Page 19

VIOLET

“Reed Darling is watching you, again.”

Mia’s words made my stomach dip as I followed her gaze past the dancing flames of the bonfire and found Reed staring intently at me.

His expression was closed, and with the flickering glow of the fire between us, he looked as devilishly handsome as he was dangerous.

He stood with his younger brother, and the people around them seemed to be giving them a wide berth.

As our eyes met, Reed appeared to fight back a smile, and I quickly glanced away.

I wrapped my arms a little tighter around my body, doing my best to pretend that one look from Reed hadn’t raised my temperature more than the bonfire between us. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mia’s eyes narrowed at me with suspicion. “And now he’s smiling. Why is he smiling at you, Vi?”

My cheeks warmed in response, and as much as I would have liked to blame the heat radiating from the roaring bonfire, I knew it had everything to do with Reed.

I was tempted to look over at him again, but I somehow managed to keep my eyes firmly on Mia.

I couldn’t let myself get trapped in his gaze once more.

“Well…” she prompted.

I still hadn’t told Mia that Reed had mentioned I should come tonight. She was extremely wary of him, so I knew she would only take it the wrong way. Given the critical look in her eyes, she was already leaping to conclusions.

“He’s probably just being friendly,” I said. “I told you he helped me with my car.”

“Vi, there is absolutely nothing friendly about that boy. And I doubt he looks at his friends that way. Hell, he probably doesn’t have any.”

I really wished Nicole were here already. She might have put a stop to Mia’s interrogation.

“Maybe he’s not as bad as you think,” I suggested.

“Don’t let that gorgeous face and beautiful body blind you from the fact that boy is one hundred percent trouble,” she replied. “He doesn’t play by the same rules as the rest of us.”

“It was just a look. You’re reading too much into it.”

“I’m not,” she insisted before lowering her voice. “If one of the Darling Devils was looking at me that way, I’d be running in the opposite direction as fast as my legs could carry me…”

“Oh, and how exactly is he looking at me?”

“Like if you smiled back at him, he’d leap right through those flames, pick you up, and carry you back to his cave like some barbarian.”

I rolled my eyes at her but swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat. “Well, thankfully, none of that is going to happen. I don’t even want to look at another guy right now, and I’m definitely not smiling at any. Not after Jeremy.”

“Yeah, I know.” Her face fell as she nodded. “Where is Captain Douche tonight?”

“I haven’t seen him, thankfully.” I was still reeling from our confrontation yesterday.

The way he’d behaved all week, flirting with girls while pretending to be the victim, only to then turn around and expect me to just forgive him, left me with an ominous feeling in my gut.

Jeremy wasn’t going to accept this breakup easily.

He always got what he wanted. And if he still wanted me, I feared it was going to take something extreme to make him give up on us.

“You’re not considering getting back with him, are you?”

“What? No, of course not.” My eyes darted back to meet Mia’s.

“I will never be able to look at him the same way after what he did. And I’d definitely never be able to trust him.

I just need to move on.” I only wished it were that easy.

Recovering from your boyfriend cheating on you wasn’t a simple matter, especially when you had to see him at school every day.

The fact he wanted me back was only going to make it harder still.

“Yeah, well, it seems to me there’s another hockey player who would gladly volunteer to assist with that…”

“Mia!” I gasped.

“What?” she replied. “I know Reed Darling is bad news, and he’s a total player. And I know you’ve written off hockey players for life. But Reed is incredibly hot, and he seems interested in you. It would kill Jeremy to see you with him too, so I’m sure we could make an exception for one night.”

She went to continue, but I cut her off. “You literally just told me I should be running away from Reed Darling. Now you want me to date him?”

“I didn’t say that. Dating him would be a terrible idea.”

“What? But you think kissing him would be a good one?”

“Uh, Vi…”

“Because I’m not kissing anyone tonight.”

“Vi…”

“Also, I’m not just done with guys who play hockey; I’m done with any guys who have big egos.”

“Violet…”

“And I bet Reed Darling has one of the biggest around!”

For a moment, the world went silent, and then a voice rumbled behind me. “I hope you’re talking about my big heart there, Sunshine.”

I squeezed my eyes shut as I realized it was Reed. We’d only met twice, but I instantly recognized his deep tone.

“Didn’t realize I’d made such a big impression.”

I officially wanted to die. I also wanted to kill Mia for not trying harder to warn me Reed was coming.

A true friend would have tackled me to the ground if that’s what it took to shut me up.

As I opened my eyes, I found her looking over my shoulder at Reed, a sparkle of mischief in her gaze.

She might be intimidated by the guy, but right now, it appeared like she was trying not to laugh. Traitor.

“Oh, look, there’s Nicole,” she said. “I’ll be back in a sec…”

I gaped at her, my eyes narrowing with disbelief. How could she have bailed on me? Especially when I’d just embarrassed myself so thoroughly. She was meant to be whisking me away, saving me from the Devil. Not abandoning me with him just when I needed her the most.

I had no choice but to face Reed, and I reluctantly turned to him, my dread growing a little more with each slow movement.

I couldn’t believe he’d overheard me talking about him.

Again. I wasn’t sure how much he’d heard, but at least this time, I could be grateful I hadn’t been calling him a pig.

Not that saying he had a big ego was much better.

“Hi,” he said once I was facing him. I half expected to find a look of disappointment or annoyance on his face. But instead, he seemed amused. “So, if it wasn’t my big heart you were talking about, was it another part of me?”

My eyes widened as I realized what he was inferring, and I quickly started to stutter. “No. I?—"

“Because, honestly, that’s one rumor about me I’m okay with.”

“Reed! I was talking about your ego. And, by the sounds of it, I was right.”

He grinned, allowing the dimple on his cheek to pop. It was only on one cheek, which somehow made its impact more devastating. “Okay, that’s fair. At least give me a chance to clear my name.”

I hesitated. I got the feeling that once you were drawn into Reed Darling’s orbit there would be no escaping it.

Like getting sucked into a black hole that would eventually spit you back out with a broken heart and a bunch of emotional scars.

He was too intense. Too good-looking. And, despite his bad reputation, I imagined that girls who got too close to Reed Darling inevitably fell for him and suffered the consequences.

Spending more time with Reed, even as a friend, could only lead to disaster.

“Look, Reed, I’m sure you’re a great guy.”

“Uh-oh,” he replied, somehow still managing to smile.

I did my best to power on. “But I already told you I’ve sworn off hockey players. In fact, I have a very long-standing no-jock rule and, this time, I’m making no exceptions. Besides, from what I hear, hockey isn’t the only reason I should be staying away from you.”

“Mm, but surely you’ve changed your mind since meeting me?”

I folded my arms over my chest. “I thought you were trying to prove you didn’t have a big ego?”

“Nah, I just wanted to spend more time with you. You were right. I have a big ego.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Big ego or not, Reed could certainly be charming. Then again, Jeremy had been too.

“So, you can’t even be friends with a hockey player?” he asked.

I tilted my head to the side as I studied him. I didn’t think guys like Reed were capable of being friends with girls, and I was all too aware of that fact after what happened with Jeremy and Heather. “Why would you want to be friends with me? It’s not like we have anything in common.”

“That’s overrated.”

“But I don’t like hockey, and it’s the thing you live and breathe.”

Reed released a soft laugh. “I just want to hang out with you. I’m not asking you to rewatch game tapes with me.”

I blanched because that was in fact something Jeremy had made me do before.

Reed made it sound like my lack of interest in the sport was no big deal.

But I’d dated a hockey player, so I knew how important it was.

I was never going to be the kind of girl that idolized him or was desperate to wear his jersey to a game.

I certainly hadn’t wanted to wear Jeremy’s and quickly changed the subject on the few occasions he’d asked me to.

Looking back now, I wondered if perhaps even then I’d sensed Jeremy wasn’t the guy for me.

“So, what do you think?” Reed asked.

My eyes narrowed on him. “You get your way a lot, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and grinned at me in a way that confirmed he most definitely did.

It was hard not to be lured in by him when he smiled.

But I knew I had to stay strong. We barely knew the first thing about each other, and I refused to be pulled in by another jock.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my stance on hockey players isn’t going to change.”

He didn’t look the least bit bothered as he gave me a one-shouldered shrug. “Guess I’ll just have to keep proving to you I’m not like all the other hockey guys.”