“This is Phil Quest, Jordie, my fiancé. He’s a huge fan,” she gushed, bringing Phil forward, and Jordie shook his hand, hard.

In that instant, Kacey knew why they were there. Phil was a fan, and for Stacey to look good in front of him and suck all his money out of his account, she had to act like the doting mother. Too bad everyone saw through her—well, maybe not Phil, but he was obviously a dumbass.

So sad, she thought as she slowly shook her head, just as Jordie turned to her.

“This is Kacey,” he said, taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles. She smiled as he turned back to his mother, a hopeful look on his face as he said, “My girlfriend.”

Stacey looked Kacey up and down, a stuck-up look on her face, her eyes narrowing as she shook her hand. She didn’t look like Jordie, she was light to his dark, so Kacey figured he must take after the father he didn’t know. “How nice. Are you ready to sit down? I have to get back to the hotel soon, I’m worn out. Phil had me all over Nashville. He used to live here a long time back, says he wants to move back. Wouldn’t that be nice if we lived close by?”

Jordie looked back at Kacey, and she could see the utter horror on his face. Smiling, she squeezed his hand as she shook her head, hoping he realized that his mother’s rejection of her didn’t hurt her feelings. That woman was nothing to her, and she needed to be nothing to Jordie. But Kacey understood his need for his mother. She couldn’t imagine her mother not loving her or even caring about her everyday life. She called every day just to check in.

But Jordie’s mom couldn’t even do that once a month.

“It’s nice to meet you, by the way, Kacey,” Phil said then, stealing her attention as he reached out to shake her hand. “You’ve got yourself a lovely lady, Jordie.”

Jordie smiled as Kacey shook Phil’s hand, but before she could thank him, Stacey said, “For how long though? Jordie doesn’t stay with ladies long, no matter how lovely they are.”

Jordie bit the inside of his cheek as Kacey glared. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Stacey looked back at her, a condescending look on her face. “Bet you aren’t the first or the last to say that.”

“No, I am,” she said very confidently. “Jordie doesn’t make promises he can’t keep, and anyone who had been with him in the past knew the score. As do I. He’s in this for the long haul.”

Stacey’s eyes narrowed more, her mouth setting in a line. “Sure.”

Kacey went to say more, but Jordie shook his head, his eyes pleading with hers. Dropping his lips to her ear, he whispered, “It won’t change what she thinks.”

“That’s fine, but I refuse to allow her to think so lowly of you or, hell, me!”

He let out a long breath, kissing her below her ear as he said, “It doesn’t matter what she thinks. Only what you think.”

When she pulled away, his eyes bored into hers and she smiled. “Well, I think you’re perfect.”

He scoffed. “A perfect mess, right?

“My mess,” she reminded him, and his lips quirked at the sides before he leaned over, kissing her bottom lip. Pulling back, he asked, “How did I get so lucky to have a second chance with you?”

Her eyes never leaving his, she cupped his face. “You were you, and in case you didn’t know, you’re kinda irresistible.”

He scoffed, leaning his nose to hers. It was something he’d always done, but yet, there was always a new wave of butterflies in her belly whenever he did. It was their thing, something she cherished, probably as much as she cherished him. And by God, she was not going to let this woman bring him down.

But thankfully, his eyes were bright as they held hers, his nose moving along hers before he paused and pulled away, grinning. “Oh, I know,” he teased, and she laughed as he pulled her along to catch up with Stacey and Phil.

After he pulled her chair out, Kacey shot him a grin as she sat down and he sat next to her, taking her hand in his before resting it on his thigh. Before they could even pick up the menus though, Phil was firing question after question about hockey to Jordie. Kacey was sure he didn’t mind though—he loved talking hockey—but it was obvious that Stacey did not care for it. She huffed and puffed the whole time, probably because the attention wasn’t on her, but Kacey was sure Phil wasn’t listening to her. He was too engrossed in Jordie.

“You play a sick game, man. I really enjoy watching you play.” He beamed and Jordie grinned.

“Thanks. You know Kacey played in the Olympics,” he said, looking over at her, and she waved him off.

“No big deal, I just brought home the gold,” she joked and they laughed, while Stacey just glared.

“Where is the waiter?” she complained as Phil looked closely at her.

“Wait, are you Kacey ‘Khaos’ King?”

Kacey beamed at Jordie as he gave her an exaggerated eye-roll. “Why, yes, I am.”

“I watched you on TV. You’re amazing!”

“She is,” Jordie agreed, kissing her cheek. “Stupid nickname and all.”

Kacey was about to defend her nickname when the waiter stopped at their table. “Hey, y’all! Sorry for the wait,” he said, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “What can I get y’all to drink?”

“Oh, thank God,” Stacey almost cheered. “Well, first, I want a glass of your best red. And then, Philly, you want a Jack and Coke?”