Page 195 of Pucking Sweet

“You said you weren’t coming,” I say.

She stiffens.

Great. Smooth. Just fucking perfect. Now tell her the cat won’t eat.

“Well, obviously, I changed my mind,” she replies.

This is all out of order. She can’t be here now. Everything is planned for tomorrow. You can’t just change the plans on a hockey player. We crave the structure of routine. “But you said—”

“Cool it,” says Cole, placing a hand on my arm. He knows I’m spiraling. Do I tell her now? Right here in this hallway in front ofLangley and the drunk PT intern dressed as half a Merlin? “Not here,” he says, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

No, that’s good. We wait. I can do this.

“Guy’s what’s up?” says Langley, pushing his way between us.

Poppy’s eyes go wide, as if she didn’t even notice he was there. “Oh—hi, Ryan. Nice costumes.” Hiding her nerves, she takes a sip from her cup.

“Hey, Poppy,” says Langley, all bright and cheery. “Who are you supposed to be?”

She sighs. “Honestly, I should’ve just made a sign and worn it around my neck. I’m Elizabeth Bennett.” She gestures down her costume with a flourish.

The three of us glance confused at each other, and she huffs, hand on her hip. That defiant posture stirs my dick awake. Wait, is she annoyed with me right now? Sad and upset are one thing. Those emotions scare me. But angry and annoyed? Hell, that’s one small step away from sex as far as we’re concerned.

“Elizabeth Bennett?” she repeats with a raised brow, that attitude shining through. “Only one of the greatest romantic heroines of all time? FromPride & Prejudice?”

“That’s a movie?” Cole asks.

Surprising the hell out of me, tears spring to her eyes as she glares between the three of us, but mostly she glares at me. “This is why you boys only attract the likes of puck bunnies! Cause any woman of class, taste, and sense knows to steer clear!”

I barely have time to process the words before she storms right through us and marches away. Cole is pressed back against the wall, and Langers just looks supremely confused. So…maybe she’s a step past angry? I’m trying to mentally recalibrate. Fuck, why are feelings so hard? Oh god, this is bad, right?

Langers is looking at me like I have all the answers, when all I really have is a tongue that suddenly feels like it’s too big for my fucking mouth. “Ignore her,” I say. “She’s just upset because she couldn’t adopt that cat.”

He nods, but I can tell he doesn’t buy my dodge. Meanwhile, Cole is gonna burn holes into the back of my head with his laser eyes. I’m on autopilot as I turn away, moving deeper into the house. My mindis racing. This changes everything. I can’t possibly wait until tomorrow, right? Poppy’s here, and she’s mad, and this can’t fucking wait.

But then Shelby is smiling at me and all the people in the kitchen start waving me forward.

“Guys, I found Shelbs,” I say over my shoulder.

Cole comes up right behind me, his hand on my neck, giving it a squeeze. I feel it like a fucking brand. His silent command is heard loud and fucking clear.Fix this.

We say hello to Shelby and Sully. I think I even ask a question. Something about her costume. I don’t even fucking know. I don’t care. We have to find Poppy. It’s Cole who peels away first, and then I’m chasing after him, grabbing his arm in the hallway. “What the fuck do we do?”

He rounds on me, eyes blazing. “Fix this now, or I swear to fucking god, it’ll beyouwho sleeps in the garage like a goddamn scooter.”

I groan. “But I had a plan. Tomorrow we were gonna—”

“Plans change,” he says over me. “Hell,allmy plans have changed, thanks to you. I was finally ready, Lukas. I had the career, my health, the life of my dreams, and I finally had the fucking girl. Poppy is the dream I’ve been chasing for two goddamn years. She’s my future, and I had her in my hands. I was done. I was set. She was the one.”

“Cole, I—”

He leans in, jabbing a finger at my chest as he lowers his voice. “But thenyouskated into my life with that stupid fucking shit-eating grin, and your pranks, and your bad attitude. You got between me and Poppy and drove me fucking crazy…until you stayed between me and Poppy and drove me even crazier.”

“Bud, I’m sorry—”

“Now here I am, completely uninterested in the life I’d imagined,” he says over me. “You have ripped that future from me, and fucking shredded it, Lukas.” He lets out a breath, his gaze softening as he looks at me. “And in its place, you’ve handed me a new picture framed in gold.”

My heart fucking stops.