by L. P. Dover
“No, but I can try. I still have time.” I hugged Callie one last time and smiled at her father before walking toward the bridal party. Hannah was already with Braeden, holding his arm as they waited in line. He grinned at me and I tried desperately to put a smile on my face. I felt on the verge of a panic attack, but one look at my brother outside waiting on his bride helped calm me down. I was there for him, not Maddox. I can get through this.
Maddox turned his head and smiled at me as I approached him. It was more like a leer than a smile; it was unnerving. It was as if he knew something I didn’t. His gaze roamed down my body and I hated how I loved it. He held out his arm and I took it. “You look amazing,” he said, his voice low and sensually sexy.
Clearing my throat, I averted my gaze away from him. “Thanks.”
He moved closer, his voice next to my ear. “I was thinking after the wedding, we could grab a couple of drinks at Sammy’s.”
“Sorry, but I think I’m going to turn in early tonight. I have to pack to head back to New York.”
His chuckle made everything inside of me tighten. “You really don’t like me, do you?”
“What’s to like?”
I stood there and ignored the question, keeping my focus on everything else but him. A man and an elderly woman walked through the foyer and the young man waved quickly at Callie’s dad, apologizing for being late. He tried to get the woman out the doors quickly, but a pack of tissues fell out of her purse.
“Wait,” I called out, hurrying over. “You dropped something.” I bent down to pick up the tissues, stepping on my dress in return. The fabric shifted down my back and I was sure everyone behind me could see my bra. I just prayed I didn’t tear my dress. I grabbed the tissues and handed them to her.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” she said, patting my hand.
I smiled. “You’re welcome.” Kristen hurried over and fixed the back of my dress. “I didn’t tear anything, did I?”
“Nope. A part of your dress got caught in your bra, but I pulled it out. You’re good to go now.”
“Thanks, Kris.”
She hurried back to Kellan and took his arm. The doors to the garden opened so I walked up to Maddox, only he wasn’t smiling at me. His crystal blue eyes had darkened, and for a moment, I barely recognized him.
The wedding planner stepped through the doors and clapped, snapping my attention to her. “Three minutes till show time.”
“And we’ll be right back,” Maddox announced, grabbing my wrist.
He pulled me away, and I went willingly with him. I glanced back at Braeden and he started toward us, but I shook my head, stopping him midstep. Maddox turned the corner, his eyes burning like fire.
“I thought I could get through this, but I can’t. I’m so fucking tired of the lies. I know who you are, Lacey.”
My heart stopped. I pretended to be stupid. “Of course, you know who I am. Stop being silly. We need to get back to the wedding.”
He stepped closer, caging me against the wall, with his lips so close to mine. “No,” he growled low. “I mean, I know who you are…Paige.” Keeping his eyes on mine, he glided a hand down my bare back and reached inside my dress, circling his fingers around my strawberry birthmark. My whole body broke out in chills. “Did you seriously think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
“Took you long enough,” I snapped.
“Oh, I knew who you were right after you left me in Vegas.” My mouth dropped. “Yeah, that’s right, sunshine. A well-paid private investigator can find out anything.”
I swallowed hard, and my knees felt like they would buckle at any moment. “If you spent all of that money, why didn’t you come and find me?”
It was the first time I’d ever seen a slight hint of vulnerability in his gaze. “I did. There were several times I flew to New York, thinking I could confront you.” His voice dipped lower and I could hear the anger and see it in his blazing eyes. “You left me for a reason. I want to know why. Was it because I’m not good enough for you?”
It was hard to believe that Maddox was capable of getting his heart broken. The pain in his eyes made me wonder if that was true. Did I make the right decision? “Please, Maddox, let’s be real here. You can’t be trusted,” I finally said.
He scoffed. “Seriously? That’s why you left?”
I lifted my chin. “I’m surprised all the women you’ve been with since didn’t help you forget about me.” And there it was, the source of my pain. Two weeks after I left, he was in the tabloids with other women as if I never existed.
Taken aback, he dropped his arms and stepped away. “I did that to make you jealous, hoping you’d come back to me. I realize now that wasn’t the right approach, and I’ve regretted it ever since. I never slept with any of them.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe it or not, it’s the truth. Why didn’t you tell me who you really were when we met in Vegas? Imagine my surprise when my PI dropped that bomb on me.”
“One more minute,” the wedding planner announced down the hall.
Huffing, I tried to step past him, but he grabbed my arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he repeated through clenched teeth.
Closing my eyes, I tried to ward off the burn behind them. “I didn’t want you using me to get back at my brother. I knew you two hated each other.”
“But yet you knew who I was when we first met.”
I opened my eyes. “I’ve known who you were ever since you joined the Strikers. When I saw you at the bar, you just looked so lost.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “Why did you even care?”
“Let it go, Maddox. So many things have changed since Vegas. It never would’ve worked out between us anyway. Someone had to be the first to leave. I figured it might as well be me.”
He grabbed my chin. “I can’t accept that. You’re my wife, Lacey. That hasn’t changed and it’s time I claim what’s mine.”
The air whooshed out of my lungs and my knees weakened. The wedding planner turned the corner, piercing us with her dark brown eyes. “You’re up, you two. Let’s go.” She nodded toward the foyer and I sighed.
Maddox’s grip loosened and he looped my arm with his. “We’re going to figure this out whether you want to or not,” he hissed as we walked toward the door.
“This day is for my brother and Callie. I’m not about to ruin that,” I said, barely catching my breath.
Braeden stared at us as we walked past, his concerned gaze meeting mine, but then he glared at Maddox. The last thing I wanted was tension between them. It wasn’t good for my brother or the hockey team. I had no clue how I was going to explain everything.
The wedding planner opened the door and Maddox and I walked out first. There were flowers all around, not a single unoccupied seat in the garden. Maddox held me close as we walked down the aisle, his touch making everything inside of me bubble with excitement. I didn’t want to crave his touch, but that was all I’d done since I left him. Never once had I let another man get close to me like that.
It was as if everything moved in slow motion. I’d always wanted a big, beautiful wedding, and now I was walking down the aisle again with my husband. My parents smiled at us and my mother wiped away her tears. I looked over at Dallas and a tear fell down my cheek. He was so happy. There was a time when I felt that same level of happiness.
Maddox and I made it to the front and he gazed down at me before our arms slid apart and we had to move to our designated spots. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time everyone else walked down the aisle, and even when Callie made her grand entrance.
Callie and Dallas faced each other and held hands, just like Maddox and I did in Vegas. The preacher cleared his throat and his voice boomed out over the crowd. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
My eyes instantly locked with Maddox’s and I was whisked away to a time when I had no care in the world, to a time I took him as my husband. I remembered everything as if it were yest
erday. No amount of alcohol we consumed during those two weeks would make me forget. It obviously meant more to me than to him, though. That was one of the reasons I left and never returned.
Chapter 5
Maddox
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride!”
The words were spoken and I was snapped back to reality. Callie and Dallas kissed and the crowd stood and cheered as they made their way down the aisle. Braeden and Hannah followed them and so did Kellan and Kristen. Lacey stepped up to meet me and took my arm. I could feel the tension in her touch. As soon as we walked inside the building, Braeden was right there.
“Everything okay?” he asked her.
She plastered on a fake smile and quickly let me go. “Of course. I’m ready to get these pictures over with so we can eat.” Then she turned to me. “If I don’t see you again, good luck in the rest of the play-offs.”
Braeden couldn’t see it, but the desperate look in her eyes gave me pause. A spark of jealousy ignited in my gut as I watched them turn away, but I let her go. Dallas and Callie looked over at us and waved. For the sake of their wedding day, I bit my tongue and smiled back.
The pictures didn’t take long and Lacey refused to look at me the entire time. She was nervous and on edge. I could tell by the way she popped her knuckles. It was the same thing she did when we went bungee jumping in Vegas.
The photographer was kind of a dick positioning the wedding party this way and that, but he was doing his job, I guess. The more she ignored me, the more I was determined to get to her. She could only hide behind Braeden for so long.
“Dude, you okay?” Justin asked, slapping me on the shoulder. “What’s going on with you and Lacey? Where did you drag her off to?”
I stared over at Lacey, smiling and laughing with Kristen and Kellan, still standing next to Braeden. I wanted answers so fucking bad I couldn’t see straight. Releasing a heavy sigh, I turned my attention to Justin. “She and I have a history. Remember in Vegas when I disappeared for those two weeks with a girl I’d met?”
His snorted. “You mean the one who left you high and dry?”
“Yep.” I nodded over at Lacey. “There she is.”
Justin’s eyes widened in shock. “Seriously? You just realized that now?”
I shook my head. “I’ve known.”
Justin blew out a breath and glanced over at her. “What the hell? I can’t believe you hadn’t called her out. Then again, Dallas will break your legs if he finds out about this. You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”
“By stupid, do you mean seek her out?” A mischievous grin spread across my face. “Then yes, I am. No one leaves me in the dark and gets away with it.” I knew exactly what I was going to do.
Justin groaned. “Whatever you do, leave me out of it. Dallas is my brother-in-law now. For Callie, I can’t get on his bad side.”
I smacked him on the back. “Neither will I.” If Lacey wanted to avoid me, she was going to see just how hard that could be.
* * *
—
I was hoping to sit near Lacey for the dinner, but Callie assigned people to the damn tables. It didn’t surprise me that I ended up on the other side of the room with my parents and others from our family. A part of me wondered if it was on purpose to keep me away from Lacey.
“Got a big game next week, son,” my father said. “You’re not going to lose it like the last two, are you?”
Fists clenched under the table, I looked at my father. His hair was almost fully gray and the deep lines around his face were no doubt put there by countless years of hard labor. My mother glared at him and then turned her apologetic blue stare to mine. I’d gotten my dark brown hair and blue eyes from her, but I was told I resembled my father in the face. Little did she know I didn’t give a fuck what my father thought. My team had worked hard and we lost. There was nothing we could do about it.
My father tapped his finger hard on the table. “I’m talking to you, son. You better get your shit in gear next week. Nobody likes losers.”
“That’s enough,” my mother quietly hissed.
It was true, we didn’t win. For so long we’d been unstoppable, prompting other teams to get bigger and better. This year we’d met our match with Pittsburgh. They’d kicked our asses the past two games. My father grew up playing hockey, but he never went pro. It was up to me to fulfill his dreams and he made sure to work me to death as a kid to make that happen.
I looked my father square in his green eyes. “Guess you forgot about the past championships we won. Then again, I guess nothing’s ever good enough for you.” Meeting my mother’s gaze, I pushed my chair back and stood. “I’ll see you later.”
Callie and Dallas already had their wedding dance and everyone was out on the dance floor, including Lacey and Braeden. Judging by the way she looked at me she could tell something was wrong. I walked past the dance floor toward the bar, only to be stopped by a pretty blonde in a pink dress.
“Hi,” she said, placing her hands on my chest. “Wanna dance?”
A waiter walked by with a tray of champagne so I took one and tossed it back. “Sure.”
I set the glass down and took her hand just as “Take Your Time” by Sam Hunt played over the speakers. I placed my hands on her hips and she moved in close, her body flush with mine. She smiled at me and bit her lip. “I’m Jessica. I just started working at the hospital with Callie. Guess you can say I was super excited to be invited. It’s not every day I get to be in the same room as the Charlotte Strikers.”
Most of the time I enjoyed hearing praise like that, but it did nothing to ease my tension until I caught Lacey’s reaction out of the corner of my eye. She tried not to pay attention to me, but I could see the jealousy in her eyes as I danced with Jessica. I loved it because it proved she cared.
“It’s your lucky day then,” I told her.
She perked up. “I know. My family’s not going to believe I danced with one of you. Do you mind if we get a picture together?”
I looked over at her table where one of her friends beamed at me with a huge smile and a phone in her hands. “Sure,” I said, pulling her in tighter. Jessica’s cheek rested against mine as I held her up against me. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Lacey’s face. She was the one who left me and I wanted her to see what she’d been missing.
After the picture was taken, the other girls at the table wanted their pictures with me as well. I posed with all four of them until Callie grabbed my arm. “Sorry, ladies. I need to dance with my cousin.”
Jessica and the others smiled and took their seats at the table while Callie and I strolled onto the dance floor. “Ready for your honeymoon?” I asked her.
She snorted. “What honeymoon? We get a few short days away before Dallas has to be back for your next play-off game.” She glanced at my watch and smiled. “Our flight leaves in three hours. We’ll probably head out of here soon. We’re going to take our real honeymoon once the season’s over.”
“Let’s just hope we win.”
Her gaze saddened. “Uncle Royce giving you shit for losing?”
“Yep, like it’s all my fault.”
Callie rubbed a hand soothingly up and down my arm. “I always thought he’d loosen up on you as we got older, but he never did.”
“No shit. He’s gotten worse. It’s like the past few years of winning the Stanley Cup just made him want it more. The harder I try, the less he sees it. I’m done talking to him.”
She hugged me tight. “He’ll soon realize it’s not all about winning. Even if the Strikers lose the championship this season, you guys still made NHL history. No other team has been able to win as much as you guys have.”
Callie was right, but it still didn’t make things better. It was going to piss me off if we lost the championship. Jessica and the other women at her table smiled at us and Callie giggled. “Women just love you, don’t they?”
I shrugged. “Not all of them, but y
ou already know that.”
She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. It’s hard being in the middle.”
My focus turned to Lacey, who was now dancing with Dallas. “I know. I understand. She’s your friend. But as I’m a part of your family, I need your help to get to her.”
“What?” she snapped, wide eyed. “I don’t want to get in the middle of that. What if Dallas finds out?”
“Then don’t let him. I have to talk to her before she leaves town. Do you know when she’s heading out?”
She sighed. “Tomorrow. You’ll have to work fast.”
“Where will she be tonight?”
The song ended and Dallas waved her over toward the stage. She squeezed my hand and blew out a nervous breath. “At our house. Don’t tell her I told you.”
She hurried off and I couldn’t help but smile.
Chapter 6
Lacey
“You sure you don’t want to stay at my house tonight?” Braeden asked. “That way you don’t have to be alone.” Always the protector. It was one of the things I admired about him. Not everyone knew how kindhearted he could be.
I unlocked the door to Dallas and Callie’s home. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be good to get some peace and quiet. There hasn’t been much of that since I’ve been in town.”
He chuckled. “I know.”
We walked inside and I turned on the living room lights. All I could think about was Maddox. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough and I’d be on my way back to New York and away from him. I sat down on the couch, but Braeden leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His tie hung loose around his neck and his unbuttoned white dress shirt hung to the sides, revealing the snug white T-shirt underneath.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
His gaze narrowed. “What really went on between you and Maddox today? I tried to look past it, but I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Sighing, I stood and walked over to him. “It’s nothing, trust me. I can take care of myself.”