“Could you guys keep an eye on Ben for a second while Lizzie and I have a quick chat?” If everyone else changed, Doug didn’t want to be left out, and he needed to see how Lizzie felt about the change in plans.

  “Of course,” Annie said as she stood and retrieved her little girl from Doug’s arms. “I’d suggest you at least bird bath before you come back out. I know most of the guys are used to the smells from the locker room, but us wives like to eat without the threat of gagging from body odor.”

  Lizzie looked down at Ben and Doug could see she wasn’t sure about the idea. Her eyes met Doug’s and he could tell she was going to say something, but he held up his hand.

  “Casey, how many ways do you know to kill a man with your bare hands?”

  At first an evil chuckle was the response. Casey bent down and swept Ben up into her arms, twirling in a circle as she made her way around Lizzie. The boy looked scared for a second, and then a smile spread across his face.

  “Bare hands? I’d say ten, but you never know. I’m always learning new things.” Casey barked out an order to get the kids to stop jumping, so she could sit on the couch with Ben in her lap. She looked at the TV and gave Doug a look with a raised eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

  “If Doug hasn’t explained, Casey’s dad was in the Marines and she’s he’s only daughter, so not only do we have the security of the big bad hockey players we call husbands around, but we’ve pretty much got a trained assassin.” Annie leaned in close to Lizzie and whispered the rest of the explanation. “I hear before she met Dylan, she’d put five guys in the hospital.”

  Doug snorted when he heard the words. He didn’t know if it was true, but he wouldn’t have doubted it. Casey was a force to be reckoned with.

  Lizzie’s eyes darted to Doug’s before she stared at the woman holding her child. Casey saw the concern and tried to ease fears.

  “You can understand why Steph settled with stabbing Dylan instead of me. She wouldn’t have been able to make the first slash on me.”

  Casey evidently didn’t know how to make someone feel better about her scary tendencies. Clearly Lizzie agreed with him, because her eyes turned from scared to almost horrified.

  “She doesn’t bite, unless it’s Dylan, so we should be safe.” Doug didn’t do any more calming as he grabbed Lizzie’s hand and walked her towards his room.

  Lizzie tried to look over her shoulder as they left, but it only took a few steps before the living room was out of view. The way her hand squeezed his tightly let him know she wasn’t okay with how things were going.

  “How long have you known that woman?” Lizzie whispered as if Casey could hear them from his room.

  Doug knew she was scary, but he didn’t think her abilities included bionic hearing. He ushered Lizzie to the bed and waited for her to sit down before he made his way to the closet to grab a pair of jean shorts and a polo. He noticed the duffle bag Casey had brought along with a few shirts and dresses haphazardly laying across the top of it. When he came out of the closet, he threw his clothes on the bed and started stripping out of the clothes he was fairly certain could walk on their own.

  “A few years. She’s a good person to have in your corner. Not only does she have military training, but in my case she’s also the daughter of the big boss man.”

  “Your coach?” Lizzie asked. A strange hitch in her voice caused Doug to stop what he was doing and peek in her direction.

  He’d seen the look on her face once before, when she’d walked up his drive to find him in a towel. There was a little pride swelling up inside him knowing he could cause her mind to turn a little mushy, because she did the same thing to him.

  “I should have mentioned I have a tendency to go commando. This isn’t exactly the way I wanted you to see me in all my glory, but I guess it was kind of inevitable.”

  Lizzie’s lips moved a couple times before she was able to string words together. “Would it be wrong if we asked the others to take Ben for a walk?”

  Doug shook his head as his face lit up. He was glad to hear a bit of excitement rather than the sort of finality she’d had in her voice when she suggested they have sex before. Part of their day off from everything else in the world had been spent with him explaining how he saw the act of sex and where it differed from hers. The conversation hadn’t helped his homicidal urges, but it was good that they got everything out in the open.

  “It sounds like a great idea to me, but we’d need a few hours to make sure you understand exactly what I was talking about yesterday, maybe a full day. Plus, the doorbell is probably going to be ringing constantly for the next thirty minutes, unless we decide to just open the front door. Remember when I mentioned a team barbecue the other day?”

  “Oh.” Lizzie didn’t have anything else to say.

  “Sorry about forgetting to cancel, but once they’re in motion, it’s hard to get this group to turn back around. You look beautiful by the way.”

  Doug grabbed his shorts and slipped into them, trying to keep her scrutiny from making it difficult to zip them up. He waited to put on his shirt until he could go into the bathroom and splash some water and soap on him. Instead of heading that way, he grabbed his shirt and sat down next to Lizzie on the bed.

  “Thanks. I don’t usually wear dresses, but Casey suggested this one would look good with my skin tone. Did you mean what you said out there?”

  Doug wasn’t sure what she meant, and she had reverted to her shy mode, wringing her hands together and staring down at her lap. He reached over and enclosed her hands with his.

  “You’re going to have to tell me which part you’re questioning, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t said anything I don’t stand behind.”

  “The part about you thinking I’m perfect. You’ve seen me, so you know that isn’t true.”

  Doug knew the part of the conversation that had come up, so he assumed she’d heard how he finished the sentence. Yet she was questioning how he viewed her and not the fact that he’d admitted he was in love with her.

  He picked up her right hand and ran it along one of the gnarliest scars he’d picked up in his years of playing hockey. It was on his side, two inches of slightly sunken skin.

  “I got this from a skate blade during a pick-up game without all my pads on. We all have scars, Lizzie, some are visible and some run deeper. You happen to have both of those, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less perfect when I look at you.”

  Lizzie said nothing as she rested her head on his shoulder, but even after he removed his hand from hers, she kept tracing his scar. They had to hurry to get back out to the party, but for a few minutes he was fine letting her work out whatever wrinkle her mind was going through.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was fun watching Doug interacting with other people. It made Lizzie realize not a single thing in the interactions between him and her were fake. He was an all-around amazing guy. And for some reason he thought he was in love with her.

  She still didn’t believe she’d actually heard him say those words, and that there wasn’t an ounce of humor when he’d been talking to Annie. Annie knew him better than Lizzie did, and she clearly seemed to believe the words based on her reaction.

  “Hey, you doing okay?” he asked as he fed her a strawberry.

  She took a nibble and glanced around them. They’d gravitated outside to the lavish patio behind the house. Doug didn’t have a lot of land, compared to what it sounded like the two couples who’d been first to arrive had, but the backyard was three times as big as the one behind her house. Doug claimed he flooded the yard in the winter and neighborhood kids came over and skated.

  That sounded a little crazy to Lizzie, but it only reiterated how perfect he was. She hadn’t really thought about the fact that most guys would’ve seen her with Ben and shied away from getting involved. Based on her past, finding a guy to share her life with wasn’t a high priority, but Doug didn’t hesitate to jump right in and accept both her and her son.

  “I am. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel safe, which makes absolutely no sense to me.”

  Lizzie didn’t usually do well in group situations, but the team and their families were so welcoming. They kind of formed a protective bubble around her and Ben, and she was fairly certain most of them didn’t know about her situation. They were there for Doug, and since she was with him, the comradery she felt extended to her.

  “They’re a good group of people, but you’ll find they can be annoying after a little while. Just take Klinger over there.” Doug leaned closer, like he was telling her a secret. There were others around them, but no one seemed particularly interested in their conversation. “The woman he brought is the fifth he’s dated this month. As much as I love the guy, his dating habits drive me crazy.”

  Lizzie’s eyes moved to look at the man in question. He’d been introduced as Doug’s best friend, even though he was his backup when it came to net-minding. Lizzie thought it was a little strange for two guys battling for the same job to be that close, but Doug said it wasn’t like that. Klinger, which was his nickname and last name, sounded kind of like Maddie if he’d dated five women in twenty days.

  Maybe that was why the cute blond hanging on his side was afraid to let go of his hand. Lizzie had thought she was just extraordinarily clingy, but she had to rethink that assumption.

  “Is that why you’ve been a little pickier when it comes to dating? I won’t say I’ve heard stories of you being a saint, but I’ve seen the surprise on faces when you introduce me as your girlfriend.”

  At first it seemed that the others didn’t think she was good enough for Doug, but she’d found out the shock had nothing to do with her. In one of the rare moments Doug wasn’t by her side, Annie explained that Doug had never introduced a woman to the team.

  “Nah.” He kissed her cheek before straightening back up in his chair. “I just decided at a young age that I wasn’t going to settle for someone who I didn’t feel a certain connection with.”

  Lizzie was going to ask what exactly he felt, but she didn’t think it was the right time to see if it matched the emotions rolling through her. To say she didn’t feel a connection would be a flat out lie.

  “Turtle,” Ben said, coming over to pull on Doug’s shorts.

  He’d been playing with the other kids for at least two hours. From the look of things, he’d come out of his shell a little bit, but after being woken up from his nap and all the excitement, it wasn’t surprising he was ready to take a nap.

  “Let’s go find Turtle and see if we can find somewhere quiet for you to lie down.” Lizzie started to stand, but Ben shook his head.

  “No, Daddy.” He pulled on Doug’s shorts a little harder.

  Lizzie saw Doug stiffen as the word registered. As far as Lizzie knew, Ben had never said the word before. The shock only lasted a second before Doug smiled and picked Ben up.

  “Let’s go find Turtle. We’ll bring him back out here and make a little bed for you to settle in on.” Doug looked over his shoulder and nodded his head towards the house, letting Lizzie know he wanted her to follow.

  A few of the people closest to them had heard Ben, and she felt their eyes on her as she kept the pace Doug set. His legs were a little longer, so she had to make one and a half steps to his one. She tried to keep a smile on her face as she passed Doug’s friends, but she was freaking out inside.

  Turtle was in Doug’s bedroom, so they weaved their way through the guests milling in the living room. There were more people outside, but there were enough inside that Lizzie still felt self-conscious, even though they hadn’t heard the word.

  Doug reached back and requested her hand as they got closer to the bedroom. Lizzie wasn’t sure why he did it when they were almost to their destination. She doubted anyone had called him daddy before, and he probably needed a little touch with reality.

  When they made it in the room, he shut the door behind her and spun her around so her back was against it. They were supposed to only be grabbing Turtle, which made the door closing a little strange.

  “Ben, what’s my name?” Doug asked as he held her pinned in place with his eyes.

  “Daddy.” There was no hesitation in the response.

  “I hoped one day he’d utter that word directed at me, but I wasn’t expecting it today. What’s going through your mind right now?”

  Talk about a loaded question. There’d have to be something going through Lizzie’s mind to come up with a logical answer. Doug’s words sounded happy, but his face was remarkably blank, a state she didn’t think was possible.

  “How am I supposed to feel about my son knowing you for, what is it now four days, and he’s already calling you daddy? I think I’m terrified about what that means. What if one of your friends decided they don’t like me and you kick us out tonight? He’s already attached to you and he’s going to be devastated.”

  “Have you heard a word I’ve said since we met? I don’t mean for that to sound rude, but I think I’ve made it pretty clear that it’s going to take me dying to just disappear from your life. The question is whether you can live with someone devoted to you without taking it to the crazy level Tommy did. I don’t need to spend months getting to know you to know that you and Ben have already become my whole world. I’d do anything for you two, and I need you to tell me that’s okay.”

  The blank stare transformed as Doug spoke. His eyes softened and he kissed the top of Ben’s head as he clutched him closer to him.

  Doug probably knew how difficult it was for Lizzie to come up with something to say. He seemed to know how she felt about things before she did. She’d been in a relationship where she knew devotion, and for her it equated to pain and fear.

  After she’d left Tommy, she told herself she didn’t need a man in her life. Ben would be fine with a mother who loved him enough for two parents. With how quick he’d gravitated to Doug, she started to have a few doubts that she’d be enough.

  “I can’t tell you that, Doug.” His eyes immediately filled with sadness, so she hurried to get out the rest of what she wanted to say. “You can love us and care about us all you want, but I don’t agree with you doing anything for us.”

  She expected some kind of verbal response, maybe a counteroffer of some sort, but as was Doug’s usual way of conversation, he leaned down and kissed her lips. She found herself extremely thankful he’d never found someone he connected with to share his kisses. She loved the feel of his tongue against her lips and how it stroked the roof of her mouth when it found its way into her mouth.

  A soft knock on the door behind her startled her enough that she bit down on his tongue. “Sorry,” she murmured after hearing Doug growl.

  “You’re fine. I was growling at the person on the other side of the door.” He kissed her again and then pulled her out of the way so he could open the door. “This better be important. You’re interrupting an important conversation.”

  “I can tell,” Casey said as she rolled her eyes. “Obviously I weighed my options and decided risking my life by interrupting was worth it. I’d suggest you let me take Ben, but after you see this, you’re not going to let him out of your sight.”

  She held a piece of paper that she handed over to Doug. Lizzie thought she was going to leave after that, but she just crossed her arms over her chest and propped herself against the doorframe.

  Doug unfolded the paper with one hand, glanced at it and then looked back up at Casey. “Where did you find this?”

  Lizzie wanted to know what it was, but she didn’t think it involved her. The way Casey eyed her a little nervously after Doug asked the question gave Lizzie a sinking feeling.

  “It was taped to your mailbox. I was running out to my car to grab something and thought it was weird.”

  “Did you look at it?” Doug’s teeth ground together as he asked.

  “They don’t call me the snoopiest woman ever born for nothing. As you can see, I don’t have a husband following me around, so I didn’t share it with anyone else.”

  Lizzie was lost in her meaning. She reached over to try to take the paper, but Doug moved it away from her grasp.

  “Can you tell people we’re going to have to call the party short?”

  “You think that’s a good idea, Doug? There’s safety in numbers.”

  “I’m aware of that, Casey, but we’re going to see if the police need any more proof of a direct threat, and I’d like to do that in person.”

  By that point Lizzie could only imagine what Tommy had left for them to find. A part of her was thankful it was just words, but she knew it had to be worse than the texts if Doug thought it would prove anything.

  “Fair enough. I’m hoping they’re aware of at least half the equation, but you never know. Dad has some contacts in the security sector. I can have him make some calls. I know you have the house wired, but having some muscle to go with it may be in order.”

  Doug nodded. “I’ll think about it. It depends on what the police say.”

  “If anything they’ll give you a protection detail, and personally I wouldn’t feel any safer with one, because that sick bastard won’t care.” Casey’s words were directed at Lizzie.

  “What sick bastard?” Dylan asked as he appeared behind Casey. “I thought you were running out to find Katie’s storybook.”

  “I’ll tell you about it when we get home. It’s time to break up the party.”

  “Really?” Casey glared over her shoulder at him, and he evidently he could read what she had to say. “Okay, well, it was nice to meet you Lizzie. I hope you don’t become a stranger.”

  “If Doug has anything to do with it, I think that will be impossible.” Lizzie didn’t have much else to say, since she had no idea what was going on.

  Casey pulled the door shut as she pushed Dylan down the hallway. The door closure seemed strange since Doug had said they were going to leave.

  “We’ll let them clear out before we go. I’d suggest you sit down, because I won’t let you see the paper, but I’ll tell you what’s on it.”