Page 15 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)

LUCY

When class ended, I stayed frozen in my seat long after everyone else had packed up and left, my thoughts spiraling in a thousand directions. When I finally stood and walked toward the front of the room, it felt like I was wading through molasses. My legs were heavy, my stomach twisting.

Owen—or rather, Professor Park—was gathering his notes from the podium, his brow furrowed in concentration.

“Hey,” I said, a tentative smile on my face.

“Hey.” He looked up, his eyes wary when they met mine.

Ok, so maybe he felt as uncomfortable as I did.

“Um…” I said, suddenly second-guessing my decision to talk to him instead of simply fleeing the room when class ended. But since I was already here, I forced myself to continue. “I just wanted to say...I’m sorry. For earlier. I didn’t mean to assume you were a student. I just—after last weekend…”

“It’s okay,” he interrupted before I could say exactly what had happened between us last weekend. “I should’ve said something when I walked in here and saw you. I just…wasn’t su re how to handle it. I haven’t exactly been in a situation like this before.”

“Yeah.” I gave a small nod. “Me neither.”

I promise I don’t go around kissing all of my professors.

He tucked a loose paper into his folder and straightened. “Anyway, I hope you enjoy the semester. And…it’s probably best if we keep what happened on New Year’s Eve between us.”

“Of course,” I said quickly, even as something tugged at my chest. A small, annoying pang of disappointment.

“And obviously,” he added, his jaw tightening slightly, “that was a one-time thing.”

“Obviously,” I echoed, my voice softer than I meant it to be.

But even as I said it, my gaze betrayed me—drifting to his lips, memory sparking like a match as I remembered what it had felt like to be in his arms in that hot tub, snow falling around us, his capable mouth on mine.

Nope. Don’t go there , Lucy.

That kiss may have felt amazing at the time, but now that I knew better, it would do me good to stop remembering all the little details—like how safe I’d felt with him. Or how soft his lips had been.

And there we go again…

I blinked hard, forcing myself to focus, just in time to hear him say, “I’m glad you agree. Because I could get fired if anyone found out I kissed a student.”

“Right.” My stomach twisted. “I—I’m sorry. If I’d known you were my professor, I never would’ve…” I trailed off, cringing.

“No, I get it.” He held up a hand, his tone gentler than before. “You didn’t know. Neither of us did. So I can’t really blame you for…putting my career at risk.”

I’d put his career in danger .

Was that how he saw me now? Just a girl out to seduce her professor?

The shame hit hard, blooming across my cheeks.

It wasn’t like I’d been trying to get him in trouble. At the time, I’d truly believed he was just a bartender and a friend of Ky’s.

Was it really that wrong that I’d believed someone as smart, grounded, and kind as he’d seemed that night could be interested in me?

Apparently, it was. And now Owen wouldn’t be able to see me as anything else. The moment was tainted, and now that we knew better, I was simply a complication he had to manage.

Well, if he thought things were messy now, he might as well know the full story.

“Sorry you feel like I put your career at risk,” I said quietly. “I guess we should just be grateful Theo wasn’t at the party.”

His brows drew together. “What does Theo have to do with this?”

“He’s my older brother…” I said, bracing for his reaction. “So if he’d been there and saw us…and happened to let it slip to our dad…” I gave a small shrug. “We’d be in much bigger trouble.”

His expression shifted, blinking slowly like he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right. “Wait—Theo’s your brother?”

I nodded, offering a small, sheepish smile. “That’s why I was talking to him at The Garden.”

Owen’s mouth opened slightly, realization washing over him in slow, dawning horror. Then, like he was solving the second layer of the puzzle, his jaw dropped, and he went pale as a ghost.

“So that means…” he said slowly, looking like someone had just pulled the rug out from under him. “Your dad is…President Archibald? ”

“Yep,” I said, the word falling like a weight between us. “That’s my dad.”

He ran a hand through his raven hair, exhaling slowly. “Which would make you…”

“Lucy Archibald,” I said with a wince, the name feeling heavier now, like a steel door slamming shut between us. “I’m the university president’s daughter.”

His eyes met mine, and I could see it all clicking into place—how we’d been even more doomed from the start.

My dad had always made it very clear to me growing up: appearances mattered. Image mattered. The Archibald name came with expectations.

Kissing a bartender was one thing.

Falling for my professor?

That was full-on reckless behavior.

Owen stepped back slightly, like he needed more air between us. “Well…that definitely complicates things.”

“Just a little,” I said, trying to inject some humor into my voice, but my laugh cracked down the middle.

We stood there for a moment, the silence between us no longer charged, just...defeated.

We hadn’t known. But now we did. And there was no going back.

“I should go,” I said, my voice quiet. “I have another class.”

“Yeah,” he murmured. “Me too.”

As I turned to leave, I caught one last glance of him—tall, composed, a mix of guilt and something else flickering in his eyes. Regret?

Well, whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

Because whatever we’d started in that hot tub?

Could never happen again.