Page 43 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)
OWEN
“Been on any good dates lately?” Theo asked, winding up for his next throw at the axe-throwing place on Main Street.
I exhaled through my nose, gripping the handle a little tighter as I searched for an answer that wouldn’t give too much away about where my head had been lately when it came to dating.
Because I probably shouldn’t count dinner in my apartment with Lucy as a real date.
So instead, I went with the truth—just not the whole truth.
“I took a girl named MaryAnn to dinner a few weeks back,” I said, watching the blade sail from Theo’s hand and land dead center. “It went okay.”
You know…right up until I saw his gorgeous sister rushing toward the bathroom and couldn’t remember MaryAnn’s eye color—or why I’d thought dinner with anyone else was a good idea.
“Yeah?” Theo turned toward me, wiping his palms on his jeans. “Anyone else on your radar? ”
“Not really.” I shook my head, keeping my expression neutral as I lied through my teeth. “What about you? Any good dates?”
“Not really.” He shrugged then tossed the axe again. It hit the outer ring this time. “It’s been hard making the time to go out.”
“I bet.” I leaned against the divider between lanes. “Your job keeps you busy. And then having Charlotte…that’s gotta make things more complicated.”
“It does.” He glanced down for a second before adding, “I mean, I probably shouldn’t say this, but…I almost feel guilty trying to go on dates when I’ve got Charlotte at home just waiting to see me after work.”
That had to be rough—balancing work, fatherhood, grief. Trying to open his heart again after losing Alisha. I couldn’t even imagine.
And here I was, brooding just because the one woman I actually wanted was technically off-limits.
“You’ve got a lot to navigate,” I said, clearing my throat. “But you deserve to be happy, too. To fall in love again. Find someone to share your life with.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Theo’s eyes softened. “I just wish there was a way to skip all the bad dates and just…find the right girl.”
“Isn’t that the trick?” I chuckled. “Sadly, the dating apps haven’t nailed that perfect algorithm yet.”
“Well, they need to get on that,” Theo said, managing a smile. “I’m not getting any younger. And Charlotte deserves a mom.”
He looked like he was about to say something else when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and frowned .
“Oh, it’s Lucy. I better take this. Something might be wrong with Charlotte.”
I nodded, trying not to look like I already knew exactly what Lucy was about to tell him.
“Hey, Lucy,” he answered, stepping a few paces away as he pressed the phone to his ear.
I checked the time. 6:50 p.m. Right on schedule.
I grabbed another axe and threw it, landing just outside the bullseye as I waited for him to come back.
“Hey,” he said a moment later, looking flustered. “Lucy said she started a load of laundry for me and just walked in to find it overflowing from the drainpipe. Water’s getting everywhere and she’s not sure what to do.”
“Oh no,” I said, layering in the concern like I hadn’t been expecting it. “We better get you home before anything gets damaged.”
“Yeah. Sorry, man.” He winced. “I hate to cut it short.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, waving the thought away. “We can have a re-match another time.”
We dropped off our axes and then grabbed our coats to step outside. As we headed toward my car, I pulled out my phone and fired off a quick text to Lucy:
Me: On our way. See you soon.
It was probably unnecessary since she most likely already knew. But for some reason, I wanted to feel like we were in this together.
“The laundry room’s just off the kitchen,” Theo said as he opened the front door, motioning for me to follow .
“Okay,” I said, my pulse kicking up a notch as I stepped in behind him.
And sure enough, we had barely crossed the threshold to the main living area when a dozen people suddenly jumped out from their hiding places and yelled, “Surprise!”
Theo flinched so hard he nearly jumped out of his shoes. “Holy crap,” he muttered, his wide-eyed gaze bouncing from face to face as the realization sank in.
Then his eyes landed on Lucy.
She stood in the corner next to us, one arm wrapped around Charlotte, her smile bright, like she’d been waiting all day for this exact reaction.
“So…” Theo stared at her, squinting suspiciously. “My house isn’t actually flooding?”
“Everything’s fine.” Lucy laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I just needed a good excuse to get you back here.”
“And you couldn’t have thought of something less stressful?” Theo let out a breath, dragging a hand through his hair. “I was panicking the whole way over, just praying it wouldn’t cause any real damage since I really don’t have time for a renovation right now.”
“Sorry.” Lucy shrugged like she wasn’t sorry at all.
Theo turned to me next. “Were you in on this, too?”
“Your sister might have enlisted my help in getting you out of the house.” I gave him a guilty shrug. “Just so she could set everything up.”
“And here I thought you just wanted to be besties with me.” He gave me a playful nudge. “But thanks. This is fun.”
Looking around at the crowd gathering in his living room—friends, family, coworkers—he lifted his voice. “Thank you all for coming to my party!”
A round of cheers echoed back, and Theo made his way into the mix, offering hugs and high fives as he started making his rounds.
I hung back near the doorway, watching him, then turned to Lucy. She set Charlotte down, who immediately dashed toward the counter with all the food, a determined look in her eye.
“This looks great,” I said, nodding toward the decorations strung from wall to wall, the huge, gold three-and-zero-shaped balloons, and the buffet of catered food taking over the kitchen counters. “You and Nora must have been booking it.”
“We were panicking just a bit.” Lucy chuckled, brushing a loose curl off her cheek. “But Sloan, Ian, and Maddie showed up at the same time as the caterers and jumped in to help. Totally saved our bacon.”
“That’s awesome.” I glanced toward my friends who were chatting with Evan and Addie in the corner and smiled. “It turned out really well.”
“Thanks.” She looked over toward the kitchen area. Gesturing to the spread, she said, “I hope you didn’t stuff yourself at dinner because I’m pretty sure we have enough food in the kitchen to feed an army.”
“I saved a little room.” I patted my stomach.
“Good.”
We stood there quietly for a beat, the hum of the party buzzing around us while I took her in.
At some point between setting the trap for Theo and now, she’d changed outfits. Her dress was light blue and soft-looking, with short, puffed sleeves and a square neckline that dipped just enough to reveal the slightest hint of cleavage.
It was sweet.
Flirty.
Maddeningly sexy in a way that makes it nearly impossible to think straight .
My gaze dipped before I could stop it, drawn to the soft curve just above her neckline—a tease of skin that made my thoughts go places they absolutely shouldn’t. I swallowed hard and dragged my eyes away, praying no one noticed just how much I wanted to keep looking.
Her hair framed her face in gentle waves, catching the light as she moved, and her heels gave her just enough lift that she had to tilt her chin slightly to meet my eyes.
She was dazzling—utterly, stupidly dazzling—and I was painfully aware of how much effort it took not to reach for her. Not to close the distance and say to hell with the consequences.
“You look amazing, by the way,” I said, my voice lower than I meant it to be. “That dress—it looks really nice on you.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink as she glanced down, her fingers brushing the skirt of the dress like she didn’t quite know what to do with herself. “Figured I should probably wear something besides jeans or gym clothes for once.”
“You always look great in those, too,” I said. And my gaze must’ve lingered too long because something flickered in her eyes, like she knew exactly what I was thinking.
That no matter what she was wearing, I always had a hard time not watching her in class.
“Well, that’s good to know,” she said, the flirty glint in her expression impossible to miss. “Wouldn’t want to look like a scrub in front of my favorite professor.”
“So, I’m your favorite professor now?” I lifted a brow, unable to stop the grin tugging at my lips. “Does that mean chemistry’s finally grown on you this semester?”
She laughed under her breath, a warm, teasing sound. “I said you were my favorite professor. Not that you taught my favorite class. ”
“Well.” I tilted my head, letting my smile linger. “I guess I can’t win them all.”
Just then, Charlotte came running back over and tugged on the hem of Lucy’s dress. “I want cake,” she said, wide-eyed and very serious.
Lucy crouched beside her, smoothing a hand over her niece’s hair. “We have to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to your daddy before we eat the special cake,” she said gently. “But we can find you something yummy for now, okay?”
Charlotte nodded, already tugging Lucy’s hand toward the kitchen like her tiny stomach was in full control of the evening.
“Guess I’ll see you later.” Lucy glanced up at me as she stood, a soft smile playing on her lips. “Hope you enjoy the party.”
And just like that, she was gone again—swept away by a three-year-old with an agenda and zero patience.