She giggled, leaning into him. "Okay, well, how about we order some Chinese food for dinner and binge-watch Game of Thrones? Since I haven't seen it and it's apparently your favorite thing in the whole wide world."

Yeah, he would marry her tomorrow. "Well, maybe not my favorite thing, but, yes, that sounds like the best night ever."

She grinned. "Thought so. But if it's not, then what is your favorite?"

He gave her an expectant look and cupped her face. "You."

She shook her head, her face deepening with color as she pushed him away. "Come on, you've got my heart going crazy."

"Good, get used to it," he said, rolling off the bed and heading toward the bathroom. "Shower?"

"Yes," she said, climbing off the bed and following behind him. When he stopped, she wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his back. "I like the way you make me feel," she whispered against his hot skin.

With a grin pulling at his lips, he covered her hands with his. "And how is that?"

"Happy."

Closing his eyes, he let his head drift back, resting against hers. He may have made her heart go crazy, but she made his race. That's all he wanted. He wanted to make her happy, to make her smile, to make her feel good. He knew she was still worried about Angie, about the potential custody battle. What she didn't realize was that his love for her and Angie roared louder than any demons in her life.

More than Rick.

And nothing could ever stop it.

When Lucy woke the following morning, the first thing she saw was Benji, sleeping soundly beside her. He was naked, the blanket only covering a little as he lay sprawled out in the bed. His lashes were kissing his cheeks, his hair in disarray, his breaths deep and strong. Marks from their lovemaking were on his chest where she had bitten and scratched him the night before. They made her blush as she drank him in, but then, she was also proud of them.

He was hers.

The night before had been almost like magic. She'd worn his shirt and boxers while they ate and binge-watched Game of Thrones. She wanted to say she loved it, but truth be told, she couldn't even pay attention. Between her hot boyfriend and the fact she had no clue what was going on, she missed a lot. But she would rewatch it later since her mind just hadn't been into it. She didn't want to go anywhere; she just wanted to chill with him.

She couldn't stop thinking about Angie. Her stomach hurt with worry, but at the same time, her heart was full of happiness from her night with Benji. She almost felt guilty. Did that make her a bad mother? It couldn't, because if she'd honestly believed Angie was in harm's way, she would have gone over there. Benji was just so great. Every laugh, every touch, every locked gaze, it was like a fairy tale. And if she felt that good while also distracted, then no telling how it would be when everything was right in the world. When it was just her, Angie, and Benji.

A family.

What?

A family?

Fuck, she was falling for him.

Hard.

And it scared her because she had no clue what was going to happen with Rick. But a part of her didn't care because she prayed and hoped that Benji was true to his words and he would be there for her. Stand with her. Somehow she had come to lean on him. Depend on him.

And that had never happened before.

She wouldn't let that scare her. She thought about how he fought to be clean, to be healthy, and to be ready for love one day. How River cleaned up just for her mother. How Jude, Jayden, and Jace did everything they could to be good men for the women they loved. Love was such a beautiful thing, and she had the chance to have it. She actually didn't hate it any longer. Didn't reject it. No, she wanted it, and for once, she felt like this was her chance. She couldn't sabotage that, she just couldn't. She had to let it happen.

She had to think of herself, like Benji had told her so many times.

And to do that, she had to have Angie and Benji.

Reaching out, she traced his jaw, his lips, and then his nose, causing him to twitch and make faces. Smiling, she pressed her body to his, kissing him underneath his jaw as his arms came around her, squeezing her close to him. "I don't like being woken up," he muttered against her lips and she smiled.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I hate it."

"Well, excuse me," she muttered back and he squeezed her, her breasts pressing into his chest. Moving her fingers through his hair, she closed her eyes as she traced her lips along his. As she hooked a leg over his hip, he captured her lips with his and exhaled loudly.

"Okay, maybe it isn't so bad," he muttered before rolling onto her. "At least, I'm waking up to you."

Grinning up at him, she ran her fingers over his cheeks as his lips pressed to hers. Leaning his head to hers, his body pressed into hers as he whispered against her lips, "Did you sleep well?"

"I did."

"Good," he said, moving his nose against hers. "This could happen all the time."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I can have a key made for you."

"January," she said and he wrinkled his face.

"Fine," he exhaled, nuzzling his nose against her jaw. "When do we meet Rick?"

"In an hour."

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "Nervous."

"Don't be. We'll be together. Nothing will happen."

She hoped he was right. "Oh, I know. I just worry about Angie."

"She's okay and this will go well."

He sounded so sure, but she wasn't. Yet, she nodded and said, "Okay."

Closing his eyes, he nodded his head, his lips resting lightly against hers. "Well, let's go get ready, make some breakfast, and go face the dick."

Neither of them moved, though. Meeting her gaze, he smiled as he pressed himself against her. He was deliciously hard, and of course, she wanted him. It killed her that he was leaving the following day, and she wasn't sure if they'd get a moment free later since she was getting Angie. She also needed to take the edge off. So arching her hips against his, she whispered, "Or, we could pick up breakfast and coffee?

With a half-lidded look, he nodded. "Good idea."

Smiling against his lips, Lucy closed her eyes and couldn't agree more.

But neither of them was smiling when they pulled into the parking lot of Walmart. The tension in Benji's truck was thick, and Lucy was convinced her heart was beating so hard it was going to shatter her eardrums. With his hand in hers, Benji followed her directions, parking in the back where she always did. Rick wasn't there yet, and that made Lucy's heart race. They were only two minutes early, but it wasn't like Rick to be late on drop-off days.

"What if he doesn't show?" she asked, her heart pounding against her ribs.

"Then we drive over to his house," Benji said simply, looking out the window, for what, she wasn't sure. He didn't know what Rick drove. "He'll be here."

Before she could say anything, she saw his car coming down the lane and she sat up straight. "There he is."

Opening the door, she got out, meeting Benji at the front of the truck as Rick parked. Before he could even get out, though, Angie was out of the car and rushing to Lucy, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Mommy," she breathed, her face in Lucy's stomach, holding her so tightly she almost knocked the air out of her.

"Oh, honey, I missed you," Lucy said, holding back her tears as she kissed her daughter's head.

"I want to go home," Angie whispered, and Lucy nodded.

"Of course," Lucy said, but Angie didn't let her go. "Are you okay?"

"I just want to go home," she said once more, and then Benji was crouched down beside her, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder.

"Hey, sunshine," he said and Angie peeked out.

"Hey."

"Wanna get in the truck? I think your mom and dad need to talk."

She nodded. "Can I play with your phone?"

He held his arms out. She went to him and he lifted her up. "Of course."

Tearing her gaze from them, Lucy pinned Rick with a look that was straight from hell. He was glaring, his fists clenched as he watched Benji put Angie in the car. He didn't even say good-bye; he was just glaring like a son of a bitch. When she heard the door shut, she cleared her throat.

"Why is she upset?"

"Who knows?" he said, meeting her gaze. "She's always bitching about something."

"Shouldn't that make you realize something is wrong?"

He just shrugged. "What do you want, Lucy?"

She took a step toward him, her fists balled at her thighs. "You ever do that shit again, I will come to your house, and I will-"

"Stop," Benji said as he came up beside her.

"Yeah, better listen to your boyfriend there, Lucy, even though we all know no one can control that mouth of yours," he said, his gaze meeting Benji's. "I wouldn't even try."

"Listen, buddy-"

"I'm not your buddy," Rick snapped and Benji nodded. "And we have nothing to say to each other."

"No, we do," Benji said sternly, and to her surprise, Rick's lips pressed together as he sized Benji up. She wasn't sure what he was thinking. Benji could kill him; he had at least a foot on him and also sixty pounds. He was a tank, while Rick was a smart car. Well, he was stupid, but size-wise, the comparison applied. With a calm but firm voice, Benji said, "I don't know how we got off on the wrong foot, but we need to fix this. For no one else but Angie. I don't care that you don't like me, because I sure as hell don't like you, but I refuse to have what happened this weekend happen again. You can't keep a mother from her daughter, and I know Lucy would never do that to you, no matter how much she hates you."

"Not that you call, anyway," Lucy added, and Benji shot her a look that she shrugged off. She understood his cool, calm approach, but she wasn't going to let the bastard off without knowing she could and would cut him.

"I mean, this is all pointless. Nothing is going to change. I'm not taking her to hockey, and I'm not letting you speak to her. That's final," Rick stated, and while Lucy was ready to fly off the handle, Benji spoke first.

"Why is that?"

"'Cause I don't want to. She's with me. Don't cut into my time."

"It's two hours on a Saturday! Hell, you can keep her two hours later on a Sunday if that will make it better."

"No," he said simply and Lucy's blood boiled.

Benji, on the other hand, was cool as a cucumber as he said, "Okay, I understand that you want your time with her. But what about what she wants? She loves hockey, she wants to play, and Lucy paid a lot to get her started, I'm sure. So can we at least pick her up for hockey? Bring her right back?"

"We?" Rick asked and then he laughed. "Dude, I'm trying to make it so you never even see my daughter."

Sucking his teeth, Benji glared and Lucy saw him cracking. "And why is that?"

"Because you're a fucking alcoholic who preys on women with kids to replace the family you fucking lost," Rick seethed, taking a step forward and leaving Lucy gasping for breath. How in the fucking world...? "And that little girl is mine. You can have Lucy. I don't want her, but Angie, you can't have her."

"What in the hell? How dare you?" Lucy yelled and she was going to kill him, rip him limb from limb. But before she could even get close enough, Benji had his arms around her, stopping her.

"Lucy, stop!"

"He can't talk to you like that. You don't even fucking know him. He is twenty times the man, hell, the father figure to Angie, that you'll ever be," she yelled, her body shaking with anger.

"Lucy, Angie can see you. Stop," Benji demanded as Rick laughed, and Lucy went still. She looked back, and thankfully, Angie was looking down. But he was right. She couldn't be acting like this. Letting her go, Benji turned, looking at Rick. "While you are right, I am a recovering alcoholic and I did lose my family, I don't want to steal your daughter from you. I just want her to be happy. And I'm asking you, please, work something out here."

But Rick shook his head. "Want to work something out? Take me to court."

"We would like to avoid that, for Angie's sake," he tried, but Rick shook his head.

"I don't care. I want full custody."

Lucy laughed out loud. "Over my dead fucking body."

"Fine, we'll see in court."

"Yeah, we will," Lucy snapped, her eyes blazing, and Rick's brows pulled together, surprised. "Let's go."

Benji paused, though, and turned to Rick. "Are you sure? Because she'll be on the phone with her lawyer as soon as we get in that truck."

Rick just glared, shaking his head. "Fuck you. You know nothing about me. I'm loaded now, and I'll hire the best lawyers to get my daughter-"

"We're done," Benji said, turning his back and leading Lucy to the truck, but Rick was apparently not done.

"You won't get what you want. Who is going to let you stay around a kid when you're an alcoholic? A sleazeball, washed-up hockey player? They would be stupid to-"

But before Rick could finish, Benji slammed her door shut, and Lucy couldn't hear Rick since Benji had the music up. She watched as Benji went around the car, Rick still yelling. But Benji seemed unfazed as he got in, slamming the door behind him. Putting the car in drive, he pulled away, his grip on the wheel so tight, his veins started to pop up.

"I'm so-"