Page 5 of King of Hearts

“Did you find a spot yet?” my stepsister asked, sounding like she’d just heaved something across the room.

“What was that?”

“I lifted a box of paper. Can you believe I don’t have an assistant to do that shit for me?” She let loose a strained chuckle while something else slapped against the floor on her end.

I laughed in response. “What about your baseball player husband?”

“He’s ironically at the gym, and he may have told me to wait on picking up these boxes, but I’m feeling a little defiant today,” she explained proudly. My older stepsister, whom I referred to as just my sister, had just recently taken over Charlie’s New York office with her brand-new husband, Decker.

“I don’t want to know about your defiance with Decker. Save it.” I laughed, swinging my water bottle while I walked down the path. College students bustled around campus, darting around to get set up, find classes, and move into dorms. I looked longingly at a freshman who had a box in her arms. She wasn’t homeless.

“You’re out of breath,” Mallory said with a hint of concern in her voice.

I moved my wrist to swipe at my brow, returning the phone to my ear. “Yeah…it’s a bit hotter than I realized it would be. I feel weird.”

“Tay, be careful. Those heatwaves can be really dangerous.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know. I’ve lived here just as long as you have, sis.”

“Yeah, but—”

“You know I love you, Mal, but you called for a reason.”

She let out a super dramatic sound as another slap echoed through my phone.

“I just wanted to know if you found a place.”

I let out a sigh and sank down on a bench by the administration building. “I definitely have options.” My feet hurt, my shoulders too, and I hadn’t even started my first day yet.

“That means you have nothing.” Mal laughed, and I could feel my chest loosen as I joined her. I already missed her, and I’d just driven back to Rake Forge from her penthouse the week before. I had spent almost the entire summer with her, and I was still struggling with how badly I missed her.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Mal.” I shook my head, unsure why it suddenly felt so heavy. More sweat gathered at my brow, soaking my neck and back. I knew I needed to take a quick drink of water, so I pulled the heavy flask up and began opening the lid.

“You know all I have to do is make one phone call,” she said hesitantly.

My brows crinkled as I considered what she was talking about.

“Hillary?” One of my sister’s best friends had moved to Chicago last I heard.

She clicked her tongue. “You know that’s not who I’m talking about.”

I played dumb. “Hmm, not sure then.”

Right as I said it, the person in question who I knew she was referring to was headed in my direction with his head down, looking at his phone. My heart did a little flip while my neck suddenly stretched, straining to see every inch of him, maybe to ensure he wasn’t a mirage or just simply because it was an odd sensation to see him after so many months. Mostly it was because he wasn’t supposed to be here. He’d graduated and was now employed as a professional athlete; there were zero reasons he should be on campus.

“Juan asked about you,” Mal hedged, likely worried how I might respond. We hadn’t talked about Juan, except for one time on my bedroom floor when I had admitted that I would be returning to school this year. She had no idea of my past with him, or my crush…she just thought we didn’t get along because I was arguably difficult for most to get along with. I supposed after her wedding, I’d been a little immature regarding her friendship with him. In my defense, there wasn’t a soul on this planet who had hurt me the way he had, and that included my psychopath father.

“Please refrain from telling him anything about me,” I droned while I watched Juan walk casually toward the door that was almost directly across from me. I took a second to catalogue how handsome he was, only so I could tuck it away for later use. He wore dark denim that fit him so perfectly he might as well have been a jeans model. Brand new white Nikes were on his feet, not a single speck of dirt on them.

“He’s a good guy, Tay. He’d help you in a heartbeat.”

She didn’t know the details behind Juan’s little visits last year; no one did. No one understood what sort of hell it had been to see him at her wedding, or what lengths I had gone to ensure he stayed away from me.

“Mal, I have to go,” I said in a rush, realizing too late that as I was ogling Juan, he was bound to lift his head and see me any second.

“Okay, but call me back.”

I hung up on her and began gathering my things. I stood and, keeping my eyes on the enemy, began walking to the left. I was almost clear of him entirely, thanks to the random group of students that had congregated. I slipped past a tall jock and in between two girls, still moving, peering over my shoulder one more time. The heat was sweltering, and I hadn’t actually sipped any water while I talked to Mal. Now my heart seemed to be thundering at a sickening pace. I tried to take a deep breath while looking once more, but I lost sight of Juan. Just as I felt my brows crinkle in confusion, I ran into something hard and went down.

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