by Toni Aleo
“The hell he does,” Karson barked, and she could hear the frustration in his voice.
“I don’t agree. I think he does. He’s been great lately. He hasn’t been nearly as mean as he was.”
“Because he is playing you!” he said slowly but very forcefully. “He is going to keep on trying to break us up. You’ve got to cut all ties, babe, or this is always going to happen. I can’t keep looking behind me to make sure Nate Martin isn’t back there trying to set me up.”
“So you’re asking me to choose?” she asked, her heart pounding. “Because that’s what it sounds like.”
“No. Lacey. Please,” he begged. “I am feeling like you don’t believe, like you think I am trying to cover my ass or something.”
“That’s exactly what I think,” she said without thinking.
When he paused, she instantly regretted her words. Letting out an annoyed breath, she said, “I didn’t mean that. It came out wrong.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, I mean that I think you are being paranoid when there is no reason to be. I completely trust you and believe that this girl came on to you. It’s fine. I promise.”
“But you don’t believe that your dad is setting me up,” he stated and she could hear the aggravation in his voice.
“I don’t think he would do that to me, but I will call him.”
“And he’ll lie.”
“Karson, please. He’s trying.”
“The fuck he is, Lacey. He’s blinding you, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you start believing more shit he does and ultimately leave me.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s a little insane, don’t you think? He only wants me to be happy.”
“Why the fuck are you defending him? Look at his track record, Lacey. He has tried to break us up nonstop,” he yelled and she could hear it in his voice. He was livid, but she didn’t care. He was wrong.
“Not since he tried to call your coach. Since we had that call, he has been good.”
“Because he is secretly planning shit!”
“Karson,” she said, closing her eyes in complete frustration. “I am not going to keep going back and forth with you. I’ve told you that I believe you about the chick—”
“But you don’t believe me about your dad. Yeah, I heard you loud and clear,” he interrupted with a shortness to his voice. Silence stretched between them and Lacey had no clue what to do. “You are supposed to trust me when I tell you something.”
“And I do, but he’s my dad, Karson. The only family I’ve got.”
“I’m your family.”
Oh Jesus. “I’m not doing this with you. Stop taking everything I say so literally. He is my only parent; I don’t have two parents like you do. Yes, mine is an asshole most of the time, but he is my dad.”
“I get that, Lacey, but he is trying to break us up,” he pleaded. “And the fact that you don’t believe me and trust him instead speaks volumes.”
“Oh, really? And what volumes does it speak?”
“That I should just get ready for you to walk out on me,” he said, and this time there was no frustration in his voice, there was pure defeat. “Not believing me now just tells me that later, when he does something even more drastic, you’ll be on a one-way train out of here.”
“He isn’t going to do anything. He hasn’t done anything now,” she said slowly. “Plus, I’m not going anywhere. I thought we agreed this was forever.”
“It is on my end. To the fullest, but I don’t believe it is for you.”
“Why are we doing this?” she said, exasperated. “We are fighting over nothing.”
“That’s the thing, Lacey. This isn’t nothing, and just to let you know, it hurts that you don’t believe me.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” she asked, unable to comprehend this. “I believe that some slut was trying to hit it because I fucking want to hit it all the damn time and I am not mad, but the fact that I don’t believe you about my father setting you up hurts your feelings? That’s insane.”
“I want you to trust what I tell you, and you don’t.”
Kicking the blankets off herself, she got out of the bed, her body burning with anger. “Okay, I’m done. I’m letting you go because I refuse to do this with you any longer. I will not feel bad for thinking you are being paranoid. Most wives would lose their shit on their husbands for shit like this, but I believe you.”
“Fine.”
“Fine,” she said and she wanted to hang up so badly, but she wouldn’t do that. He was being dumb, but he was her husband. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said, defeated, and it killed her, but she was sticking to her guns. Hanging up, she let out a roar of annoyance before shaking her head. He was beyond frustrating!
“Freaking idiot,” she muttered before dialing her dad’s number. When he answered, she said, “Did you set my husband up by sending some slut to try to get him to have sex with her?”
“Lacey?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Did you do that or not?”
“Do what? I didn’t catch all that.”
“Did you set my husband up by sending some slut to try to tempt him?”
Her father didn’t even pause. “I would never, princess. I saw it happen, but I wasn’t even going to tell you because I don’t want to hurt you with that.”
Biting the inside of her cheek, she nodded as the tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to trust him, but she also wanted to trust and believe Karson.
“Did he push her away?”
“Not at first,” he answered slowly. “But after she kissed him, he did.”
“Are you lying to me, Daddy? Because Karson is saying you set him up.”
He laughed and Lacey didn’t understand that. This wasn’t a laughing situation. “I don’t know why he would say that. I didn’t even talk to him.”
“So you didn’t try to offer him a deal?”
“A deal?” he scoffed. “Jesus, am I the Mafia? No, honey, I didn’t.”
Her lip wobbled because she didn’t know who to believe. Did she believe her husband, whom she loved and trusted? Or her father, who was the only parent she had left? She may not trust him fully, but she had to believe that he wouldn’t do something like this. He knew that she would cut him off if he were lying. Would he really risk their relationship to ruin her and Karson’s marriage? She wasn’t sure, and that alone had her hanging up the phone without saying goodbye. When he tried to call back, she ignored it and decided that she needed to step away from this right now.
She just needed time to think.
But thinking wasn’t what Lacey did.
She just stewed.
She was mad at Karson for being mad at her, and then she was mad at her dad for not knowing if he was lying to her or not. She wasn’t sure what to do, and she had no one to call to talk to. She was mad at the people she wanted to discuss this with. Rachel hadn’t done anything really, but still Lacey was mad at her for quickly accusing Karson of cheating. He wouldn’t do that. He loved her. While she had no clue whom to believe, she did know that she did not want to be at lunch with Elli Adler. Yes, Elli was the sweetest person in the world, but Lacey would much rather be at home, stewing.
But that wasn’t where she was. Nope, she was sitting in a booth at J. Alexander’s with Karson’s boss, talking about everything under the sun. Well, Elli was talking, Lacey was more just listening. And stewing. Yes, she was still stewing.
“Shelli is my wild child. Posey, not so much, she’s cautious. And then the boys are just all nuts. Take after their daddy.”
Lacey smiled like she was supposed to. “They are beautiful children.”
“Thank you,” she said proudly with a grin. “They are our everything.”
“I would imagine.”
Elli smiled as she met Lacey’s gaze. “How are you adjusting? Are you happy here?”
Lacey shrugged. “Sure. I mean, it’s been a big change, but
I do love it here.”
“Karson mentioned something about opening a Lacey’s Lace here, which, by the way, I’ve bought out your online store. Honestly. I love it all.”
She grinned as she nodded. “Thank you, but yeah, maybe. We are still doing the numbers and trying to find a good location. It will be my first time expanding.”
“Well, I think you should. I got my moms’ group to check you out, and then all the Assassins’ wives are wearing your stuff,” she said with a little flush to her face. It was understandable since they were talking about lingerie. “You know what?” she gushed quickly and Lacey grinned. Elli was very animated.
“What?”
“You should open one here and then sponsor the Assassins. The exposure would be insane, and then we could do a spread of Assassins’ wives wearing your stuff. Kinda like you did for the women of different sizes.”
“Wow, you followed that?” Lacey asked, surprised but flattered.
“Yes! I told you I’m a fan, and I love your body, not in a weird, creepy way,” she said, causing Lacey to grin. “I didn’t know you were a breast cancer survivor.”
Lacey nodded. “I am. They are fake,” she said, pointing to her breasts.
“So? You deserve them after everything you went through. At least, I think so, and I also love the tattoos. You are stunning. All of us think so.”
She grinned shyly as she shrugged. “Thank you, but yeah, your idea is a great one. Maybe I’ll do it if we do expand here.”
“I think you should. It would be good for you.”
“Yeah, but it’s not only about me. I mainly just want to help people.”
Elli grinned as she nodded quickly. “Oh, I think you do, and I especially love how you donate so much of your sales to your foundation.”
Lacey was a little overwhelmed; she’d never expected Elli Adler to know so much about her business. “Yeah, my main focus when I started was helping women who had to fight like I did. Or really, anyone. I just want people to feel sexy; I’m really not worried about making money.”
“Oh, you do,” Elli giggled, her cheeks darkening more. “And Shea thanks you.”
They had a good laugh at that. When their laughter subsided, Lacey took a long swig of her sweet tea before meeting Elli’s gaze again. “You light up when you talk about your business. You’re really quiet any other time.”
Lacey shrugged. “Yeah, I love my business and I know what to say when it comes to that, but I’m really closed up unless I know you.”
“Well, I hope that we continue to get to know each other. I like you and I really think you’ll click well with the other wives. I know you’ve been a little distant, and it’s hard to get to know new people, especially when your life has completely changed,” she said with bright eyes and a grin on her face.
“I’ve been traveling too,” Lacey added with a nod. “But yeah, I would love to get to know the wives some more. I got a little intimidated that night we all hung out.”
“Yeah, we are a little in-your-face, but everyone means well.”
Lacey nodded. “I know.”
And she did, but it was hard. She went from having family, friends, and a business in Chicago to coming to Nashville and only having Karson. While that was more than enough, she felt like she was starting over and it was nerve-racking. With her friends back in Chicago, it was easy. She could sit there and not say anything and feel completely happy, but here, she always felt like she didn’t belong. She knew that it was because she didn’t even give anyone a chance, but it was scary getting to know people. She had to put herself out there, and she wasn’t good at that unless it was with the business. With Lacey’s Lace, she would do anything to have someone listen. Or even with Karson, she loved talking about him. But anything else, she thought she was boring and that no one wanted to listen to her.
She didn’t have kids. She didn’t have a family like Karson’s. And no one wanted to talk about her cancer. That was depressing! She didn’t have hobbies because she’d been so immersed in getting Lacey’s Lace up and running. She didn’t go to anything because she didn’t like showing up alone. All she cared about was Karson, her business, and hockey. She really wasn’t all that interesting, but that wasn’t the only problem.
Between missing Karson like crazy and wanting to go home to be around something she knew, she wasn’t adjusting. She was cutting corners and only accepting Nashville as her home when she had to. Karson thought she was going to leave him, and she didn’t want him to think that. She had to change. She had to adjust or this was never going to work.
Elli could be the start of that.
Looking across the table, Lacey asked, “Is it hard being Shea’s wife?”
Elli smiled. “In what context do you mean? Because I love Shea, and I love being his wife and the mother of his children.”
Lacey nodded. “No, I know that, but I mean when he is gone. Do the women flock to him?”
“Oh yeah,” she said with a nod. “But with Shea, I know where I stand. I know that I hung the moon and stars in his eyes. No woman can touch what I can do for him, and I remember that always.”
“Yeah, that’s how I feel with Karson.”
“Then y’all will be just fine. Not trusting someone and the doubt that they’ll be true is what kills marriages. ‘Give in to love, or live in fear.’”
“Rent,” Lacey said with a grin.
“Yup, I’m your go-to Broadway girl.”
They shared a grin but then Lacey looked down, letting out a breath. Elli’s words were riveting and hit Lacey right in the soul. She didn’t want to live in fear; she wanted to love Karson. “He hates my family,” she said more to herself than Elli. “And he thinks they are setting him up.”
Elli leaned on her palm as she held Lacey’s hand. “Karson is a pretty stand-up guy, ya know? But I can see where that would cause a problem.”
“Yeah, I just feel like we can’t win. Something is always coming after us.”
“They usually do with the good ones. Don’t worry, y’all are the picture of love. No one can touch true love, believe me, I know. But nonetheless, I’ll keep you in my prayers,” Elli said with a nod and Lacey smiled.
“Thanks, Elli,” she said, feeling a little better.
“Anytime,” she promised. She then asked, “What kind of movies do you like?”
“Anything really,” she answered with a shy smile. “I’m not picky.”
“Have you read Pride and Prejudice or seen the movie?”
Lacey nodded. “Yes, I love the book, read it in school. I haven’t seen the movie though.”
Elli grinned. “Well, good. I am having everyone over tomorrow for movie night and we are watching that. You should come. I won’t accept anything but a yes.”
Lacey laughed at the look Elli gave her. She wasn’t playing around, but Lacey was sure she could get out of it if she wanted to. The thing was, while it made her nervous, she knew she had to go. This was her home now. Elli was a friend, and she needed to make more if she planned to be completely happy in Nashville. No more playing around. It was time to put down roots.
“I would love to.”
Staring at his computer, he ran his fingers through his hair.
This was not good. Not good at fucking all.
Picking up his phone, he dialed JT’s number and waited for him to answer. JT had flown to Colorado after his last surgery and would stay there until he was done with his physical therapy. That was if they could keep a therapist to work with him. He had already driven off two in only two weeks. He hated the therapy though, and wasn’t shy about telling everyone. It was easy to say that Jordie Thomas was hard to deal with.
That being said though, Karson needed his best friend.
“What?” he answered and Karson rolled his eyes.
“Well, hello to you too, asshole.”
“You would be mad too if some dude was bending your leg in all sorts of ways and getting pissy with you because you won’t cooperate. I f
ired his candy-ass, fucking douche.”
Make that three he had driven off.
“Did you ever consider that maybe you should do what they want? They are professionals.”
“I don’t give two shits. It hurts. I don’t want to do it.”
“Then you won’t get better,” Karson reminded him. “And then you’ll never play.”
JT paused for a second and then said, “Fine, I’ll be nice to the next one.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Karson muttered. Remembering why he called, he said, “So I have an issue.”
“Okay?”
He explained what had happened in Chicago. As he retold everything, he still couldn’t fathom that Lacey didn’t believe him. Why the hell would he lie? There was no reason to and furthered the point that her father was the motherfucker who was trying to ruin them! But she didn’t see it that way. She had fucking daddy issues and was allowing them power to believe something that wasn’t true.
“Wow. That blows, dude. If I’d been there, I would have kicked his ass,” JT promised but Karson couldn’t even appreciate that at that moment.
“Yeah, I know, but that’s not the kicker.”
“No?”
“No, the dude somehow got pictures of her kissing me and put them online or paid her to do it or something. They are suggestive as hell though, and Lacey may not be mad now, but after she sees these, she will be.”
“Seriously?” JT asked. “Dude, send me the link.”
“Hold on,” he said as he sent the link in an email to JT. “Done.”
As he waited for JT to get the pictures, he looked at them with pure disgust. She was all over him, her long hair falling along her shoulders, her lips so close to his and from the angle the shot was taken, it looked like she was kissing him on the lips. He knew that Lacey trusted him, but she was not going to be happy that these pictures were on the Internet or that they had tagged Lacey’s business in the post.
Stupid Puck Bunnies R Us site.
“Oooweee. Not good.”
“I know. She’s going to rip me apart,” Karson groaned.
“Why did they have to tag her business though and make it seem like you came on to the girl? Have you contacted your lawyer? This is slander in a way,” he said and Karson nodded his head.