Page 21

REED

What the hell just happened?

One moment Violet was telling me I had absolutely no hope with her, the next she was kissing me and pretending to be my girlfriend.

My arms were still wrapped snugly around her body as the two of us watched Hoffman march away.

I felt a familiar urge to punch the guy in the face.

But there was a time and a place, and with Violet between us, it was definitely not the time.

I wasn’t quite sure how I’d ended up in this position or at what point I’d decided I was going to go along with Violet’s charade and pretend we were together.

Now that I thought about it, I realized I hadn’t really considered it at all.

It just seemed like the natural thing to do.

I certainly didn’t regret it. When Jeremy had questioned her and insulted her and I saw the panic in her eyes, I would have done just about anything to help her. Pissing off Hoffman was just a bonus.

It was obvious she’d only kissed me to make him jealous, and yet it had been impossible not to get caught up in the moment when her lips were against mine.

I could still feel the lingering warmth of our kiss.

It had ignited a fire within me that had been dormant for far longer than I cared to admit.

Even now I could feel the sparks and embers crackling contently because Violet remained within my grasp.

“I’m really sorry you got caught up in that,” Violet murmured. I reluctantly allowed her to disentangle herself from my arms, but I couldn’t stop myself from touching her altogether, so I took hold of her hand.

She glanced down at our interlocked fingers in confusion.

“Got to keep up appearances, right?” I said, lowering my voice. The eyes of the entire party still seemed to be on us.

“Maybe we should get out of here, babe,” I added a little louder.

Violet frowned at the nickname but didn’t complain as I steered her away from the fire in the direction of the track that cut through the snow and led back to my truck.

I had no intention of staying at the party now.

Especially not when Hoffman was clearly itching for a fight.

He’d probably gone to gather a posse of his Saints teammates to back him up.

He’d never had the balls to take me on himself.

I sent my brothers a message as we walked, suggesting they call it a night too. Even though fights were off-limits at bonfire parties, I couldn’t be sure Hoffman wouldn’t try to take out his anger on Grayson and Parker if he saw them there. The dude was a loose cannon.

It was only once we reached my truck that Violet let go of my hand. She dropped it abruptly, as if it had given her an electric jolt, and she seemed lost in thought as she stared down at her fingers.

“Want me to drop you home?” I suggested since I knew she still didn’t have her car.

She nodded slowly, but I could see she wasn’t listening closely.

Her attention had turned back to the bonfire behind us.

The rhythmic beat of the music and the soft sounds of laughter and cheerful chatter echoed across the field but felt as though they were drifting to us from another world.

It was cold and dark standing on the side of the road by my truck, yet I felt far more comfortable here with Violet than I had at the party.

I went to open the passenger door for her, but she started to pace. “Oh god. Oh god,” she muttered to herself. “This is such a mess.”

"It’s going to be okay, Sunshine.”

“Okay?” She spun to face me. “No, it’s not going to be okay. Everyone thinks we’re dating.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah, well, I’m sure there are worse things in life, right?”

She clearly didn’t agree because her head dropped into her hands. “This is a total disaster.”

“I’m trying really hard not to take that personally.” I laughed but only to hide the fact that her reaction to the concept of dating me had genuinely hurt.

She didn’t seem to hear me as she’d returned to her pacing.

She was also muttering things under her breath, but I couldn’t hear them clearly.

I caught the odd swear word, so I was fairly certain she was still just freaking out.

In my experience, girls generally reacted better than this after kissing me.

“So, are you getting in?” I asked, gesturing toward the open door of my truck. I had a bad feeling Violet would be out here muttering like a crazy person all night if I didn’t do something.

She kept pacing like she hadn’t heard me but then suddenly stopped and looked my way. “Why did you help me out back there?”

“ That’s what you’re worried about right now?”

“It’s one of many things,” she replied. “Why did you do it?”

“Why don’t we talk about this in the truck where it’s a little warmer.”

She looked ready to argue but then realized I was right. Probably because she was shaking and her lips were practically blue. It was a whole lot colder now we were away from the fire, and while it didn’t bother me much, it was clearly getting to Violet.

“Okay, fine,” she replied as she quickly climbed into the passenger seat.

I closed the door behind her before I made my way around to the other side of the truck.

I moved slowly, giving myself as much time as possible to come up with an answer to Violet’s question.

The truth was, while we’d only just met, I’d never felt this way about any girl before.

I barely knew her, but already I wanted to do anything I could to make her smile.

And anything to stop her feeling sad. Swooping in to save Violet from her cheating ex was a no-brainer for me.

I couldn’t tell her any of that though. She’d think I was some lovesick sap, and I knew she didn’t feel the same way about me.

“So…” She pushed me for an answer the moment I sat in the driver’s seat.

I’d barely had a chance to close the door behind me. “So…” I turned on the ignition and cranked the heat, continuing my delay tactics.

“Why did you help me?” She folded her arms across her chest, and there was an unimpressed look on her face. I was starting to think she should be a little more grateful.

“You mean why did I save you from embarrassing yourself in front of your ex? I believe the words you’re looking for are thank you .”

“I’m serious, Reed. Why would you do that?” Her eyes were narrowed as if she was certain I had some ulterior motive. “You didn’t have to.”

“Maybe I just did it out of the goodness of my heart?”

“Maybe,” she murmured. “But that seems highly unlikely…”

“Well, maybe I’ve got a question for you,” I shot back. “Why did you kiss me?”

I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from her. Her plan to make Hoffman jealous had clearly worked, but given her reaction and the way she was freaking out, a small part of me wondered if perhaps she’d been just as affected by the kiss as me.

“And, if I remember correctly, you were the one who concocted the whole story about us dating,” I continued. "After you attacked me with your lips, that is.”

“It was hardly an attack, and I didn’t hear you complaining.”

“Oh, I wasn’t complaining. The kiss was great. Maybe we should do it again.”

Violet’s lips twitched as though she was struggling to withhold a smile. But any look of amusement was quickly gone as her eyes filled with concern once again. “Let’s just forget about that entirely and focus on the real problem.”

“Which is?”

“How people are going to react when they find out the truth.”

“That you’re a great kisser?”

“No, Reed.” She was starting to sound exasperated. “That we’re not really dating, and it was all a lie.”

“Ah.” That terrible truth.

"I’m sorry I kissed you,” she started. “But I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. I just wanted Jeremy to see I was moving on. He wants to get back together, and he won’t take no for answer, so I had to do something.”

As much as I hated Jeremy, I didn’t blame him for not wanting to give Violet up without a fight.

“I didn’t realize he’d storm over and confront us,” she continued. “I just figured he’d see us together and finally realize I was done with him.” She let out a heavy sigh. “But once he finds out we weren’t really kissing. Aren’t really dating. He’s going to think he still has a chance.”

She groaned and placed her head in her hands. “Then there’s the whole puck bunny thing. I don’t want people thinking that about me.”

As Violet spoke, I was struggling to stop myself from interrupting her so I could tell her that I wasn’t sorry she’d kissed me. That it felt one hundred percent real to me. With every word, this girl was shattering my heart but making it beat harder at the same time.

“There might be a way we can avoid all of that,” I said. An idea was forming in my mind, and I couldn’t stop it from bursting out.

“What? How?” Her hands fell away from her face, and a glimmer of hope shone in her eyes.

“It should be quite easy really. Just date me.” I shrugged like it was no big deal, but my heart was on tenterhooks as I waited for her response.

Her shoulders slouched, and she slowly exhaled like my response hadn’t been the one she was hoping for. Again, it was the reaction I expected but not the one I wanted. “I already told you, Reed, I’m done with hockey players.”

“You can’t be that done with hockey players. You just kissed one…”

“Yes, but that was a mistake.”

Ouch. Another punch to the gut. I was taking some serious punishment here, but I was still standing. Had I really been the only one to feel fireworks exploding when we’d kissed? Apparently, so.

“Besides, I’m not ready for another boyfriend,” she continued. “Not after Jeremy…”

“Yeah, I know that. Obviously. I’m not looking for a relationship either.

” That was actually the truth. At least, it had been until I’d met Violet.

“We’d only be pretending to date." From the casual way I said it, you’d think it was a totally obvious and totally normal thing to do.

“We just have to live the lie for a little while.”