Page 40 of The Publicity Stunt

Stomach growling on cue, makes him laugh. "I could always eat."

"I'm going to grab the box and eat in here. I've always wanted to eat in bed, naked, after making love with someone. Who knew you were going to fulfill fantasies tonight, Kace?"

He almost asks what other fantasy he fulfilled, but she hops off the bed and walks naked into the kitchen to retrieve the pizza box. When she comes back with the food and more water, he thinks about how he could do this for the rest of his life. He's been known to fight falling quickly for women, but he could easily fall in love with Bri. Hell, he might already be.

Chapter Fourteen

Bri

Sitting in the VIP section of the Bootleggers home game, Bri waits for Kace to notice her and her special guest. He has no idea she's here tonight, and he has no idea who her special guest is with her.

"He's going to be surprised," Bri says and turns to Kace's father, Victor.

"He's going to be tickled pink. It's not often I show up out here," Victor says.

Victor Lyons is an older man with salt and pepper hair. As Bri expected, he and Kace stand about the same height, but she's surprised at how much smaller Victor is. Much of Kace is muscle from training and lifting, but his father doesn't have nearly the broad shoulders he does. When she met him outside her plane in Texas, he laughed at her shock. He joked how most people feel the same way and eased her embarrassment.

"That's what he mentioned," she says and smiles at him. "I'm glad you could come out. I'm also glad we could pull this off. As long as Neo doesn't spill the beans, we're set to shock him when he finally lays eyes on us."

She sits wearing the same jersey she's worn to every game she's attended with Kace's number and name on the back, and tonight she has her hair pulled back from her face in a high ponytail and a few face framing tendrils hanging down. She pairs everything with gold hoop earrings and a simple gold necklace. Normally, she wears white gold or platinum, but it doesn't look as good with the orange.

"He doesn't know you're here, either?"

Shaking her head, she giggles. "I have a show tomorrow in Atlanta, and I just played in Seattle. I wasn't planning on coming, but when he told me you aren't able to make it out to many of these, I thought it might be a nice mid-season surprise."

"You and my son are dating?"

Well, that answers her question on how much Kace has told his father. "We haven't really defined what we are or aren't, but we are seeing each other. I really like Kace. He's nothing like I expected when I first met him."

Victor smirks. "And what did you expect?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I honestly thought he'd be the 'Me Tarzan, you Jane' type of guy. He's just so... gigantic. We have this running joke about him taking on a grizzly bear."

The older man tips his head back and laughs. "A grizzly bear. I think the only reason he might attempt at wrestling one of those things would be for you, sweetheart."

"He told me how close you two are, especially after his mother passed. It hit me hard because I don't have a relationship with my father. If you ever want to come out and see him play, well, anywhere, let me know. I'd be more than happy to do what we can to make arrangements."

"You're not close with your father? How about your mom?"

Bri shakes her head. "I don't have any contact with my family. Mom, Dad, or my brothers. Even my extended family shut that door when the financial relationship ended with them. The last time I've spoken to them was years ago. I think the last conversation was with our lawyers, actually."

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm okay. It's weird, you know? Growing up, we were a family of six. Now, they're a family of five, and I'm just me. Kace and I talked one night, and it made me realize a few things. He has this uncanny way of making me comfortable enough to open up, kind of like you, actually. I'm always so careful what I say and to whom, but you're both really easy to talk to."

Victor reaches out and pats her shoulder. "What did you realize, if you don't me prying?"

"That I keep myself so busy recording and performing because once I stop, I don't have anywhere to call home. He can go back to Brunsville when he's done playing hockey, but I can't go back to Enderlin."

"Enderlin? Enderlin, Texas?"

She smiles. "He hasn't told you much about me. I'm not sure how to take that, but yes. I'm a Texas girl born and raised. Grandpa raised and sold cattle up until the day he died. Texas will always have a special place in my heart, but my hometown isn't mine anymore. Not as long as my parents live there."

"I almost want to look up your daddy and show him how real Texas men handle men like him. I bet his daddy wants to give him the wire brush treatment from the grave."

The offer flatters her. "As much as I would love someone to put him in his place, it would only backfire. He and my mom make it a point to share terrible things about me, most of them made up, whenever someone offers them money. They're also sue-happy. I'll give them credit, though. They've learned how to get creative."

The game starts, and Kace doesn't notice them right away. He hops onto the ice, skates like a madman, moving the puck between him and the rookie, Brandon, and he scores within the first three minutes.

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