“Iknow,” Lacey shot back. “But as for Roman-not-Romeo, he’s…he’s…” She dug for a word, some color leaving her face again as she stared at Vivien. “He’s great,” she finally breathed.
So, so bad.
Vivien tried not to react, but her expression said she was thinking the same thing. She stepped away from Lacey and tried to busy herself with groceries. “So, what does he do?”
Lacey sighed, then relented with a small smile. “He plays football. For the Jaguars.”
Vivien nearly dropped a loaf of sourdough. “Wait,seriously? Like,professionally?”
“Oh, I forgot you told me that,” Tessa said, remembering when Lacey dropped her phone and admitted she had another life—a real one.
“You knew?” Vivien asked.
Tessa gave a smug shrug. “Of course I knew.”
Vivien ignored the flex and concentrated on Lacey. “So you’re dating an NFL player.”
“I guess.” Lacey tried to sound like it was no big deal. “He’s second-string right now, wide receiver. But he played at UF and was kind of a, um, big thing there.”
Tessa let out a low whistle because whowouldn’t? “Set the bar high, I say.”
“I thought those guys went out with, like, movie stars and famous singers,” Vivien said.
“Right?” Lacey threw her hands up, as if equally stunned to have caught this guy’s eye.
“Well, he has good taste,” Tessa said. “Who wants a movie star when you can have Lacey Knight?”
Vivien reached over the counter to give Tessa a high-five and a grin. “You bet, co-mama.”
Lacey groaned.
“Just accept it, Lace,” Tessa said. “You have two mothers now and we’re you’re biggest cheerleaders. Also, how can you date a guy who lives in Jacksonville? Is that where the Jags are?”
She nodded. “It’s the off-season and he’s thinking…well, he is coming to Destin. Soon. Like this week. He’s going to rent a place, I think.”
“Why?” Vivien asked. “Just to…see you?”
“You don’t have to sound shocked,” Tessa said. “She’s a catch.”
“He likes the water and likes to…fish,” Lacey said. “So that’s what he’s catching. Trout. Not…me.”
Vivien snorted and shared a look with Tessa.
“That’s what he said,” Lacey told them. “He grew up on the water over on the east coast, lived in a house with a dock, and now he wants to spend a month in Destin. Fishing.”
“I like a guy who can fish,” Tessa mused, crossing her arms. “Like my dad. It’s so down-to-earth and humble. Is he?”
“Surprisingly, yes,” Lacey said. “And, oh, I forgot you said your dad liked to fish. That’s…yeah. Cool.”
Tessa eyed her, not sure why that sounded weird, but it did.
“A humble NFL player,” Vivien mused as she opened the fridge to fill it with some more food. “That’s got to be unusual.”
“He is…unusual,” Lacey said, unable to fight a smile. “Really nice.”
“To look at,” Tessa teased.
Lacey just shrugged. “He’s…yeah. A ten. And a half.” She let out a sigh as if the whole conversation was just too much for her. “You’ll see,” she added.
