Page 13 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)

OWEN

Bash and I pushed through the front door of Ky’s beach house around ten thirty the next morning, the scent of cinnamon rolls hanging in the air. Laughter and clinking dishes echoed from the kitchen, warm and casual, like the afterglow of a really good party. But my nerves were anything but relaxed.

I hadn’t slept much. My body was still humming with leftover adrenaline from last night—the games, the snow, that kiss. Lucy.

Dang , that kiss.

My mind replayed it more times than I cared to admit. The way she’d looked at me just before our lips met—eyes soft, curious, a little breathless. How she’d melted into me like her body already knew mine. The little sound she made when my hands slid around her waist and I pulled her in tight.

I'd been trying to tell myself, ever since waking up, that it had just been a fun moment. A midnight spark in a hot tub. Nothing more.

But moments like that didn’t happen to me. Not like that .

Not in the last few years, at least .

And as much as I wanted to play it cool, act unfazed when I saw her again, the truth was I was wired. I wanted to know if she’d felt it, too. If she’d been lying in bed last night thinking about it the way I had.

If there was a chance that kiss wasn’t the end of something…but the start.

Maybe we could talk before I left, sneak a walk on the beach or exchange numbers. Spring semester didn’t start for another week, and for once, I actually had some free time.

So yeah, I was hopeful for the first time in a long time—probably way more than I should’ve been.

Bash and I stepped farther into the entryway, stomping snow from our boots and brushing it off our jackets. Just as I was about to call out and say hi, I heard voices from the kitchen.

Lucy and Nora and another girl—one of Ky’s backup dancers?

“…and I saw you slumming it with the bartender in the hot tub last night,” the backup dancer said, a teasing edge to her voice. “Your dad would absolutely freak if he knew you were kissing a guy like that. Like, come on, Lucy. He’s cute, sure, but…he’s a bartender .”

I stopped mid-step, my body freezing as the words landed.

“I mean,” the girl went on with a dramatic sigh, “that’s, like, something you do to get through college. Not a forever job. He’s, what—late twenties? That’s just someone on the road to nowhere.”

“You gonna correct them?” Bash’s hand clapped onto my shoulder, a little too much sympathy in his eyes. “Let ’em know that the bartender has a PhD in chemistry?”

“Nah.” I let out a low breath, staring down the hallway toward the kitchen. “If that’s what they want to believe, let them.”

I wasn’t ashamed of bartending—honestly, I liked it. It gave me space to breathe, time to think, and more human interaction than any lab or lecture hall ever had. But standing here, hearing how inadequate I was in their eyes… Well, that stung.

“She’s just one girl,” Bash muttered, nudging me forward. “You can do better.”

“Sure…” I said, though if he’d asked me how this “just a girl” had made me feel about eight hours ago, I would have said that who knows…maybe she could have been the one.

Crazier things had happened.

At least it had only been one night. Two kisses.

Better to find out how inadequate I was in these girls’ minds now instead of weeks or months down the line.

Bash stepped into the kitchen first, and I followed right behind him. The second we crossed the threshold, all three girls turned toward us in unison.

And when they saw me, I knew the moment things clicked that their conversation had just been overheard because Nora’s eyes widened. The backup dancer’s face blanched. And Lucy, well—her cheeks were flushed pink, her hand flying up to her mouth.

“Oh my gosh,” Lucy said, her voice thick with panic. “I didn’t realize you were here. I’m so sorry you heard that.”

“Heard that I’m beneath you?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral, my expression smooth. “Yeah…it’s been noted.”

Her blue eyes widened more. “No— I mean—” She fumbled for words, her voice rushing now. “I don’t think that. I hope you know I don’t think any less of you for being a bartender. It’s honest work. And I’m sure you didn’t fall into it because you’re lazy or anything?—”

She winced as the words left her mouth, clearly realizing she’d just said about four more insulting things than her friend had.

I gave her a tight, practiced smile—doing my best not to let anything show.

“It’s fine,” I said, shrugging like it didn’t matter.

“Not everyone’s on the same path. And bartending…

it’s a great way to meet people. I mean…

” I looked right at Lucy, holding her gaze even though it felt like a slow twist in my gut. “That’s how we met, right?”

“Right,” she whispered.

I thought about making a joke. Playing the laid-back guy behind the bar. But I was suddenly off my game.

Hearing myself dismissed so easily by people who didn’t really even know me just brought all my insecurities right back to the surface.

Sure, I was probably the most educated person in the room right now. But even with all my degrees and strong work ethic, they had somehow been able to sense that I was different.

Sure, I could be friends with famous singers who had huge beach houses. People whose problems were solved with phone calls and trust funds. I could go to their parties and play their games—sometimes even kiss the girl.

But I’d never actually be one of them.

“Hey, is Ky around?” I asked, tearing my gaze away from Lucy to look at Nora. “I wanted to thank him for the party before I head back home. Can’t be late for my shift tonight.”

“He’s still sleeping,” Nora said gently, clearly trying to ease the tension. “But I’ll tell him you stopped by.”

“Thanks.”

I turned to Bash. “Should we head out?”

“Yeah,” he said, shooting me a glance that said we’d debrief all this later.

I paused before walking out and looked at Lucy again. She still looked flustered, her mouth slightly open like she was trying to figure out what to say.

“I hope you guys enjoy your New Year’s Day plans,” I said. Then I gave her a little smile. “And if you ever feel like slumming it again…I’m usually at The Garden on Saturday nights.”

I didn’t wait for her reply.

I just walked out.

I’d been hoping I wasn’t the only one who’d felt that spark last night…but who knows, maybe I’d been wrong.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.