“You could still do it, y’know,” he suggested, but she shook her head.

“I don’t want to. I want to be a wife and a mom one day. Can’t do that while I’m working to further my hockey career. And plus, I think I always knew I would end up with a hockey player. I kinda think they’re hot—”

“You mean, I’m hot,” he corrected. “Singular. One hockey player. Me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I kinda think you’re hot, and I don’t think it’d be fair to the kids when they are being raised by a nanny,” she said and he nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just wish you’d use your talent on something. Maybe coaching some girlies?”

She shrugged. It was an idea, but one she really hadn’t thought about. “Maybe.”

He leaned over, kissing the side of her mouth. “You’d be good,” he said, kissing her again. “Plus, you’d be hot blowing a whistle. Which, by the way, wanna blow mine?”

He waggled his eyebrows at her and she smacked him as she laughed. “You’re a horndog.”

“Yes, ma’am. Only for you though,” he said with a wink. She grinned, going over the boards and onto the bench to untie her laces. “What are you doing after this?”

She looked up and shrugged. “You have AA, right?”

He threw off his jersey and lifted his leg, stretching it. “Yeah, in about forty. I’m gonna grab a shower and head out.”

“Cool, can I go?”

He looked over at her. “You want to?”

“Yeah,” she said slowly. “If that’s okay.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m…um, actually, I don’t go today on normal weeks, but since tonight is the team party, I figured it’d be a good idea to go.”

“Sure, absolutely,” she agreed, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about him being around all the alcohol. He seemed confident and brushed off her concerns, but still, it made her nervous. It was like putting a kid in a candy store and saying they couldn’t have any. It scared her.

“I’m…um—”

“What’s up with all the pausing and the ums?” she asked, chuckling, and he shot her a grin.

“I just got nervous for some reason that you’re going,” he admitted and her grin dropped.

“Do you not want me to go?” she asked, giving him an out. “I’d understand.”

“No, I do. It’s just…I’m singing today.”

Her head spun to the side. “Singing?”

“Yeah,” he answered sheepishly.

“Well, then, hell yeah, I’m there,” she said earnestly.

And thank God she went.

Because as Jordie’s beautiful, smoky voice filled the church, his fingers moving ever so effortlessly across the strings, Kacey was completely entranced by him. He sang the song like it was his and not Love and Theft’s “Whiskey on My Breath.” She was totally blown away, and she knew it wasn’t the first time she had seen or heard him sing, but it felt like it. As his eyes drifted shut, his voice so raspy and full of conviction, the words left his lips like they were made just for him, and Kacey’s eyes quickly filled with tears.

She hadn’t really listened to the song before, but she was convinced that the duo had written it with Jordie, and anyone else who was fighting the battle of addiction, in mind. It was such a moving thing to see and she wanted to make sure everyone else felt the same, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She would admit that she didn’t understand what he had gone through—the struggle, the pain, and the need—but she was proud, so freaking proud of him for overcoming it all.

That was her man and he was so fucking beautiful.

As he sang the chorus once more, people started to sing with him. When the person beside her slid his hand into hers, she looked at him and he was crying. Big, huge tears, rushing down his face and staining his shirt, and he slowly nodded, feeling every single one of the words like she was. Her heart just hurt as she gave him the best smile she could before turning her gaze back to Jordie. The room was full of so much promise, so much need to succeed, and Kacey was proud to be witnessing it.

She just prayed the others were as moved as she was.

When he finished, everyone clapped as Jordie smiled proudly, leaning into his guitar, his gaze meeting hers. Wiping away her tears, she smiled back and nodded, hoping that he knew she was saying that he was downright amazing.

I’m so proud of you, she mouthed and his grin grew.

Thanks, he mouthed back. For everything.

Anytime.

And always.

“So hold on,” Jordie said as Kacey took his hand, getting out of the car. “I not only have to let you out, looking so fucking hot that I’m pretty sure my friends will want to gangbang you—”

“What every girl wants to hear,” she laughed, pulling her skirt down a bit. But it didn’t help. The skirt was short, showing off those toned thighs, and tight, hugging the ass that drove him nuts. The dress was also low-cut, cupping her breasts with the sole mission to give him blue balls. That was the only thing he could come up with. Her hair was in curls, framing her face, and her makeup was dark and dramatic, making the red of her dress pop even more against her bronze skin. Add in the fact that she was wearing strappy fuck-me-stupid heels, and Jordie was having a hard time just forming a coherent thought, let alone coming up with a reason why they should just go back home.