I need to let them go. I need to do what I said, and that is that I’ve forgiven you and we are moving forward.”
“Exactly,” Julie agreed, handing Kacey a tissue. “If you two are going to make it, you have to communicate what you are feeling. Jordie, you’re so used to keeping everything inside and you can’t do that. It won’t help your recovery if you hold everything in.”
He nodded. “I’ve been better,” he pointed out and Kacey nodded.
“He has,” she said, leaning into him. “We communicate.”
“But Kacey, I feel like you are so nervous to hurt him, to drive him to drinking that you won’t share what you’re feeling and your anxiety. He can’t advance in his recovery if he is continually trying to make you feel good about you two and not succeeding.”
She was right, and Kacey hated that she hadn’t seen that she was doing that.
“This is hard,” she admitted, her eyes flooding with tears and Jordie nodded.
“It is hard, but I want this to work.”
“I do too, I really do,” she whispered, pressing her nose to his. “I don’t want any other hard but you, Jordie.”
“And it will work,” Julie agreed. “As long as you two communicate. I like that you are coming with him, Kacey. Please continue to do so.”
She nodded, getting lost in his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here.”
“Damn right,” he said, his mouth curving up before he pressed his lips to her nose. As his lips warmed the tip of her nose, she felt as if a billion-pound weight had been lifted off her chest. She’d thought a couple weeks ago that she had let go of her nervousness, but she hadn’t. Seeing Jordie come undone, how she was causing him pain with her worries over losing him, really opened her eyes. She was stressing about nothing. Jordie was there, Jordie loved her, and together, they would conquer whatever storm came their way.
There was no other option.
Because she wasn’t going anywhere without him.
“We can move in in two weeks,” Jordie said, leaning back in the chair with Mena on his chest as he hung up the phone. “That’s the earliest.”
Kacey looked over from her phone and smiled. “Cool school. We need furniture.”
“Yeah, we’ll go shopping tomorrow if you want.”
“I don’t know, I’m pretty sure Lacey would flip if we took Mena anywhere,” she muttered as her phone went off. “Speaking of the devil, she asked if Mena was okay.”
Jordie laughed, looking down at the little bundle of cuteness. “You okay, Mena?” She cooed softly, her little brown eyes wide and aware, locked on him, and he nodded. “She said she’s good.”
Kacey giggled as she shook her head, typing Lacey back. “I’m so blessed to be with a man who speaks baby.”
He smiled. “It’s one of my many talents.”
“Yes, so many, yet you can’t beat me on the ice.”
He glared. “Now, we have yet to play before I have practice. Which will happen soon, ’cause your bragging is killing me.”
“Four and oh, baby,” she said, shrugging her shoulders in a pathetic dance as she grinned.
He rolled his eyes, annoyed. So what if she kept beating him? He was tired and she was fast with her long legs and stealthy ways. Again, it wasn’t like he could plaster her against the wall. Also, she was doing little tricks that no one could pull off in the NHL. She was a pain, but his pain, and he wouldn’t trade her in for anyone.
Ever since last week when he took her to therapy with him, things had been different. He felt like she was more confident in them, and that took one hell of a load off his shoulders. He already had so much up there, and he was thankful to have her anxiety gone. He understood he’d caused it, it was his fault, but it had been tearing him down slowly. He wanted her to look at him and only see love, not nervousness about them ending. Since his session, it had been just like he wanted, and because of that, they were now enjoying the house-buying process.
Moaning as her phone went off again, Kacey rolled her eyes. “She’s gonna drive us batty.”
He couldn’t agree more. Lacey had only left four hours ago and had texted them or called at least nine times since. He understood that she was freaking out a bit as it was her first time without her baby, but they were more than capable of caring for