Page 14 of The Publicity Stunt

"Hey, Brett."

"You were the other guy at my concert," Bri says and holds her hand out. "Bri Waters."

Brett takes her hand and winks at her. "Baby, the entire world knows who you are. I can't believe you're here!"

"She came and watched you lose," Kace says with a smirk.

He just laughs. "You're lucky you lost the last time we played each other, otherwise she might not be here with you now. Speaking of, are we going out tonight?"

"Raincheck. I've got other plans."

"I see how it is," he says and kisses Bri's hand. "It was very nice to meet you, Bri. I'll go catch up with Rudy, then."

Bristling at the idea of his best friend and his ex-best friend spending quality time together, he cracks his neck.

"You don't like Brett spending time with Rudy," Bri says.

It’s an observation rather than a question, and he likes how intuitive she appears to be.

"I just don't like Rudy. Forget him. What do you say? Food?"

"I like food," she says. "Your car or mine?"

"Let's take mine. Any preferences?"

Shaking her head, she slips her small hand into the crook of his elbow. The touch surprises him because he suddenly has an urge to feel her hands all over his body. This is supposed to be fake, so why does he have a very real urge to see what she looks like on top of him?

Chapter Six

Bri

Bri sits in the back of a black SUV with Kace right next to her. They're so close to each other, their legs touch. With his size, there's no other place for her to shift, and the heat from their limbs touching makes her skin tingle.

While she may have a lot to learn about hockey still, the excitement was fun. And watching Kace skate around, knocking into people, and scoring twice was like nothing she's ever seen before. It was much more action-packed than the football games she remembers watching with her family back when she was younger. Before she started singing, and there was actual free time in her life.

After getting asked by the fourth person if she had any comment about Easton and Johanna's pregnancy, she decided to give the faux relationship a chance. As Nia puts it, it's time to take back the narrative, but she's never been very good with guys. And sitting this close to Kace makes her nervous. Like someone sits beside her, poking her with pins and needles, and in this very moment, she regrets her decision. If only Tessa was here. She needs a buffer.

"Are you okay?" Kace asks, and she looks up to see him looking down at her.

For the first time, she has a chance to see just how green his eyes are. If she looked long enough, she thinks she could get lost in them. "I'm fine."

"You stiffened beside me. I'd give you more room, but I don't have much more myself. I don't normally ride in the back with someone else."

How does she explain this situation falls outside her comfort zone? So far, in fact, she can't even see her comfort zone in the distance. "I'm okay. And it's fine. Thanks for asking, though."

"Of course."

"Hey, did that guy Rudy really sleep with your ex?" she asks, desperate to shift the conversation away from anything related to how awkward she feels in this very moment.

Sighing, he nods. "Yep. Her name's Sasha. She's a huge fan of yours, which I think I told you already. Like, the biggest," he says with his very best Valley Girl impression. "That concert Brett and I went to was meant for her and me. But you didn't play her favorite song, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway."

"Why does her favorite song matter?"

"Never mind," he says. "It's nothing at this point anyway."

It doesn't seem like nothing, but she knows how it feels to have someone pry when you don't want to divulge information, especially personal information. "How long were you together?"

"Two years. But it should really be a year and a half considering the last six months she spent fucking Rudy. Excuse the language."

---