Page 28 of Vengeful Princess

Eden: *thumbs-up emoji*

Just as I shoved my phone back into my pocket, a ball came flying at me. It smacked me hard on the side of my head andI stumbled, almost falling. It was only my quick reaction that stopped me from face-planting on the concrete pavers.

“You fucking idiot!” a furious voice yelled as a tall blond vaulted over the fence. “Shit, are you OK?” the blond asked. I looked up and realized it was Landon. We’d not crossed paths since the party, although I’d caught glimpses of him a few times. Usually surrounded by adoring female fans.

“I’m fine.” I rubbed my cheek and tried not to wince, although I was no stranger to being hit in the face.

No doubt I’d have a colorful bruise by this evening.

“It was an accident,” a bulky guy with cropped hair scoffed as he appeared next to Landon. He looked me up and down dismissively and rolled his eyes. “She’ll be fine.”

Landon went still for a moment before spinning around to face the guy.

“Apologize, now.”

“What the fuck? I said it was an accident!”

“Fucking apologize, Charlie.” I almost smirked at the way Charlie swallowed hard and averted his gaze. It was pretty obvious who the alpha male was in this little pairing.

“Um, sorry for…um…hurting you…” Charlie’s apology lacked sincerity, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t as if he’d kicked the ball at me on purpose. At least, I assumed not.

I’d never met the guy before today.

“Now fuck off,” Landon growled, slipping an arm across my shoulder, startling the hell out of me.

“What are you doing?” I hissed as Charlie sprinted off. I shoved him back with a snarl and Landon had the audacity to look surprised.

“I’m taking you to the medical room for a check-up. You might have a concussion!”

For fuck’s sake, what was wrong with him? “Look, I’m fine, no harm done.”

Being so close to a sweaty male should have repelled me, but the scent of citrus and sweat was apparently my new favorite cologne.

“No, you’re not fine,” he insisted, tugging me down the pathway, despite being halfway through a soccer game. “You need to get checked out. Traumatic brain injuries are serious, Thea.”

I shoved him away again and folded my arms across my chest. The only thing giving me a headache right now was him! “Enough! I am fine! I’ve been hit a million times, Landon, and guess what? No brain damage.”

“What do you mean you’ve been hit a million times?” Dammit, I should have kept my mouth shut.

I sucked in a calming breath. Getting worked up wasn’t helping the situation. Landon clearly had a White Knight complex. Saving helpless girls must be a turn-on for him. What a pity I was as far from helpless as it was possible to be.

“Look, I’m fine, I promise. Eden’s waiting for me, so I have to go. If I feel sick, I’ll get checked out, OK?” He scanned my face to make sure I was telling the truth.

“Give me your phone.” He stuck his hand out expectantly.

“Why?”

He rolled his eyes like I was a dumb bimbo on Love Island, the stupid reality TV show Eden kept waffling about. “So I can add my number to your contacts, obviously.”

I’d never escape if I didn’t do as he asked. It was a miracle Eden hadn’t sent out a search party by now, as her break was nearly over.

I pulled out the cheap phone I’d bought on the shopping trip with Eden, unlocked it and handed it over. Sure enough, there were about 20 messages from Eden asking where I was, each one more frantic than the last. She was even more of a drama queen than Landon.

He opened the contacts and frowned. “You only have Eden’s number in here?”

I shrugged. “I broke my old phone. Not had a chance to move all the info over.” The truth was far sadder - I had no friends - but he seemed to believe my half-assed explanation.

After adding his number and sending a message to his phone, he passed the phone back to me.

---