Page 31 of These Pucking Boys

“We could call her,” Lachy suggests.

Excitement and jealousy pinch my chest. “When did you exchange digits?”

He grimaces. “I didn’t. Did you?”

Fuck. I didn’t, and I’m regretting it now. Can’t let any of the guys know, though. “Why would I do that?”

He rubs his face. “I bet Melissa has her phone number.”

I give him a meaningful look. “You aren’t seriously considering calling Melissa this early, are you? She’ll set up a bunch of interviews for you in retaliation.”

“Bloody hell. You do it, then.”

I shake my head. “Not a chance. You’d get interviews, I’d get my nut sack ripped off. Don’t worry. I’m sure Jake will find June.”

I’m not one to say things I don’t mean, but I’m actually rooting for Jake to fail on his mission, so we have an excuse to deliver June’s wallet in person.

CHAPTER 13

JUNE

The closer I get to my apartment, the worse the pain in my stomach becomes. My palms are sweaty and the lump in my throat is the size of Texas. I have a few unread messages from Katrina, but I’m too nervous to read them. I don’t know if she saw the selfie with the boys I posted last night. I’m trying not to think too much about what happened after. Not a difficult task when my imminent confrontation with Bill is taking up most of my head space.

It’s early enough that I avoid the heavy morning traffic. It takes me half an hour to get home. Ugh. I really need to stop thinking of the apartment I share with Bill as home. It won’t be home for much longer. I should move out immediately, but I’m broke, and finding an affordable place to live in LA will be a difficult task. I’m sure I could stay with Katrina for a while, but she lives in a small house, and with her four kids and husband, her place is already at max capacity.

I have to park my beat-up car on the street because the apartment has only one designated garage spot and, naturally, Bill claimed that. With so many apartment buildings and all the commerce on my street, it’s always stressful to find parking. I can’t believe I let him get away with so much over the years. No wonder he thought it was okay to cheat on me with Danika.

I’m still wearing my party dress, because I didn’t think to change before I was on the road, and I left my work clothes in my car. I did manage to zip it up, but I’m wearing my flats. When I see someone drive away from a parking spot, I take it, even though it isn’t near my apartment’s entrance. As I back into it, I notice the dry cleaning bag with Bill’s lucky suit in the back seat. Hell. I forgot the jackass asked me to pick it up for him. I’m tempted to toss it in the trash, but I’m not that petty. With a sigh, I grab the bag.

My heart is beating loud and fast as I take the stairs to the second-floor apartment. It’s early, and Bill must be home. Or maybe he spent the night at Danika’s.

What if she spent the night here?

Shit. I’m starting to panic. As much as I want to tell them both to go to hell, I want to do it from a position of strength.

When I reach the landing, I pause and stare. I thought the worst possible scenario would be finding my snake of a former friend in my apartment. But I couldn’t have foreseen how low Bill would go. All my stuff is sitting in the hallway in trash bags and boxes. I know those are my things, because among them, I spot my pink carryon bag, and one-eyed Toby—my first teddy bear and most valued possession—sticking out of one of the boxes.

“What the hell!”

Fury erupts from the pit of my stomach and spreads through my veins like wildfire. My hands are shaking when I fish my key out of my purse and insert it in the keyhole. It doesn’t work. Oh my God. Did he change the lock?

I curl my hand into a fist and bang hard. “Bill! Open the door.”

I keep slamming my fists until I hear the click of a lock releasing. But the asshole keeps the chain on, and I can see him only partially.

“What do you want, June?”

My jaw drops. The nerve! “I want to get into my fucking apartment.”

“This isn’t your apartment anymore.”

“Bullshit it isn’t. I pay half the rent every month, and we used my savings for the deposit.”

“You should have thought about that before you decided to party with my hockey team. Do you know how humiliating that was for me? My entire office saw your selfies and they were giving me shit all night.”

My eyes bug out. “Are you seriously going to talk about humiliation after I proposed to you on the damn Jumbotron and you turned me down because you’re sleeping with my friend?”

He scowls. “Don’t blame me for that. You know I hate public declarations of love. And after seeing the pictures you posted online, I’m convinced you only did it for attention.”

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