Overtime(94)

Kacey’s face scrunched at him as Lacey giggled. “That’s so not what a dude says about another dude.”

“Um, excuse me, but Jordie is my BFF, like foreva,” he said, sounding like a Valley girl and Lacey and Kacey snickered.

“It’s true though, he’s my ride-or-die dude,” Jordie said, surprising everyone. Kacey’s heart jumped up into her throat at the thought of him hearing about her uncertainty, and when his gaze met hers, she knew he had.

Shit.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “Family meeting?”

Before she could say anything, Karson said, “No, she’s a scared little brat, thinking that you two are going to fail.”

Well, if he didn’t know before, he knew now.

Rolling her eyes, she let out a long breath. “Wow, thanks, Karson,” she said, her face burning, but Karson just shrugged.

“No problem. Come on, baby, let’s give them some privacy,” he said, pulling Lacey out of the kitchen despite her protests.

“Do you want me to leave?” Lacey asked, but Kacey shrugged as Karson pulled her.

“Do I have a choice?” she asked and Lacey shook her head.

“Don’t think so,” she called back as he directed her down the hall.

“Jerk,” she called at Karson, but he ignored her, shutting Mena’s door.

“So you don’t want to be around me alone?” Jordie asked, tucking his hands in his pockets. “That’s weird.”

She shook her head. “No, come here. I missed you,” she said, closing the distance between them before snaking her arms around his waist and kissing his lips. But he didn’t kiss her back. “You’re mad.”

“Nope, just wondering what’s going on,” he said simply. “You breaking up with me?”

“No,” she said automatically. “Not even thinking that.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Just nervous,” she admitted. “It’s all so scary because it’s everything I want.”

A mystified look came over his face as he shook his head. “Yeah, I have no clue what to say to that.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” she admitted, leaning her forehead to his. “But don’t worry about it.”

“No, I will worry about it,” he said, lifting her chin with his finger. “What do I have to do to ease your concerns?”

She shrugged. “I have no clue,” she said and she was being honest. She didn’t know what he could do to fix her worries. It was all on her. She either believed in them or she didn’t.

“I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what it is.”

Looking up at him, she bit her lip. She needed to get a grip. This man was here, he was hers, and what else did she want? How much more reassurance did she need? He had become the man he felt she deserved. He woke up every morning with a grin on his face and I love you falling off his lips. He looked at her like she was the Stanley Cup and he couldn’t keep his hands off her. He loved her and that’s what she wanted. She needed to stop creating problems in her head. They had the potential to have loads of them, so she needed to enjoy right now, like Lacey said.

“Don’t do anything,” she said, looking up at him. “Except get the computer so we can look at houses.”

His face didn’t change like she thought it would. His eyes were still trained on hers, his breathing hard. “Really?”

“Yeah, I just never thought I’d have you, and I’m still waiting to wake up,” she admitted, and his lips curved up at the side before his arms wrapped around her.

“You’re not dreaming, baby,” he whispered against her lips. “This is real. This is our life.”

Our life.

He was so invested, so sure, and she knew she was too, but still, she worried.

And she wasn’t sure if it was a survival tactic to prepare for the worst.

Or if it was really her subconscious telling her they weren’t going to last.

Either way, she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and decided that she wouldn’t make him worry. Her fears would buff out and everything would be fine.

She hoped.





Squaring off in front of Jordie, Kacey set her stick to the ice and grinned.

“The name of the game is I win, you lose,” he teased and she laughed.

“Other way around, buddy,” she called out around her mouthguard as she stretched out her neck. “You’re going down.”

He gave her a dismissive look and shook his head. “Don’t hurt yourself, sweetie,” he called, moving the puck back and forth. “Now, when I win, we go to the three houses I like first. You win, we go to yours.”

They had spent the last couple of nights looking at different houses and talking to a Realtor. Kacey was excited to see what they had picked out in person but really excited to know that they’d be staying in Karson and Lacey’s neighborhood. Especially since her parents had just bought the house next door to them, despite Karson’s protests. She was glad that they bought before she and Jordie did. Knowing her dad, he’d pick her to move next door to, and there was no way in hell she could deal with her father on a daily basis. She loved her daddy, very much so, but he was loud and liked to tell her what she should be doing.