Page 118 of Puck Princess

Owen snorts out a half laugh, and I shoot him a look. “It is not broken,” I insist. “You just need a little guidance in picking men, that’s all.”

“Is that an offer to help?” Summer lights up. “You could run my dating apps for me. You’re good at picking guys. Guide me, oh wise one! And for god’s sake, censor me. I am obviously very bad at this; meanwhile, you’re over here with a fiancé.”

The idea is tumbling out of her before I can pump the brakes. Though, as she talks, I realize it could be kind of fun.

Owen sets a plate down in front of her, his eyes narrow at me with disapproval. “I don’t know if I like the idea of you on dating apps.”

“It’s for your sister, not for me,” I say as I bounce Nicky on my knees.

“Okay, then she can be the one swiping through shirtless pictures of single men. You—” He curls a finger under my chin, lifting my face so he can kiss my lips. “—are mine.”

My belly swoops at his words.Hell yeah, I am.

“Owen Sharpe, is that jealousy?” Summer asks.

Owen snorts. “Absolutely not. I just have other ideas for ways Callie could keep her hands busy.”

Summer pretends to retch. “Maybe I don’t want to date. I’d hate to assault my friends and family with unwanted mental images like this.”

But the way Owen is looking at me, I don’t think he minds.

I have half a mind to kick Summer out and let our breakfast get very, very cold when, suddenly, the door flies open again.

Kennedy bursts inside. “I have bad news!”

“Why don’t we ever use the lock?” Owen asks. But I just smile. Secretly, I love all of this. He pours more batter in the pan, making enough for Kennedy, too. “Did they cancel the next season of Love is Blind?”

“Of course not, that would be crazy. Ooh, pancakes! I’ll take one!”

Owen rolls his eyes, flipping the pancake he already started for her. “I’m going to start charging.”

“If I have to pay, the least you could do is have mimosas. There is no orange juice in this fridge.” Kennedy slams the doors shut with a huff. “This morning needs alcohol.”

“What’s the problem?” I don’t know how there could be a problem. I think this morning is great. I have my friends, my sexy fiancé—God, that’s never going to get old—amazing food and the world’s cutest soon-to-be nephew. What could go wrong?

Kennedy settles for a shot of cold milk, slams the glass down on the counter, and faces me with a grim expression. “Rodger Santos is buying the Scythes.”

39

OWEN

“That’s not funny.” I shove a plate of pancakes at Kennedy.

None of this is funny. My plans for this morning involved a quiet, intimate breakfast between my fiancée and I, starting with powdered sugar and strawberry pancakes and ending in the bedroom. Now, it’s a full-service breakfast bar that I have yet to sit down and actually eat.

“Because it’s not a joke,” Kennedy says. “I heard my dad talking about it. The meetings are in the works. The worst part is, Dad seems excited about it.”

Callie pushes her pancakes around her plate without taking a bite. “Well, shit.”

Understatement.

I don’t think anyone realizes just how bad this is. For two weeks, I got to enjoy what it felt like to be a man who had it all. But as soon as the reins to the Scythes are handed over to Rodger Santos, his first move is going to be to tear my contract in half and kick my ass to the curb.

I shut the stove off and head to the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Callie asks.

“I need to get ready for work.”

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