Page 36 of Puck Princess

I was stupid and naive, but I’m neither anymore.

And I can’t let him get to me. I also can’t let Lance pick up on anything weird. One wrong move, and he’ll pass this entire interaction off to Owen.

“You were always pretty great with me,” Spencer continues. “You always knew just what I needed. Every. Single. Time.”

His words crawl across my skin like bugs I can’t shake.

Lance looks between us. “You two have already met?”

“We know each other.” It’s a fact—nothing more, nothing less. I lean in, examining Lance’s shoulder.

“It’s my knee that hurts, doc,” he says quietly.

His knee. Right. My face flushes, and Ihatethat Spencer probably noticed.

“Know each other? Oh, come on, Cal. We go way back.”

“Way back where?” Lance asks, and I wonder if he’s picking up on anything.

I have to stop it.

“Spencer and I knew each other at?—”

“MSU,” Spencer finishes for me. And again, I’m derailed.

Goddammit.

“You went to college with the new kid?” Dax asks, flexing in the mirror.

The new kid. Oh my god.

I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together. I knew Spencer was in town, but I thought he was just visiting or snooping around. I figured his daddy bought him a Scythes pass like it was a behind the scenes tour at Disney World. He put on the merch, sat on the bench, got the full Scythes experience, and then would creep off into whatever crypt he crawled out of when he was done. I had no idea he was?—

“You’re the new winger,” I state.

He grins. It’s a grin most women love, but that’s only because they don’t know what’s behind it. My heart rate picks up. “You got it. Draft pick.”

“Must be nice,” Dax goes on, “having dad’s money get you in the VIP doors.”

Spencer’s face flashes with irritation. That’s also a look I know well. It’s a danger zone. “My skill as a hockey player got me here, and I intend to wipe the ice with anyone who can’t keep up.”

“Guess that’s my cue to practice more,” Dax laughs.

Their conversation happens somewhere far, far away. I move through Lance’s usual stretches in a daze. Way before I’m ready, he’s sliding to the end of the table and standing up.

It’s over.

He’s going to leave, and I’m going to be alone with Spencer, andI can’t do this.

But I have to.

I thought I could handle Spencer being in Houston and hanging around the arena, but this? He and Owen are playing on the same team.

Again, my past is hanging over Owen’s career like a guillotine.

Again, Spencer is backing me into a corner, crowding too close, taking too much.

This isn’t a fresh start.

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