Shaking my head, I asked my next thought out loud. “Why do it? Why go through all of this? Is it worth it? Why not just break up with her and live your life however you want?”

Viper narrowed his eyes, contemplating my question. “I don’t know. She’s always there when I need her. It’s nice to have someone there for me all the time. I know she’ll never really leave. Plus, she’s a fucking animal in bed.” His eyebrows wiggled up and down. “Clawing, biting, screaming. Who bails when you get to fuck that every night?”

“You … make my brain hurt.” I smacked him hard on the back of the neck as I walked into the kitchen to grab the pizzas.

“Speaking of fucking, what’s up with you? I haven’t talked to you all week. You fuck that girl yet?”

I turned around and locked eyes with him. “Dude. Don’t.”

He held his hands up in front of him defensively, his eyes wide. “My bad, man. Sorry.”

I picked up the pizza boxes from the counter and turned back to the living room, nodding toward the kitchen. “Grab the beer, will ya?”

“Got it.” Viper grabbed the six packs of beer and carried them over to the coffee table. “This girl really has you all fucking crazy, huh?”

“Yeah, she does. And I’m totally okay with that.”

“What is it about her? I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl who has made me act as idiotic as you are,” he said, as he shoved a piece of pepperoni in his mouth.

“Nothing. Everything,” I said, smiling to myself.

“Oh my God. Did you grow a pussy while you were up there?”

I reached over and punched him on the arm, hard.

“Seriously, dude.” He looked at me incredulously. “What is it about her? I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I don’t know…” Moments I’d had with Kacie started running through my head as I tried to pinpoint exactly what it was that had me so crazed. “It’s the way she looks when she’s playing with her daughters. It’s the way she crinkles her cute freckled nose when she smiles really big. It’s the way her hair looks sexy all the time, even when it’s in a ponytail. I could sit here listing things for hours and still not tell you all of the amazing things about her.”

Viper stared at me; his eyes wide open in disbelief.

“Whoa.”

Whoa was an understatement, I was beyond crazy about her and it was completely foreign to me. Ever since I was old enough to form memories, hockey was my life. I thought about it constantly, obsessed about it. I dissected plays from past games in my head, watched thousands and thousands of hours of highlight reels, anything I could do to improve my game. Kacie was the first person to pull me out of a lifelong hockey haze and consume my thoughts with something I never expected. Something far better. My mind often wandered to thinking about her and what she was doing right that minute, what she was wearing today, if she was thinking about me, too.

“She’s coming here this weekend,” I said nonchalantly.

“She is?” He grinned wildly and licked his lips like a wolf on the prowl. “Do I get to meet her?”

“Hell no.”

“Come on,” he begged.

“Not a chance.” I shook my head. “You can crash here tonight then get your ass up and out early before she gets here.”

He smirked at me like he had other plans. “We’ll see about that.”

“Stop stressing, we’ll be fine.” My mom smiled reassuringly as she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “Go. Have fun. Relax.”

She knew me too well, sometimes better than I knew myself. My stomach was full of tiny, little knots, each one representing something different that could go wrong over the next thirty-six hours. “I know, Mom. Thanks … for everything.”

Cupping my cheek lovingly with her hand, she said, “For you, anything. Now hurry, before traffic gets too bad.” She grabbed the plastic dress bag from the front hall closet and handed it to me. “Don’t forget this.”

Due to my complete lack of fashion sense, Lauren had stopped by that morning with a dozen dresses for me to try on for the dinner with Brody. She and my mom squealed and giggled louder with each dress I tried on, discussing how the ice blue one made my butt look perfect and the salmon colored one complimented my skin tone. I just stared at them like a deer in headlights and turned when they told me to.

Obviously, I picked the ice blue one.

I tossed my duffel bag in the back of my jeep and hung the dress on a hook. Butterflies slammed against my rib cage as I pulled out of the driveway, waving at the two little smiling faces on the porch. Not quite ready, I pulled back up the driveway, threw my jeep in park and dashed to the porch for one last kiss.

God, I’m going to miss them.

My phone beeped as I turned onto the main road. I looked down and saw it was a text from Brody. Rather than text back, I dialed his number.

“Hey!” He enthusiastically answered the phone.

“Hey you.”

“I was just checking to see where you are. Have you left yet?”

“Nope, bad news. I have the flu, I’m not gonna be able to make it.”

A heavy silence hung on the other end of the line, followed by a sigh. “Really? That totally sucks.” His deflated tone filled me with guilt … almost.

“No, not really.” I giggled. “I’m in my jeep, just left.”

“Oh, you think you’re funny, don’t ya?” His voice relaxed again. “You’re gonna pay for that one … I promise.”

Two hours later, I finally pulled into the underground parking lot at Brody’s building. I typed the code he gave me on the digital security screen and the metal gates swung open. I pulled my jeep in the open spot next to his truck where he’d instructed me to and went to the back to grab my bag.

“Nice back end.”

Spinning around, my eyes rested on Brody leaning up against a concrete pillar, his arms folded across his chest with a suggestive smirk on his face. I looked him up and down, head to toe, taking in every sexy inch. He had on a Wild t-shirt that hugged his biceps tight and made his eyes look extra intense. Loose curls peeked out from under the baseball cap he was wearing backwards, as usual. I almost forgot how ridiculously handsome he was, and he was smiling at me.

“Hey,” I replied shyly, not quite used to his compliments yet.

Not wasting any time, he walked over and wrapped his arms around me tight, picking me up off the ground. My whole body tingled as I squeezed him back just as hard.

“I could get used to this,” I said into his t-shirt, inhaling the scent of his cologne.

He put me down and hooked a finger under my chin, pulling it up to him as he put his lips on mine. It was a sweet, gentle kiss that melted my reserves away and instantly put me at ease.

“Good,” he replied as he pulled back. “Let me get your stuff.”

He snatched my duffel bag out of the backseat with his left hand and reached for mine with his right. He pulled it up to his lips and kissed my fingers.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

My heart swelled as I smiled up at him. “Me too.”

As we got to his condo door, he stopped and turned to me. “I have to warn you … my friend Viper is here. He had a fight with his girlfriend yesterday so he crashed here last night, but he’s leaving. He was supposed to be gone already, but he slept late.”