And usually his gut was right.

Fighting through the cold, they made it back to her apartment, and once inside, Karson looked around the room as Lacey hung his coat and got him a drink. Since he had been too busy tearing off her clothes last night and then rushing to get to practice this morning, he hadn’t really gotten to take in her apartment. Now that he could, he was pleased with what he saw. She was clean, something he expected, and also very chic. The room was done in teals and white, with a black sectional that surrounded a huge TV. Pictures of whom he suspected were her nephews graced every single inch of the apartment. It was obvious that she loved the boys and also Rachel. What surprised him most was that there were only two pictures of her with her dad and brother. He expected a lot more, but maybe it was because she had so many pictures of her and her beautiful mother.

Lacey favored the woman to the extreme. He used to think that she looked like her dad, but when he saw a picture of her with her mother, he knew he was completely wrong. Finding a picture of them together, posing playfully for the camera, his mouth pulled up at the side. He wished he’d had the chance to meet Ashley Martin. He was sure she would have liked him, and maybe then Nate and Grady wouldn’t have been as overly protective as they were. Losing her and then almost losing Lacey to breast cancer really had an effect on the family, and he understood that. But at the same time, he wanted nothing more than to make Lacey happy. He believed with his whole heart that he could, but the Martin men did not agree.

Coming up beside him, Lacey leaned her head on his shoulder and said, “I wish you would have had the chance to meet her.”

Karson smiled. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“She was a stellar human being. I miss her so much.”

“To have such a stellar daughter, she had to be.”

She grinned up at him and asked, “How’s your mom and dad? Kacey?”

Turning, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her nose, unable to get enough of her. “Ma and Dad are great. Ma had a little skin cancer scare about two years ago, and because of it went on a crazy campaign and basically slathers every single person in sunscreen, even when it isn’t sunny.” She laughed softly as he shook his head. “She’s nuts, but we love her. Dad is good. He is coaching at the high school I played at. They come to at least ten home games a year. It’s nice seeing them.”

“I bet, and Kacey?”

“She’s training for the Olympics right now. She is praying and hoping they pick her up for the team. She wants a medal. She thinks it would be better than the fact I’ve won the Cup.”

She laughed. “It kinda is.”

“Shut your mouth!” he teased, gathering her tighter in his arms. “Or at least, don’t tell her that.”

Her eyes softened as she looked down at the base of his neck. “I wish I’d had the chance to meet them back then,” she said sadly, running her finger along his throat as it closed up with emotion. She was supposed to meet them for dinner, but he broke up with her instead. Asshole move on his part. He took a lashing from his mom, and his dad was disappointed, while Kacey called him an idiot. Needless to say, everyone loved Lacey, and they’d never even met her. Showed how special she was and how much he was a freaking idiot to let her go.

“Ma still asks about you.”

Her mouth pulled up at the side. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I think she knows how much you mean to me.”

“That’s really sweet.”

“It’s true, and you’re gonna meet them, Lacey, soon.”

“Really?” she asked, a grin tugging at her glossed-up mouth.

“Yeah, I’ll fly you out there, or fly them here, or whatever. Whatever we decide to do after tonight, I’ll make sure you meet them.”

She moved her fingers along his shoulders and then laced them behind his neck. “What do you want to do after tonight?”

Moving his lips softly against hers but not kissing her, he whispered, “I want to be with you.”

Biting her lip, she nodded. “I want that too.”

His heart exploded in his chest. For years, he had prayed and hoped to hear those words come out of her pretty mouth, and the feeling of insane completion washed over him as he lost himself in her intoxicating eyes. As much as he just wanted to stay in this fucking great moment and imagine their life together, he needed to be honest. He had to lay everything out for her before he took her words to heart. It was hard because he wanted to plan out everything—where they would buy a house, when they would get married and have a baby, but that could all not happen. She could want him now, but once she heard what her father did to them, she could either believe him or not.

He hoped she would trust and believe him, but her relationship with her dad was strong. He played the role as mother and father to Lacey after they lost Ashley. He put her through school, paid for her cancer treatment, and he was supposed to help start her business. It was going to be hard to tell her something as vile as what Nate Martin did to them, but did he have a choice?

Not if he wanted this girl for the rest of his life.

“Lacey, baby, I need to tell you something, and I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like it.”

Dropping her arms, she gazed into his eyes, worry filling her pretty green ones as she asked, “Shit. Is it bad?”

He chuckled as he took her hand before leading her to the couch. “It’s the deep crap we need to talk about before we start planning everything and figuring out things.”