Oh, there went his temper.

“I can’t even believe I’m wasting my time on you,” she sneered as Kacey stood, fixing her shirt over her belly until Natasha started laughing. “Oh my God, you knocked her up?” she laughed. “Really, Jordie? What, you are going to be a husband and a daddy now? Do you really think you are ready for that?”

“Um, yeah,” Jordie snapped. “This is what I’ve always wanted.”

“Well, you’re doing it with the wrong person, that’s for damn sure. Because if she’s the one who drove you to drinking before, don’t you think she’d do it again?”

Kacey didn’t know what came over her. All she saw was rage, her heart pounding, her blood boiling as her arm just pulled back and her fist connected with the hard surface of Natasha’s nose. Underneath her knuckles, she could feel bones crack, but then she swore everything went black because surely she didn’t just hit Jordie’s ex-lover.

“Holy shit,” Jordie yelled before hopping up and blocking Kacey as Natasha tried to go after her.

“You stupid bitch, you broke my nose!”

“Damn right, I did! I would never do that to him, you stupid slut. Because, unlike you, I mean more than just a fuck. I’m a lifetime kind of chick, the one he is going to love forever, while he didn’t even mention you!” Kacey screamed as the waitress and two other waiters came over to see the commotion.

“Señor, we need you to leave before we call the cops,” one of the men said, but all Kacey saw was the blood running down Natasha’s lips as she held her nose. Kacey felt like everything was moving at high-speed. Her heart was pounding, her body was shaking, and she felt like she was a rabid dog locked in a cage. The cage being Jordie’s arms.

“Call them! I’m filing a report against this bitch!” Natasha yelled, but Jordie was throwing money on the table before escorting Kacey out of the restaurant. When the chill of the November night hit her in the face, she wished it would cool her down, but she still wanted to go in there and rip that bitch limb from limb.

“Stay here,” he demanded, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you hit her.”

“I can’t believe you fucking kept her from me! That you went to her instead of me,” she yelled and he held his hands out.

“Baby, really? Do you know she did that to piss you off so we would fight? Use your big brain, Kacey. She didn’t mean anything to me, and you know that. She was my friend,” he said, his eyes pleading. “Now stay here so I can go calm her down so that my fiancée doesn’t end up in jail.”

And she knew he was right, but that nasty sensation of rejection was blinking in front of her face, and she hated the way it made her feel. Yeah, that was what Natasha had planned and it had worked, but that didn’t mean Kacey wouldn’t be upset.

“It doesn’t matter, Jordie, you chose her to help you get through your recovery. I was the backup batter.”

He glared. “Are you fucking kidding me? Yeah, I chose her for the beginning, but I chose you, need you, for the rest of my recovery. For the rest of my life!” he yelled, his face turning red. “Now, put your damn pride away and tuck the jealous in a bit and let me go talk her down before she does something rash.”

But Kacey wasn’t listening. Her heart felt every bit of the rejection and, yeah, her pride was dented that that bitch had been there for him when she wasn’t. That he chose her. And call her green with envy, but that pissed her off. She’d wanted to help him, she’d wanted to be there for him, and he chose that bitch over her. It wasn’t right.

“No, I’m leaving,” she snapped, turning and heading to the street to get a cab. They didn’t drive around much on this road, but hopefully she’d get lucky.

“Kacey, stop. Don’t be so damn dramatic!” he yelled, trying to stop her, but she smacked him with her purse.

“Dramatic! You broke my heart, Jordie. Back then, I gave you another chance and I let you take my heart again, just to learn that every time something happened, something bad, you went to her?”

He shook his head. “No, the last time I talked to her was a few days before we got back together. I haven’t spoken to her much since.”

“But did you tell me about her? About your friend?” she snapped back. “No, you hid her because you knew that it would hurt me.”

“No, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think about it, because she doesn’t matter! All that fucking matters is you, Kacey. You’re it!”

But she shook her head, unable to accept what he was saying. “Go inside and calm your friend.”

“No, not till you promise you’ll be out here when I come back.”

Looking back at him, she could hear and feel her heartbeat in her ears. “I can promise you I won’t be here when you come back,” she said, her eyes in slits.

“Kacey,” he said, but she cut him off.

“Go, Jordie,” she demanded and he shook his head.

“You are being childish, Kacey, seriously.”

“Childish, huh? Well, you’re a dick,” she sneered, her arms crossing over her chest. He stood there for a second, and she could feel his anger coming off him like thunder. But she was mad too, and hurt. The pain was almost as bad as when he’d cut off all communication with her. In a way, he replaced her with that bitch, and that wasn’t okay. When she glanced to the side, she saw a taxi coming toward them and she threw her hands up in relief. She had to get away from him before she did something drastic.