Page 119 of Puck Prince

My jaw hits the ground. “What? No. Jesus Christ, Kennedy.”

“I was only kidding! Sort of. So what’s your question?” She is in a cropped t-shirt and cotton shorts, and her hair is in a messy bun. She’s also got the aftermath of one of those nasty face masks on her nose which tells me exactly two things?—

She’s ready for bed…

And she’s alone.

Good.

“Who were you dancing with tonight?”

“Really? That’s why you dipped out of a round two with Callie? To ask about my love life? You really did get hit hard at the last game.”

“Just tell me who he was,” I snarl.

“Easy, Hockey Boy. Sheesh. If you’re talking about the guy with the black hair and the whole Clark Kent thing going on…” She purses her lips. “Then I couldn’t tell you.”

My heart swoops in my chest. “You didn’t catch his name?”

“Nope. He was just some rando that wanted to dance and had a nice enough smile to convince me it was a good idea.”

“Did you see who he was with? What group he was hanging around with? Anything at all before you left?”

“God, what is this, a police interrogation? Why do you care?”

I brace my hands against the door frame. “Please, Kennedy. I just need to know.”

She shrugs. “He left before I did. I got nothing for ya. Sorry, slugger.”

“When exactly did he leave?”

“Right after Callie ran out.”

My stomach falls another three floors. She must see it, because her mouth turns down at the corners a little. “Why? Do you know him?”

I don’t know what I should or shouldn’t say. But I do know I want Callie to be okay, and I need help with that. “Can I come in?”

Kennedy seems to think about it for a second before she holds the door open for me. “Sure.”

She drops onto the couch, pulling a blanket onto her lap, and I sit at the far end. “Whoever that guy was, I think he knows Callie. And I don’t trust him.”

“Well, look at you being all protective. You really do like her, don’t you?”

I don’t know how to answer that. So I don’t. “I just don’t want to see her get hurt, that’s all. I’m actually kind of worried about her. Tonight, after we… well, anyway, she told me about her past. About what happened at her last job. I feel like she didn’t tell me everything, but she did say the guy was bad news. She’s afraid of him.”

“Yeah.” Kennedy nods with a frown. “Callie is one of those people who gives others the benefit of the doubt. She’s a good person, so she naturally assumes other people are, too. I love her to pieces ,but she needs to knock that shit off. A lot of people in this world are shitty.”

“I feel you on that.”

“I thought you might.” She squints at me like she’s seeing something new in my face. “She needs a good guy, Owen. A sweet guy who will take care of her and protect her. She needs to feel safe. Because when she does, she will give all of herself. And only the best of the best of the best deserves that from her.”

I offer a tight smile. She’s not wrong: Callie does deserve the best. I don’t know if I can do that—if I can be that for her. After all, we aren’t actually dating. I keep having to remind myself of that recently.

We aren’t together. This isn’t real.

I know that.

What I also know is that I want to keep her safe. I want to make sure no one ever hurts her again.

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