“Awesome. Oh my God, Jordie, you sound so damn good. I can’t wait to see you and squeeze you,” she squealed, and Jordie blushed as he smiled.

“I can’t either,” he admitted.

“Come to dinner next weekend?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good,” she decided. “Okay, so text me when your plane lands, and I’ll see you Monday morning before y’all start training. Did you hear that Karson’s sister is the new trainer? I heard she’s been kicking our boys’ asses over the summer.”

Jordie’s heart went dead in his chest as he sucked in a deep breath. He would be spending a lot of time with her in the future, and he prayed that it would continue out of the club gym too. But he had some big-time fixing to do. Getting Kacey to trust him again wouldn’t be easy. Swallowing, he nodded. “I did hear that.”

“Yeah, Shea says she has the hands of a god, and I wanted to be jealous of her for that. But I’m pretty sure she could kill me with those god-like hands, so I just threatened to kill Shea if he left me with his clan of children. Told him he had to at least take the twins.”

Jordie scoffed. “Elli, Shea isn’t going anywhere without you.”

“I know,” she said with a sweet giggle. “Gotta keep him on his toes though. And it doesn’t help that Kacey is just gorgeous with the body of a damn goddess.”

Jordie closed his eyes for a brief second, the vision of her beautifully naked body covering his filling his mind before he let out a long breath. “Again, Shea won’t leave you.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said. But thanks, makes her rubbing out his tight muscles a little less bothersome.”

Jordie laughed. “Good to know. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on things for you,” he teased and she laughed.

“I knew I loved you for a reason,” she said warmly. “You know, now that I think about it, you two would be adorable together. She’s tall like you, built like an ox. She needs a strong, burly dude. You could so pull that off.”

“You think?” Jordie asked and his grin grew.

“Yes, I do. It’s now my sole purpose in life to get you two together. I need you to settle down.”

“You sound like a mom, Elli, and I’m too old to be your son,” he said, very careful not to add that she sounded like his mom. She didn’t, because his mom was too busy finding a new husband since hers died two months ago. The only reason he knew that was because of Facebook. She didn’t even know that Jordie was in rehab, probably didn’t care either. He hadn’t heard from her in months. He tried not to let that bother him, but it still stung. It would have been nice to have his mother fuss over him, but she never did.

“Well, I wear that title proudly, but are you telling me to butt out in a nice way?”

Jordie laughed. “No, play the matchmaker. I’m sure Kacey would love that,” he said, knowing damn well she wouldn’t.

Elli didn’t say anything for a moment and then said, “In some weird way, I feel like you have a thing for Ms. King.”

“Me? Never. That’s my best friend’s sister.”

“Which answers how you know each other,” she added and he laughed.

“Oh look, I just got to the airport. I’ll text you later.”

She laughed. “Have a safe flight, Jordie.”

“Thanks, Elli.”

As he hung up the phone, his grin was erased. Because Jordie didn’t have a thing for Kacey King. No, he was madly in love with her. And the sooner she knew that, the better.

When Jordie pulled into the driveway of Karson and Lacey’s exquisite home, he let out a sigh of relief. He was home. Their home had always been a second home of his. He and Karson had roomed together for as long as he could remember, and when Karson moved in with Lacey, there wasn’t a time that Jordie didn’t feel comfortable stopping by just to hang with them. He was always welcomed there, and when he got hurt, Lacey volunteered to care for him. Which was why he didn’t hesitate on coming in early to help her out while Karson was gone.

The house was huge. Mansion-size almost, but it fit them. It was very country chic but modern. Once Lacey got ahold of it, it became their home and very inviting. Jordie had a designated room, one that was attached to the room that Kacey would sleep in when she visited, which was probably what had led to them sleeping together. Okay, that was a lie; he wanted her from the beginning and had to have her. The easy access was key, plus neither of them was able to say no. His room was down the hall from Karson and Lacey’s, and he figured that Mena Jane would be in the big room at the end of that hall. The room had huge French doors and windows for days. It would suit a newborn just perfectly, especially since Lacey’s walk-through closet connected to it. She had been using it as her office. But he was sure that would have changed since she had opened Lacey’s Lace, her lingerie store that accommodated women who’d had mastectomies, here in Nashville.

Gathering his bags, he headed toward the house, noticing that only the living room light was on—the rest of the house dark. It was late, but it wasn’t that late, he noted as he reached the back door, using his key to get in. Once he entered, he threw his bags down as he relocked the door. When he turned though, Lacey was standing there, looking like roadkill run over twice, a baby held close to her chest and a gun pointed at him.

“Shit, Lacey!” he hollered, holding up his hands. “When did you start packing?”