by L. P. Dover
“I thought you said you took a test.”
I nodded. “I did, but it was a while ago. It could’ve been too early to detect on the test. I’ve seen it plenty of times.”
She stepped closer and pulled me into her arms. “Girl, I swear. We need to get you a test. After we leave here, we’ll get you one, okay?”
Walking over to the sink, I met her gaze in the mirror and turned my body to look at my stomach. Deep down, I had a feeling that I was, but the test had ruled it out. Excitement bubbled in my veins. “I want to take it with Maddox,” I said, turning to face her.
Grinning wide, she nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. He’s going to be so freaking excited.”
“You think?”
“Oh, I know so. I can’t wait to find out the results.”
“When do you think will be a good time?”
She shrugged. “The sooner, the better.”
Chapter 23
Maddox
Practice was finally over. I kept waiting for the day Kellan would put me where I could pummel Braeden, but he always kept us separated. “How long do you think it’s going to take Dallas to pick up on the tension between you and Braeden?” Justin asked.
“Not long. I just don’t know how much more I can take.” I passed him the puck.
The guys had all showered and left, but Justin and I decided to stay out on the ice until the rink opened up to the public. I loved being out there, but I missed the feel of playing outside on a real pond. Those were the good ole days.
“Forget about him. You have Lacey. That’s all that matters.” He shot the puck back to me. People started coming through the doors and watching us.
“But Wallace is too far up her ass to just let her go. They have too much history.”
Justin glanced over at the crowd and then skated over to me. “Hopefully it’ll all die down soon. When Braeden sees how happy you and Lacey are together, he’ll move on.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, right. Lacey isn’t an easy woman to get over. I should know.”
He slapped a hand down on my shoulder. “Think positive, man. You should come out with Miranda and me tonight. We haven’t hung out in a while.”
Kellan raised his hand and pointed at the crowd. It was time for us to get off the ice. “Sorry, man,” I replied. “Got plans.”
Justin chuckled. “You really have it bad, dude. I think I’m a little jealous.”
I patted his shoulder. “You should be. I bet if you picked the girl from week four you’d be just as happy as me.”
He punched me in the shoulder. “That’s fucked up. I made one wrong decision, that’s it. I’m paying for it, believe me.”
We skated off the ice and headed toward the locker room. “I know you are. I’m not about to fuck things up like you did.”
“What makes Lacey so special? What are you not telling me?” Luckily, there was no one in the locker room.
I tore off my pads. “There’s a lot you don’t know. And before you ask, no, I’m not telling you.”
My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I was surprised to see it was my mother. “Hey,” I answered, sitting down on the bench.
“Hey, sweetheart. How are you?”
I watched Justin walk away toward the showers. “Busy with practice. You?”
“Doing okay. Work has been taking up a lot of time.” The line went silent. I could tell there was something on her mind.
“What’s going on, Mom? I can hear the sadness in your voice.”
She blew out a shaky breath. “I miss you. I’d really like for you to come home and visit every once in a while.”
It killed me to disappoint her. I never wanted to hurt her. “You know why I don’t. I can’t stand hearing about all the things I’m doing wrong in life.”
“I know,” she murmured. “Your father’s a difficult man. He just wants so much for you.”
“No, he wants to live his dreams through me, and I’m obviously not doing it right. I’m not in the wrong here. If he wants to talk to me, he needs to call me. Otherwise, I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“All right,” she replied, her voice just above a whisper. “I’d still love to see you when you get a chance. We can have lunch.”
“Sounds good, Mom. I’ll talk to you soon.” We hung up just as Justin turned the corner, his hair still wet from the shower.
“Everything okay?”
I tossed my phone into my bag. “Same bullshit as before with my dad.”
“You still haven’t talked to him?”
“Nope. And he hasn’t called me, either.”
Justin shook his head. “I’m glad my dad’s not like that.”
I scoffed. “Why do you think I wanted to live with you when we were kids.”
“Hello,” a voice called. “Justin? Maddox?” It was Kristen.
“Yeah, we’re here,” I shouted back.
“Kellan just left for a few minutes with Braeden and Dallas, but I need help moving my desk. Can one of you come?”
“Sure, I’ll be right there.” I took off the rest of my pads and slipped on a T-shirt and jeans.
“Thanks, Maddox.”
Justin held out his fist. “If you change your mind about tonight, let me know. We’ll be at Sammy’s.”
I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulders. “Doubt it. See you tomorrow.” Kristen was in her office, clearing off everything on top when I walked through her door. “I’m here.”
“Yay, thank you.” Kristen was a beautiful woman with her silky auburn hair, but she had nothing on Lacey. In fact, no one compared to her.
“Where do you want the desk moved to?” I asked.
Kristen pointed to the only vacant corner in the room. “There, please. That way I can see the rink from that position. I like being able to watch you guys and work at the same time.”
There were sketches of her interior design projects on the table, and I couldn’t help but look at them. “Still doing your interior designing stuff?”
Beaming, she reached for her sketches. “Of course. I don’t do it all the time, but I get about two jobs a week.” I moved her desk and she piled everything back on top. “You know, Kellan and I really like what you did with Dallas and Callie’s backyard. We were thinking of getting our landscaping redone.” She looked up at me and smiled. “Would you maybe stop by one day in the next couple of weeks and take a look?”
“Seriously?” I asked.
She giggled. “Of course. I really like what you did. Coming from one designer to another, you’re really talented.”
I’d never really thought about what landscape design could mean for my future. My whole life had been nothing but hockey. “Thanks, Kristen. That means a lot.” I headed for the door. “Let me know what day and I’ll be there.”
Her smile widened. “Will do.”
I walked out and came face to face with the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Blond hair in a braid, Lacey was dressed in a loose pink T-shirt and shorts. “Maddox,” she said, voice low. “What are you doing in here?”
“Kristen needed my help.” I saw Callie putting on her skates. “You going to skate around with Cal?”
She shook her head and laughed. “Not today. I don’t want to break anything.” Biting her lip, she quickly glanced around. “I really need to talk to you. I don’t think it can wait. Let me say hello to Kristen and we’ll find a place to go.”
I could hear the urgency in her tone and see the nervousness on her face. “Sounds good.” I moved out of her way and she walked past me, the smell of her perfume wafting past my nose. It never got old. As soon as she disappeared into Kristen’s office, I headed over to Callie.
Her eyes sparkled when she saw me. “Hey, you. I figured you’d be here, since Lacey was.”
I shrugged. “I like to be where she is. Plus, I had to help Kristen move her desk. Dallas and Braeden left with Kellan supposedly.”
She finished lacing her skates and stood. “Yeah, Kellan
’s dad needed help with his roof. They all figured they could get it done quicker with them all helping.” Her gaze focused on something over my shoulder. “Lacey and Kristen are coming.”
I turned around and watched them both approach. Kristen and Callie started talking and I slowly stepped away, closer to Lacey. “There’s a back room down the hall,” she whispered. “Let’s go in there.” Lacey met my gaze and nodded toward the hallway. “Let’s go.” I followed her to the room and the door was unlocked. It was a large storage room with supplies and plenty of space. We walked inside and I shut the door behind us.
“What do you want to talk about that couldn’t wait until we got to your place?” I asked.
When she turned around, all I wanted to do was kiss her. “I know we’re not the same people we were before when we met in Vegas.”
I chuckled. “Don’t I know it. You have a completely different name.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Ha-ha. Do you have to remind me of that?”
“Yep. You’re the only person who’s ever pulled one over on me.”
“And I know I owe you an apology for that. I’m sorry for lying. I did it to protect you and myself. If Dallas were to find out, he would’ve killed you.”
I winked. “He could’ve tried.” I walked over and leaned against the wall beside her. “Are you ready to start your job on Monday?”
She looked up at me with that carefree smile of hers. “More than ready. I hate sitting around and not doing anything. I like to stay busy.” My brows lifted and she giggled. “Yes, you keep me busy at night. I’m talking about during the day. I think I’ve explored your house a gazillion times.”
I held up my hands. “Just making sure. I thought I was doing pretty damn good keeping you satisfied.”
“You are. You know how I am.”
“Oh, I know. We were on the go constantly in Vegas.” Every day we were out there, we walked up and down the Strip, going in and out of the hotels. We talked nonstop. “I remember when you were so worried you weren’t going to pass your medical exams.”
A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “I remember. You had a way of helping me forget those fears.”
“I just wish you would’ve told me the truth about who you were. I often wondered if the things you told me were actually real.”
“It was all real. Everything I told you about my family and growing up was the truth. The only thing I left out was the hockey part.”
“And that was a big part, Lacey.”
She nodded and looked away. “I know. Like I told you before, I knew what hockey guys were like. It scared me to be so close to you. At first I thought I could get over it, but the fear took over.”
“I wish you would’ve talked to me about it,” I murmured. “I would’ve done anything to make you trust me. I thought you did.” Grasping her chin, I gently turned her back to me. “I don’t think I’ve given you a reason not to, have I?”
She touched my hand. “No. And luckily, Dallas seems to like you more now.”
I agreed with a nod. “That’s a good thing. I’m hoping he considers me a friend.”
“He does, but Braeden’s his friend also. I don’t want him in the middle.” She waved her hand. “But none of that’s what I needed to tell you. I’m so nervous I got a little sidetracked.”
I brushed a strand of her hair behind her ears. “What is it?”
The storage door opened and she shrieked, jumping away from me. Braeden stood in the doorway, shaking his head. “If you’re trying to keep things on the down low, you’re both doing a really shitty job of it.”
Lacey stepped in front of him. “We were just talking.”
Braeden glared at me, the muscles in his jaw clenched tight. “I need to talk to Ledger for a minute.”
Lacey’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”
He stepped out of the way of the door so she could pass. “Trust me,” he said.
She glanced back at me and I nodded. “It’s okay.”
She walked out of the room and looked back at me once more before disappearing out the door. It was best she wasn’t in there. Braeden stepped up to me, body tense, and I was more than ready to fight. “You know what I think is funny?” he said.
I huffed. “I don’t really care, but I know you’re going to tell me anyway.”
He chuckled. “You’re right. It’s funny because I know a guy like you has no fucking clue what to do with a woman like Lacey.”
“We’re managing just fine,” I replied, giving him an eat-shit grin.
All traces of a smile vanished when he looked at me. “All you’re going to do is drag her down. Why do you think she left you in Vegas?”
I’d been told my whole life that I was never good enough. Hearing that come out of that cocksucker’s mouth made my blood boil. I reared back and punched him on the side of the jaw. His head snapped to the side, but it didn’t knock him down like I thought it would. He punched me back and then everything after that was a blur. Rage consumed me and I gave in to it. I tackled him to the ground and hit him again. He elbowed me so hard in the ribs I was afraid he’d broken one. The pain knocked my breath away.
Voices echoed down the hall and the next thing I knew I was hauled to my feet. Braeden stood and wiped the blood away from his mouth with his shirt. “What the fuck is going on?” Kellan shouted, pulling me back farther.
Dallas raced in, followed by Callie and Lacey. He glanced quickly back and forth between Braeden and me. “I’d like to know the same thing.”
Lacey’s face turned pale and her eyes widened in sheer panic. “It was a misunderstanding,” I said, avoiding Lacey’s stare. Callie rushed out of the room and came back with a handful of wet paper towels. She handed me one and I used it to wipe the blood off my face. It was then I felt the pain in my hand. My knuckles were split wide open.
Arms crossed over his chest, Kellan glared at Braeden and me. “A misunderstanding? You threw punches over a misunderstanding? What are we, in high school?”
I couldn’t explain what happened without exposing Lacey’s and my secret. As much as I wanted everyone to know about us and our past, I couldn’t do it, not until she was ready. A part of me wished she’d go ahead and say it. For once in my life, I had to bite my tongue.
“We had a difference of opinion. It won’t happen again,” I replied.
Kellan huffed. “You’re damn right it won’t. We have a game in a couple of days and I don’t want the team at odds. This fiasco will go unmentioned. Is that understood? If someone asks what happened to you, you say you ran into a fucking door. I’m not going to put up with this.”
Braeden nodded. “We’re good.”
Kellan’s brows raised as he looked at me. “Can I trust you?”
“Yes. I told you it won’t happen again.”
Braeden walked out of the room, followed by Dallas and Kellan. Tears fell down Lacey’s cheeks. Callie grabbed her hand. “Go. I’ve got Maddox.”
She mouthed the words I love you before taking off after them.
Callie stayed and dabbed one of the wet paper towels over top of my eyebrow. I hissed in pain. “Care to tell me what that was about?” she asked, shaking her head in disapproval.
“Braeden opened his fucking mouth, that’s what.”
Sighing, she stepped back. “What did he say?”
“Basically that I’d drag Lacey down. What I’m sure he meant was that I’m a worthless piece of shit who doesn’t deserve a woman like her.” I’d wondered that plenty of times before.
Groaning, she closed her eyes. “Don’t listen to him, Maddox. You and Lacey both deserve each other.” When she opened her eyes, they sparkled. “Did Lacey happen to mention something important to you?”
Brows furrowed, I shrugged. “Not that I know of. She never got around to it. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.” She winked. “I want to hear all the details when you do.”
“You’re not going to tell me,
are you?”
She burst out laughing. “Nope. Now go find her.”
Chapter 24
Lacey
Kellan had given Braeden a hat to wear so we could walk out of the facility with Braeden’s face partially hidden. He hadn’t said one word to me since the fight. His right eye was swollen and he had a busted lip. We got outside to the parking lot and I snatched the keys out of his hand. “What the hell were you thinking?” I shouted.
Braeden took off the hat and ran a hand through his hair. “I know,” he said with a huff. “I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
There were people around so I lowered my voice. “So you were the one who threw the first punch?”
He met my gaze. “No, he did. I said something that triggered him. It was a low blow, but I had to test him.”
My heart sank. “What did you say?”
He shrugged. “That he’d only drag you down.” He blew out a heavy breath. “And I might have mentioned why you left him in Vegas.”
Closing my eyes, I breathed in and out slowly. “Don’t ever do that again. If you weren’t my best friend, I’d have punched the shit out of you.” I glared at him. “Maybe I still should.”
He nodded. “I just wish you knew how hard it is for me to see you with him. I meant what I said, you are too good for him. Bringing up Vegas was a low blow. For that, I am sorry.”
“He’s trying to be the better man, Braeden. He took the fall for something you instigated.”
“I know. That shocked me.”
It broke my heart and pissed me off to see Braeden so unhinged. He was the one who always had his head on straight. “One of these days, you’re going to make someone a very lucky lady. She’s out there, I promise.”
He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “I’m not worried about that right now.”
“Good, because you look horrible. Go home and put some ice on your face.”
Muscles tense, he focused on something over my shoulder. “I will.” He turned away and got into his truck, his tires screeching as he sped out of the parking lot.
“Are you ready to go home?” Callie asked.
I glanced at her over my shoulder. Maddox met my gaze and got into his car, waiting for us. “I’m ready. This isn’t exactly the way I wanted to find out if I’m pregnant or not.”
