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I wasn’t sure how long I needed to wait up here before I went back down again.

Perhaps just a couple of minutes until Reed had moved off to another part of the house.

As I reached the top of the stairs though, I realized I couldn’t go any farther.

At least, I couldn’t if I wanted to avoid the two people furiously making out on the landing.

I was either going to have to interrupt them so I could get past, hang out right by them, or head back downstairs and risk running into Reed.

None of those options were appealing. Thankfully, it was dark up here and the couple was so absorbed in one another they hadn’t noticed me hesitating at the top of the stairs.

They shifted slightly as the guy pressed the girl against the wall.

It freed up just enough space for me to sneak by, but my heart stopped as I moved toward them and their faces became clearer.

That was Jeremy. My Jeremy…and Heather.

My stomach plummeted, and I blinked frantically as I desperately tried to process what I was seeing. But there was no denying it—my boyfriend was passionately entangled with the girl he’d told me not to worry about. The one who was supposedly just a friend.

Every ounce of trust I had for him shattered, and my chest tightened with anger and hurt as I looked on, unable to move or speak. I couldn’t seem to look away, and I felt the image of them together branding its way into my memory.

Tears escaped my eyes and slowly spilled down my cheeks.

I felt like such a fool. I’d thought Jeremy was an exception.

That he was nothing like the stereotypical jocks my mom had warned me about.

That he would never break my heart. Clearly, I’d made a terrible mistake, and the realization was like a sucker punch to the gut.

I didn’t know how I would react if they turned to find me there. I wasn’t prepared to confront Jeremy. So, instead, I found myself fleeing back downstairs. I couldn’t get away from this party fast enough.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I slammed into a hard chest. Two strong hands reached out to grasp me. “You okay there, Sunshine?”

Reed’s deep voice rolled through me, soothing me despite the panic clawing at my chest. I glanced up, and his deep-blue eyes were soft as he looked down at me.

The cold aggression I’d seen in his gaze as he’d entered the party was gone.

That boy had been a stranger. But this boy was the one who’d helped me with my car.

“I…” My voice trailed off as I glanced over my shoulder and up the stairs toward Jeremy. I couldn’t see him from here, and a part of me was grateful. I didn’t need the dagger lodged firmly in my chest twisting any deeper.

I shook my head. “I’m fine.”

I pushed past Reed and continued to the front door. The crowd seemed to part for me as if they could sense my desperation to get away. I didn’t stop until I was outside on the street, the freezing night air biting against my exposed skin.

I’d taken my jacket off to dance and left it somewhere inside the house, but I only felt the chill through my thin top for a moment. When I spotted Jeremy’s car parked on the side of the road, hot anger began to race through my blood instead.

With purposeful steps, I strode over to his shiny red Mustang.

It was parked right across someone’s driveway.

Usually, I would have shrugged it off as an accident, but tonight, I felt like my eyes were opened, and I finally saw Jeremy for who he was.

He simply didn’t care. His arrogance knew no bounds.

He felt just as entitled to a car space that didn’t belong to him as he did to a girl who wasn’t his girlfriend.

As I reached the car, I slammed my fists down on the hood. “Jerk!” I followed up with a swift kick to the closest wheel. “I broke my one rule for you, you entitled, inconsiderate, selfish jerk!”

It was lucky his car was a little way down the street so the partygoers who’d spilled onto the front yard couldn’t see me. Even if they could, right now I wasn’t sure I cared.

“I hate you!” I kicked the tire again. I wasn’t sure if I was angrier at Jeremy for cheating on me or myself for believing he was different.

I think it was mostly myself. I shouldn’t have allowed my feelings for him to blind me from what my mom had taught me: never trust a boy who cared more about a game than he could ever care for a girl.

I hadn’t made so much as a scratch on Jeremy’s car, and I wondered if there might be a crowbar back in the house somewhere. There was nothing I would like more than to see the look on Jeremy’s face if he came out to find his baby in pieces.

“I’m beginning to think you don’t like cars…”

I spun to find Reed behind me. He was standing in the middle of the road with one eyebrow lifted and his jacket held out toward me.

“Which is really sad because I happen to love cars.”

My cheeks flashed hot, and I had no idea how to respond. I should have been wary, standing here alone with the guy who’d broken Jeremy’s nose. Instead, I was wondering if he’d consider breaking it again.

Reed didn’t seem too bothered by my silence as he slowly approached and carefully placed his jacket over my shoulders.

He was moving with the kind of caution you might use around a wild animal.

Is that what I was to him right now? Some feral beast he’d encountered out in the snow?

I should have told him not to bother with the jacket because I could no longer feel the cold. But I didn’t have it in me to argue.

“So, is there a reason we’re beating up a brand-new 2024 Ford Mustang?”

“We?”

“I mean, I haven’t done anything yet, but I’ve got a couple of hockey sticks in my truck if you want to do some real damage?”

“You’re going to help me beat up a car?”

“It pretty much goes against my religion, but you clearly need the help…”

Given his reputation, it wasn’t all that surprising Reed was so happy to help.

A few minutes ago, I might have just let him.

But a wave of exhaustion rushed over me as the fiery anger that had fueled my outburst wore off.

Now that I no longer felt the hot adrenaline pulsing through me, the cold night air started to seep through Reed’s jacket, and I pulled it closer around me.

As much as I hated Jeremy right now, beating up his car wasn’t going to make things any better.

“What happened?” Reed asked as if he could sense the change in me.

I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about my anger, my frustration, my embarrassment, or any of the many emotions I was currently struggling to sort through. Thankfully, Reed didn’t push me to respond and was patient as he waited for my answer.

I blew out a breath as I looked back at the house. “Let’s just say I’m never dating another hockey player.”

Reed’s expression faltered when I glanced back at him, and a deep furrow lined his brow. “Never sounds very final.”

“I made that mistake once. I won’t do it again.”

I glanced up and down the street but let out a sigh when I remembered I didn’t have my car. Not that it mattered; I was in no state to drive. Mia wasn’t either. She was my best chance at finding a ride though.

I pulled up her number and gave her a call.

The phone rang several times before it went to voicemail.

I tried Nicole too, but she didn’t answer either.

They probably couldn’t hear their phones over all the noise at the party.

That’s why Mia had missed my call earlier, and if anything, the music in the house only seemed to be growing louder.

I bit my lip as I tried to figure out what to do.

I just wanted to get home, but there was no way I was going back inside the house to find a ride.

Reed hadn’t moved, and he was still watching me with concern in his eyes.

My head was already all over the place, but I was finding it even harder to think straight when he looked at me that way.

“Can I drive you home?” he asked.

“It’s fine. I’ll get an Uber.” I started to open the app.

“It’s a Saturday night. You’ll be waiting out in the cold for ages.”

“I can handle the cold.” I couldn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.

When the app found my closest driver, my heart sank.

It was thirty minutes away. That was far too long.

Not only would I be waiting out in the cold, there was also a chance Jeremy would come outside, and I wasn’t prepared to face him yet.

“I’m not letting you get an Uber alone,” Reed said. “Any psycho could be picking you up.”

“I heard you’re the resident psycho around here.”

He gave me a smirk, but a flicker of hurt flashed across his eyes. “And what do you think?”

I hesitated. Reed certainly didn’t seem like a psycho to me, but I was hearing more and more concerning rumors about him, and there was no smoke without fire. Right now, I was too cold and exhausted to care. I let out a sigh. “I think I’d like a ride home.”

“You got it.”

He didn’t start to his car straightaway though. Instead, he glanced back at the party with a grimace as the two massive guys I’d seen him with earlier marched out the front gate.

“I should probably apologize in advance,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because my brothers will be coming too…”