Laces and Lace (Assassins #6) (22 page)

“That’s more like it,” he said with a chuckle, causing her to laugh. Opening her hand, he kissed her palm again. “Did the cancer ever come back?”

She shook her head, her eyes locking with his. “No. I’ve been blessed with a clean bill of health.”

“That’s really great, Lacey. I think you had me and my mom praying for you.”

She smiled. “Well, thank you.”

“Anytime,” he said with a nod. “When did you get the breasts?”

Her lips went to a straight line and she pulled her hand away, reaching for the glass again, draining it.

Whoa, what was that about?

“Is that an off-limits topic?” he asked and she looked up at him.

Shaking her head, she said, “It’s a touchy one, but nothing is off-limits to you.”

“And the same goes for you.”

Biting into her lip, she looked down at the table before explaining that the douche had bought them for her after a horrid night together. He didn’t want the details, and thankfully, she gave him the Cliff’s Notes, but nothing could stop the rage he felt. He wanted to rip the dude limb from limb.

“Fucking douche.”

“My sentiments exactly,” she agreed with a grin.

“And your dad and brother liked him?”

“He wasn’t you,” she answered and he shook his head.

“I’m not a bad guy,” he said, not understanding their hatred of him. He was a stand-up guy, was great on the ice, and always did right by anyone he met. Yeah, he walked away from Lacey, but it was because they demanded for him to. What the hell did he do to be on the receiving end of their undying hatred?

Shrugging her shoulders, Lacey said, “You’re right, but Karson, you are the one that took my heart.”

Reaching for her hand, he was glad when she surrendered it to him. Standing up, he pulled her out of her chair and then wrapped his arms around her waist, unable to take her being so far from him. Looking deep into the pair of eyes that starred in all his dreams, he kissed her nose and spoke from his heart, “And I don’t plan on ever giving it back.”

C
rashing his mouth against hers, he kissed her long and hard, his toes curling in his shoes with no cares that they were in a crowded bar. Karson wanted to leave; he wanted to get lost in her body and never stop. He craved it, needed it, but when he pulled back, looking into her sweet eyes, he knew that could wait. They still had so much to talk about, and as painful as it may be, he knew in the end that he would have her.

Kissing her nose, he whispered, “Wanna get out of here?”

She grinned, her fingertips dancing along his jaw. “There is still so much to talk about.”

“You’re right,” he said, smiling because she read his mind. “But we can do that back at your apartment.”

“You don’t like the bar?” she asked, her eyes meeting his.

He shook his head. “Not really. The whole time we’ve been sitting here, men have been staring at you, and it’s driving me insane.”

She laughed, her eyes bright and playful. “Oh, please.”

He scoffed. “You think I’m playing, but I’m not. When I’m not looking at you, I’m shooting dirty looks to half the bar. You’re a very attractive woman, Lacey Martin.”

“You’re crazy. I look so different than I did back then. I’ve put on weight.”

He nodded, his eyes looking down her heavier body, her new breasts, her thick hips, and a round ass that had him fighting for breath. She was a showstopper. Yeah, she was thicker and could maybe stand to lose some weight, but he didn’t care about that. He loved her. He thought she was gorgeous. “Hell yeah, and let me be the one to thank nine-pound, sweet baby Jesus for it.”

She giggled sweetly and leaned into him. “Well, thank you.”

Moving a piece of stray hair out of her face, he said, “You’re very welcome, my love. Now, let’s get out of here. I want to wrap my arms around you in the privacy of your apartment.”

“So you can get me naked?” she teased and he laughed.

“After the fact, yes.”

She laughed, nodding her head. “All right, as long as you promise we are gonna talk.”

“I promise.”

And he did, he just left out that it scared him what would happen next. His pocket was burning with the ring he had bought earlier that day. He still couldn’t believe he had done it, but it just seemed right when he saw the round, two-carat diamond set in a twisted platinum band that was encrusted with smaller diamonds. It just screamed Lacey. He could actually see it on her finger, see it flicker in the light on her delicate hand. It was her ring. So he dropped the forty-five grand and walked out of the place with a ring for a girl who he had no clue if she’d want to marry him. He wasn’t sure if that was something she would want right now, but he knew he couldn’t walk out of that store without her ring.

Because he knew he was going to marry Lacey Martin.

And the more he spent time with her, the more he knew that he could make the dream of having her be Mrs. Karson King a reality. After all this time, he could read her like a book, and she wanted him; she still loved him. She was everything he wanted in a girl. Successful, gorgeous, funny, playful, and special. She was his, and though he didn’t know what was going to happen at the end of the night, he had a gut feeling that it would end with his ring on her sweet hand.

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.”

Stopping him, she said, “First, I want to show you something. Come on.”

She pulled him along to her room. “I’m surprised since you’ve been basically threatening my life for this information,” he teased.

She laughed as she nodded. “True, but I want to show you something. You know how you’ve said how important I am to you?”

“Yeah, you are.”

Pushing her door open, she went in first and then turned to look at him. “Well, you are the same to me, always have been. And I know I probably should have thrown away this stuff after what happened years ago, but I couldn’t let you go.”

Looking past her, confused, he saw a red and black box on her bed, the contents spread all over. Walking to the bed, he stopped short when he saw the picture of them after one of his games. He was sweaty, young, and excited, his arm wrapped tightly around Lacey’s small frame. She had her hair in a pixie cut from where it was growing out from the chemo. She was beautiful, and the way he was looking at her just screamed how much he loved her. Moving his gaze from that picture, he found another one of them at the coffee shop, her lying across his chest, reading a book while he played his DS. His throat was tight with emotion as he took in each picture, them during date night, hanging out at the frat house, just being young, crazy-in-love kids. Next were the letters, trinkets of love he gave her… She kept everything. Even the petals to the flowers he had bought her. She had loved him all this time like he had loved her, and neither of them had done anything about it.

How fucking pathetic and sad.