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  His arm slid around my waist. “You know you do.” Of course, I did. I just wasn’t secure enough yet.

  Sophia snickered and turned away. “If I need to give you two some privacy, just let me know.”

  For the first time in forever, my cheeks burned. Maddox squeezed my waist and let me go. “Actually, I only have a few minutes.” His gaze found mine. “I just wanted to see you to discuss the next few weeks.” Sophia stood and tiptoed to my bedroom and shut the door, trying her best to be discreet. “I saw you and Sophia at dinner with Braeden last night. I should’ve joined you.”

  I snorted. “And what would you have said?”

  He shrugged. “I could’ve pretended to be Sophia’s date.”

  “I see you’re stalking me now.”

  His eyes darkened and he bit his lip. “I’m your husband, it’s not called stalking, it’s called caring.”

  “Maybe I should get a restraining order against you.”

  “You can try. Can’t say it’ll work.” Gently grabbing my wrists, he pulled my arms around his neck, his body so close to mine. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to leave you right now?”

  “You’ve managed for over two years without me.”

  “Not that I wanted to. If someone didn’t play silly games we wouldn’t have been separated this long.” His lips closed over mine. “I’m going to call you every day. Promise me you’ll pick up?”

  “I can’t promise if I’m at work, but I’ll do my best. But I can promise I’ll talk to you every night.”

  That seemed to appease him by the smile on his face. He kissed me again, but then his gaze turned serious. “I want us to be husband and wife again, Lacey. For the next six weeks, practice will be brutal, but I’ll have a few days off here and there. I want to fly up here and see you on those days.”

  “Won’t that be too much on you?” I asked, genuinely concerned.

  He shook his head. “I’ll be fine. However, there’s something else we need to discuss.” Gently grabbing my wrists, he pulled my arms away from his neck and held my hands.

  “Maddox, what is it?” I was afraid to hear what he had to say, and I could tell he was nervous by the way the muscles in his jaw ticked.

  “I don’t know how your residency works, but I’m asking you, as your husband, to find a way to transfer.”

  Eyes wide, I gasped. “You mean, move to North Carolina?”

  He nodded. “I would give up hockey and move up here if you wanted me to, but with some of your family in North Carolina, I figured you’d be open to it.”

  Sophia was just inside my bedroom and I had no doubt she could hear us. She was the only friend I had in New York. I would miss her, but Maddox was right, I had family in North Carolina. And now I had another reason to make the transfer.

  Squeezing his hands, I took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Maddox’s face lit up. “Seriously? You’re actually going to try?”

  I glanced out the window at the city lights. I’d always known I wasn’t a city girl. Leaving didn’t bother me one bit. “This isn’t my home, Maddox. I don’t belong here. It might take a few weeks to get the transfer and get everything squared away up here though.”

  Letting my hands go, he cupped my face. “You have no idea how much this means to me. All I want is for us to be together and to try to work things out.”

  “I’m going to try, Maddox. I can’t promise things will work out between us.”

  He traced his thumb across my lips. “It will. I have faith.” He kissed me one last time and let me go. “I have to go. Don’t work too hard, sunshine.”

  “Same for you.” He opened the door and glanced back at me one more time before it shut.

  Sophia barged out of my room and gasped. “I heard everything. Are you really going to move?”

  My chest ached and I rubbed a hand over it. The second Maddox walked out the door, I felt lost. That was how I’d been since I left him. I didn’t want him to leave. “I am,” I answered truthfully.

  “And why don’t you want to tell the world you’re married to him?”

  Sighing, I sat down at the bar. “First, I’m not ready for the media circus. I need to tell my family before it goes public. And even then, I’m not ready to tell them just yet. Plus, it’ll hurt less keeping it a secret if Maddox fucks me over. My face won’t be plastered on every tabloid in the country for everyone to see my pain. It’s just easier this way.”

  Sophia shrugged. “Listening to him today, it doesn’t sound like he wants to hurt you. Sometimes you have to take risks. My husband was never like that. Don’t let your fear keep you away from something great.”

  I hugged her tight. “I’m going to miss you when I leave. I don’t know what I’ll do without you.” She was right, though. I couldn’t let my fear stop me. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

  Chapter 12

  Maddox

  It’d been a week since I left New York and I’d talked to Lacey every single night. I couldn’t wait to see her again. I didn’t realize how much her job demanded of her. Pulling out my phone, I texted her. Even though it was a holiday, I knew she still had to work. I was tempted to fly up to see her, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to spend time with me.

  Me: Have a good day. I miss you.

  A few minutes passed and no response.

  “Why are you in here all alone?” I closed the tabloid magazine and slid it away. I glanced over my shoulder and a sultry brunette holding her frozen strawberry daiquiri smiled at me. “I’m Laura,” she said, smiling wide.

  It was Justin’s idea to have a Labor Day party at his house. Everyone on the team was there, including a shit ton of women, all wearing only their bathing suits. There was a time I’d be down for partying with them, but those days were long past.

  “What can I do for you, Laura?” I tapped my fingers impatiently on the kitchen counter.

  She sat beside me and bit her lip. “Justin sent me in here to get you. He thought I could help you loosen up.” Damn Justin. Pressing her tits to my side, she ran her fingers up my thigh and my shorts.

  I grabbed her wrist. “Not interested, sweetheart.”

  Her brows lifted, the grin on her face showing she was clearly amused. “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  I let her go and she pulled back. “If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.” Justin appeared behind her and shook his head at me. Laura strolled off and smiled at me once more before disappearing out the door.

  “Dude, you’ve got to get over this. Why don’t you go get laid or something?” Justin snatched the tabloid off the table and tossed it into the trash.

  “It’s not what I want.” I could still see the front-page picture on the magazine of Lacey and Braeden as they walked down the New York streets over a week ago now. I was there when the pictures were taken and I was there the day he left so I could see her. One day the paparazzi would be following her and me around, too. Seeing that cocksucker Braeden every day at practice only made things worse. Any man would want Lacey, and I had no doubt he was one of them. I only wished he knew she was mine.

  Shaking his head, Justin slid a shot full of whiskey my way. I tossed it back and it burned all the way down my throat. I welcomed the feeling and pointed to the glass. “Top it off again.”

  Sighing, he poured me some more. As soon as I got back from New York, I’d told him everything that happened with Lacey minus the marriage part. I didn’t trust that he could keep it to himself. “Why don’t you go outside and join the party? Some of the guys are going to the club tonight. You should come with us. It’ll help take your mind off things.”

  I scoffed. “Is Miranda going to let you go?”

  Justin rolled his eyes. “She’s coming, too, and so are some of her friends, including Laura. I have no doubt you could fuck her and all the others if you wanted to.” He looked out the window at Laura and waggled his brows. “She’s smokin’ hot. You could always
make Lacey jealous.” Laura was beautiful in her own fake way, but fucking her or anyone else wasn’t something I ever wanted to do. I had my wife back.

  I sucked down the last shot and huffed. “Fuck that, man. This isn’t high school anymore. Women don’t like that shit.”

  “Damn, Mad, what’s going on? You’ve never been this hard up over a woman before.”

  Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, I took a long, hard swig. It took all I had to leave Lacey in New York. Now that she was starting to come around, it was harder to be away from her. How the hell I’d managed all that time away from her was beyond me. “She’s mine, Justin. Everyone might think she’s with Wallace, but she’s not.”

  He squeezed my shoulder. “Whatever you say, cuz. Now come on, let’s go outside. Just stay away from Braeden.”

  I followed him to the back door and stopped when my phone beeped. I opened the text and my stomach clenched.

  Lacey: Doesn’t look like you miss me.

  She’d sent a picture of Braeden, Dallas, and Callie all smiling at the camera. Then, in the background, you could see me inside through the glass door with Laura beside me, her hand on my leg. Fuck!

  “You have got to be shitting me,” I growled, squeezing my phone so hard I thought it’d break.

  Braeden, Dallas, and Callie were outside standing by the pool. I’d intentionally avoided them. Now, Lacey had a fucking picture of me with another woman.

  “Everything okay?” Justin asked.

  “No,” I snapped, texting Lacey back.

  Me: That was nothing. You have to believe me.

  Lacey: Kind of hard to believe. I have to go. Real busy right now.

  Justin opened the door and I backed away. I could feel the anger building inside my gut; it didn’t mix well with the alcohol. “I need to leave before I do something stupid.” Callie caught my gaze and started toward me, leaving Dallas and Braeden outside. Turning on my heel, I marched straight for the front door.

  “Maddox, wait!” she shouted. Before I could open the door, she grabbed my arm. “Are you drunk?” she hissed, trying to pull me back.

  “Nope.”

  She waved her hand in front of her face. “I can smell it on your breath. Why do you look like you’re about to kill someone?”

  “Because I’m pissed,” I snapped, taking another hard gulp of the whiskey. “If I go outside, I’ll say something I’ll regret. Fucking Wallace took a pic and sent it to Lacey.”

  I showed it to her and her eyes widened in shock. “That was an innocent picture, Maddox. Braeden didn’t do that on purpose.”

  I flung my arm toward the back door. “What the fuck ever. You all think he’s a goddamn golden boy. He’s trying to get Lacey and I don’t fucking like it. She’s mine.”

  She froze and a look of confusion passed across her face. “They’re just friends, Maddox.”

  “Obviously, not in his eyes.”

  She squeezed my arm. “You have nothing to worry about. You’re on Dallas’s good side now. If you go after Braeden, it won’t look good and will piss Dallas off. Don’t do that.”

  Fists clenched at my sides, I looked right into her eyes. “I’ll leave, then.” With those final words, I stormed out the door, whiskey in hand.

  I didn’t get far down the sidewalk before a familiar red sports car pulled up beside me. The passenger-side window lowered and Dallas shook his head. “Plan on walking the whole way home?” he said, chuckling.

  It was so fucking hot, sweat poured into my eyes, but I kept walking. “Maybe.”

  Dallas laughed again and trailed along beside me. “Get in the car, dumbass. I’ll drive you home.”

  “I’m capable of getting there on my own.”

  “No doubt about it, but Callie will kill me if something happens to you.”

  With a heavy sigh, I tossed the bottle of whiskey into the woods and got into the car. I was surprised Callie wasn’t with him. “Where is Callie?” I asked.

  “Still at the party. She said you left kind of pissed.”

  I scoffed. “Tell me about it.”

  He cleared his throat. “Yeah, Callie told me about your father. What a douche, man.”

  “Got that right. I’ve been avoiding him.” I still talked to my mom every now and again. I hated she was stuck in the middle.

  “Probably for the best,” Dallas agreed.

  “How’s your sister doing?” I asked, changing the subject.

  He shrugged. “She’s been working long hours. But other than that, good I suppose.”

  “I saw her in one of the tabloid magazines with Braeden. I didn’t think you’d want your sister with guys like us.”

  Dallas laughed. “Braeden’s different. I trust him.”

  “He’s fucked just as many girls as you and I have,” I snapped. “What makes him different?”

  His head jerked my way. “He’s changed. He and Lacey have always been close. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her.”

  “I’m sure there are more guys out there who’d do the same.”

  We arrived at my house and he pulled into the driveway. “Why are we even talking about this?” he asked.

  If I was going to get anywhere with Dallas, I had to put it all out there. “There’s a girl I’m interested in, but she doesn’t trust me. I don’t know how to make her see that I’ve changed.”

  He burst out laughing. “Good luck with that. I know for damn sure I wouldn’t trust you with my sister.”

  “Says the guy who had to deal with the same shit from Callie’s brother,” I said, throwing it back up in his face.

  His smile disappeared and he nodded. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t easy when I had to prove myself, but I had to start somewhere. Women love and follow you around, just like with the rest of us. Not giving in is the first step. The other problem you have is your giant fucking mouth. It gets you in trouble. You’ve already shown restraint and the boys appreciate it. If you continue on the same path, I have no doubt you’ll get the girl.”

  I hopped out of the car and shut the door. “When the time comes, make sure to remember everything you’ve said to me today.”

  Brows furrowed, he waved. “Yeah, okay. Go in and sleep it off. You’re not making any sense.”

  He might not trust me with Lacey now, but eventually I was going to prove to everyone I could be different. I was an impatient man, and unfortunately I had no choice. To get to Lacey, I had to earn her and her brother’s trust…even if it took time.

  Chapter 13

  Lacey

  Seeing the picture of Maddox with that other woman with her hand on his thigh pissed me off more than anything. I’d slowly began to trust him, but seeing that picture made me doubt everything. I was in New York; he was in North Carolina with women swarming all over him. I couldn’t compete with that.

  I walked into my apartment and turned on my phone. After I sent that last text to Maddox, I’d turned it off, not wanting to see anything from him. I had a job to do and I didn’t want it to distract me any more than it already had. By the time I took off my shoes and lay down on the couch, my phone beeped continuously with messages from Maddox.

  Closing my eyes, I squeezed them tight and took a deep breath. Now that I was alone, all the emotions I’d kept inside poured out of me. I’d let my guard down with Maddox, and now I was paying the price. My heart couldn’t take it.

  I opened my eyes and slowly let out my breath as I pressed the call button. He answered right after the first ring. “Lacey,” he answered desperately.

  Lips trembling, I sat up. “Hey.”

  “There was nothing going on in that picture. You have to believe me. Callie was there. She knows I would never do anything to hurt you.”

  “She was outside, Maddox. She doesn’t know what was going on.”

  “Lacey, please. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  I felt like I was going to throw up. “Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is I don’t like it. I’m angry and stressed
and I can’t deal with this right now.”

  “What are you saying?” he asked, his voice thick and deep.

  My chest ached. “I’m saying that I need to step away for a while. Worrying about what you’re doing and with who isn’t good for my job right now. Lives depend on me and I have to have a clear head.”

  “But I didn’t do anything wrong!” he shouted. “I want you and that’s it.”

  Tears ran down my face. “I can’t compete with the women out there, Maddox. I’m here and you’re there. I don’t know what to do.”

  He huffed. “You can trust me. Believe me, I’m trying to get you to see that I’m not the man you thought I was.”

  I rubbed a hand over my heart. “For now, I need a little bit of space. You’re busy for the next month and so am I. When I come down for your first game, we’ll talk.”

  “I can’t go that long without talking to you.”

  “You have no choice.” He shouted my name, but I hung up and collapsed onto the couch. Why did love have to hurt so damn bad? I’d give anything to be able to trust Maddox. There was a time when I thought I could, but then I screwed everything up. This was the world paying me back for leaving him; I was sure of it.

  Chapter 14

  Maddox

  If Lacey thought I was going to give her space, she’d lost her fucking mind. I wasn’t about to give up on her. As soon as she hung up the phone, I booked the first flight I could get right after practice. Even if I only got to talk to her for ten minutes before my flight home, I didn’t care. She was going to talk to me.

  I knocked on Lacey’s door, but she didn’t answer. It was seven o’clock. Leaning against her door, I slid down to the floor. I was going to wait as long as I had to. Several people passed me as they walked down the hallway, all staring curiously. About thirty minutes later, the elevator dinged and Lacey stepped off, dressed in light green scrubs, her blond hair pulled high in a ponytail. Her gaze caught mine and she stopped, clenching her bag tighter to her shoulder.

  “What the hell are you doing here? You need to be at practice,” she scolded.