she hated that she had to lie. She wished she could just tell him that, yes, Karson was back in her life and she didn’t intend on letting him go, but he wouldn’t understand that. He would get mad and raise hell. Something she wasn’t in the mood for yet, not until she figured out what was going to happen between them.

  It didn’t take long for her to find him. He basically took up the whole ice, his number sixteen the only number she saw. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, his brown hair gleaming in the light. He looked huge, the pads always making him seem even bigger than he already was. He was such a presence on the ice, and off it, for that matter. She knew she couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

  “You look kind of dressed up to be at a hockey game. Hoping to run into someone?” Rachel asked as Flynn crawled into Lacey’s lap. She wrapped her arms around her sweet little guy and kissed him on the back of the head.

  She wished she had thought that maybe Rachel would notice that she was more dressed up than normal. She did spend a good three hours to make sure she was practically perfect. In a thigh-length, high-waisted, black skirt, she’d tucked her blue long-sleeved blouse into the skirt before tossing her Martin jersey over the top and putting on black tights with black ankle boots. Her hair was down in big curls with a black knit hat. She wore her makeup dramatic with dark eyes but yet very elegant, with a light pink on her lips. She knew she was sophisticated but sexy and hoped to God that Karson would appreciate it.

  “Don’t know what you are talking about,” she answered, her eyes following Karson across the ice. He deked around people, passed the puck, ran into his teammates playfully, and just looked so resplendent. He was honestly stunning.

  “By the way your eyes haven’t left a certain someone, I’m pretty sure you do,” Rachel said in hushed tones.

  Lacey looked over to meet Rachel’s knowing gaze and shrugged. “Actually, I don’t.”

  Rachel glared, seeing right through her lie. “You do, and I know you just lied to your dad.”

  “Leave it alone, Rachel,” Lacey warned as she kissed Flynn again, her eyes back on Karson. She should have known better than to even try to lie to Rachel. She could see through her like she was a pane of glass. It was disconcerting how good she was at it, and one would think Lacey would remember that, but she hadn’t. The thing was, she just wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Rachel would freak out and tell her how bad of an idea it was to get involved with Karson.

  Which she had every right to. She was there when Lacey would cry herself to sleep or when her skin would prune from where she sat in the shower crying till all she did was heave for breath. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and she knew that Rachel would only think that she was heading straight for that outcome again, but Lacey knew it wouldn’t happen.

  She trusted Karson.

  She loved him.

  “Flynn, Zander, come on, let’s go to the pro shop before the game starts,” her father said, and Flynn was out of her lap before her father was even done with his sentence.

  “Don’t spend all your grandfather’s money,” Rachel called out, but Lacey didn’t think anyone heard her as the door shut, leaving them alone.

  Leaning on the edge of her chair, Lacey watched as Karson shot hard at the net, getting it through the goalie’s legs. He had a breathtaking grin on his face as he backed away, skating to the boards where bottles of water sat. Grabbing for his bottle, he squirted some water in his mouth as he looked around the arena. She was sure he couldn’t see her, and she wished she could stand up and wave her arms in the air, but that would sure set Rachel off, blowing her charade of trying to hide the fact that she was seeing Karson again.

  “Looks like he is looking for you. Might want to wave,” she said and Lacey closed her eyes.

  Well, she guessed the charade wasn’t really a charade.

  “Leave it alone.”

  “You’re back with him,” she accused and Lacey shook her head.

  “No, I’m not,” she said, still not looking at her.

  “Lacey, look at me!” Rachel demanded, causing Lacey to let out a long breath. Turning, she leaned on her hand to meet her best friend’s gaze.

  “What?”

  “Are you back with him?”

  Lacey shook her head again. “No…not yet, at least.”

  “Oh, for goodness’ sakes, Lacey, that is such a bad idea! When did you see him? Did he call you?”

  Closing her eyes, she leaned her head on the edge of her palm and took in a deep breath. “Can’t we leave this alone until I figure out what’s going on?”

  “After you answer my questions, yes. He is bad news. He left you!”

  “I know, but it doesn’t mean I stopped loving him,” she said, sitting up and meeting Rachel’s stunned gaze. “I’ve spent the last nine years in complete hell without him, trying to find something to fill the hole he left. It didn’t work. I can’t stop what I feel for him. I jumped into a cab last night, and he was there, Rachel. Nine years I haven’t seen or heard from him, I get in a cab and he is there. It’s fate. It’s meant to be.”

  “Are you kidding me?” she asked with a shake of her head. “If it were fate or meant to be, it would have happened a year after he left. It’s been almost ten years. No one stays in love that long with someone they don’t see or hear from. It’s preposterous!”

  Lacey glared. “Then I guess I am preposterous
because I love him, and I am hoping to God something happens between us. He makes me happy, Rachel. Shouldn’t you want me to be happy?”

  Rachel’s face was full of shock, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. “I am speechless right now. Do you not remember what happened? Do you not remember the way I held you as you cried and begged the heavens for him to come back? ’Cause I do, and I refuse to stand here and let it happen again!”

  “Then don’t. You don’t need to worry about me; I got this,” she said, and that must have stunned Rachel more. She fell back in the chair as if Lacey had hit her, her eyes widening even more.

  “Are you fucking serious right now?” She didn’t yell it, she almost whispered it, but even so, Lacey knew she meant business.

  Nodding slowly, her eyes locked with Rachel’s, she said, “I love him, Rachel. We are meeting for drinks after the game, and then after that, I don’t know what is going to happen, but I love him and I have to follow my heart. I mean, I have another chance with him. I would be stupid not to take it. Not to take ahold of my happiness and never let go.”

  Slowly shaking her head, Rachel closed her eyes as she let out a long breath before meeting Lacey’s gaze again. “Did he tell you why he left? Or is he sticking with the same lame excuse?”

  Lacey looked away. “We haven’t talked about that yet.”

  “Holy shit, Lacey, what did y’all talk about?”

  Biting into her lip, she said, “Not much. More doing than talking, if you know what I mean.”

  When she glanced over at Rachel shyly, she saw her trying to hold in her laughter, but soon they both dissolved in giggles. Leave it to them to laugh through a tense situation.

  Meeting Lacey’s gaze, Rachel asked, “So it’s just about sex? Or are you seriously considering this?”

  “No, I’m serious. We are talking over drinks tonight.”

  “So you’ll find out tonight and then go home and really make a good decision, right? You won’t just jump into this? I know Karson; I know he is impulsive and has a way of making you forget all reason.”

  She smiled because Rachel was right, but she loved that about Karson. “Of course,” she said with a nod as she looked down, running her finger along the rim of the glass.

  “But I’m pretty sure the decision will be him, Rachel,” she said almost in a whisper.

  Letting out a long breath, Rachel nodded. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it, but please don’t do anything stupid and reckless. Remember that you have a life here. You can’t just pick up and go to Nashville with him. You have to be here with us, your family.”

  She knew that, but she also knew that someone was going to have to move. Not saying that she wanted to move to Nashville or anything, but she sure as hell didn’t want to live without him any more than she had to. If it was more practical for her to move there after dating for a couple months, then she would. They would take it slow; they would get to know each other now that they were adults and fall even more in love. She may have family in Chicago and she did love them, but she had to follow her heart—her happiness—and that was Karson. They would support her. Or at least she hoped they would. Or she would lose them all in the process, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  But she knew she needed Karson.

  Lacey’s hand shook as she reached for her wine glass, her eyes gazing around the packed, posh bar. It was one of her favorite spots. She had spent many nights at the bar, drinking a glass of wine after a long day at the office. Too many nights, if she was honest. It was just so hard though, watching as Rachel went home to the boys and Grady while she was stuck going home alone. It was depressing. At least here, she was never alone, which again, if she was honest, she was.

  Glancing over at the bar, she smiled. She had been hit on every time she sat down, something most single women would love, but to her, it was annoying. Every single time, she would find something that would make her not want to get to know the man who would sit beside her. Weird nose. Big teeth. Funny smile. Horrible laugh. Too cocky. A bum. Asshole. It was always something, but now, she knew it was because they weren’t Karson.

  It was kind of funny that Ethan got to her. Had she really been that desperate to get rid of her feelings for Karson? She must have because those years with him were positively pitiful. The sex was horrible. She didn’t feel sexy, she didn’t feel special, she just felt used. When, really, she was the one using him. Why didn’t she go after Karson? Why couldn’t she swallow her pride and find him? Obviously, it would have taken just one look in those devastating eyes of his and everything would have fallen into place. She wished she would have known that because then nothing would have held her back.

  And nothing would hold her back now.

  Moving her fingers through her hair, she brought her hair to the side of her shoulder and braided it slowly as she waited. She was nervous. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but she prayed it had a favorable outcome, though she really wasn’t sure what that was. As long as it involved Karson, she was pretty sure things would sort themselves out.

  Where was he? He said he would come straight from the arena, and she didn’t think it would have taken this long. What if he was backing out? Ugh, she had to stop doing that. She had to stop doubting him and start believing in him or this wouldn’t work. It was just that it made her nervous. She finally could see everything she wanted. A life with the man she loved, the man she dreamed of, but at the same time, it all felt so unreal. Like she was dreaming. Going without the love she needed for so long had tainted her a bit, but she needed to let that go.

  Karson wasn’t going to hurt her again.

  Glancing at her phone, she saw that it was flashing with a text message. With her brow furrowed, she slid to the message screen to see that Karson had texted her.

  Shit. Her stomach dropped as thoughts of him canceling flooded her. Wasn’t she just saying five seconds ago she was going to stop that? He was probably just texting to say he was running a tad bit late. So pushing the negative thoughts away, she pressed the text and read his words.

  Karson: I swear, Ms. Martin, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

  Her heart fluttered as a smile took over her face. She was about to text him when she felt like someone was watching her, and as she looked up, he was there. Across the bar, looking dashing as all hell, he headed toward her, a grin on his face. He looked positively sinful, really. Stubble covered his square jaw, his lips curved in such a delectable way, and those eyes, so dark and locked on her. His hair was brushed to the side, wet from the shower he must have just taken. Worry filled her that he might get sick; it was cold out, and she planned on telling him that, but soon she was distracted by the way his expensive suit hugged every single inch of him. His muscles on the verge of making the sleeves of his jacket fall off, and boy, those legs. She knew how they looked naked, and of course, she was quickly brought back to her bed, him lying on her in the most perfect way, feeling totally and utterly complete.

  He was magnificent and was looking at only her.

  Stopping behind the chair, his smirk grew as he asked, “Is this seat taken?”

  Her heart went nuts in her chest as she slowly nodded her head. “Yes. It is.”

  He was fully smiling at her now, and with a shake of his head, he said, “Lucky bastard he must be to be able to sit across from you and stare into those gorgeous eyes of yours.”

  She held back her grin as she laid her phone on the table. “Yeah, he is.”

  Holding her gaze, he came to her before leaning down with his elbows on the table. Reaching out, he cupped her face and let out a breath of relief before touching his lips softly to hers. Closing her eyes, she covered his hands with hers as he slowly moved his lips along hers. Pulling back only slightly, he whispered, “Sometimes I think you’re not really here, and every time I kiss you, it all hits me at once. You’re really here.”

  She smiled as she moved her nose along his, meeting his gaze. “I
was thinking the same thing.”

  He kissed her once more and then stood up fully and asked, “Can I be the lucky bastard who gets to sit across from you?”

  “It would be a pleasure,” she answered, grasping his fingers with hers.

  He leaned down, bringing her knuckles to his lips, his gaze locked with hers. “I knew there was a reason I was feeling lucky tonight.”

  She giggled as he kissed her knuckles one last time before taking the seat across from her. It was too far, in her opinion, but when he took her hand with his, lacing their fingers together, everything felt right. Looking up at her, he said, “Did you enjoy the game?”

  With her best pout, she said, “I don’t like seeing my team lose.”

  “But you like watching me win,” he supplied, and she tried to glare, but it didn’t work. She felt like she was betraying her team, her family, in a way, but Karson was completely right.

  “I’m not answering that.”

  He laughed. “Which means yes. Good, I like winning for you.”

  “You won for me?” she asked incredulously.

  His eyes were so serious they made her breathless as he said, “Of course. I always win for you.”

  She shook her head, looking down at the table. “Even after all this time?”

  “Yeah, you don’t stop something once you decide that’s all you want to do.”

  Breathless, she smiled as the tears stung her eyes. “Why didn’t you come back to me if you felt that way?”

  He smiled wryly, his eyes not leaving hers. “Wow, jumped right into it, huh?”

  Swallowing back the tears, she nodded. “It’s killing me. I have to know.”

  He nodded and was about to speak when the waiter walked up. “Sir, what can I get you to drink?”

  “Can I have a whiskey, neat, please?”

  “Of course. Ma’am, another glass?” he asked.

  Lacey glanced at her glass and shook her head. She wanted to be as clearheaded as possible, and that wouldn’t happen with a third glass of wine. “No, thank you.”