Page 58 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)

I held up the screen for him to see, then before Theo could do something impulsive like call my dad, I hit the button to call him.

“Hello,” Theo’s voice came through the earpiece a moment later .

“Hey, so before you freak out or call Dad,” I blurted, my hand shaking as I held my phone to my ear, “can you please just let me explain?”

Silence.

Then, “I’m listening.”

“Okay, so, just so you know, this thing with Owen started before I knew he was my professor,” I said, my words tumbling out frantically.

“As you know, we met that night I saw you at The Garden, and for all I knew, bartending was his only job. I thought he was super cute and interesting, but I had no idea he taught chemistry at my school.”

“Okay…” Theo exhaled loudly through the phone.

“Anyway,” I continued, “nothing happened that night, but then we ran into each other again the next weekend at Ky’s New Year’s Eve party and hit it off.

And I think it’s also important to note that at that point, Owen had no idea that I was your sister, or that I was still in college, since I might have let him believe I was already done with school… ”

Theo groaned. “Lucy…”

“I know. My bad for wanting an older guy to stay interested,” I said. “Anyway, when midnight rolled around and everyone was kissing, we had our own little kiss, too.”

As well as a super-hot make-out session that I’m definitely not going to mention.

“We left that weekend still not knowing a ton about each other. But then, on the first day of class, I was sitting in my chemistry class when Owen walked in. And because I still thought he was just a bartender, when I first saw him, I honestly thought he was a student.”

“He’s my age, Lucy.”

“I know,” I said quickly. “I just thought he was a non-traditional student who had figured out what he wanted to do a little later on.”

I mean, it wasn’t that big of a stretch. I’d had a bunch of older classmates over the years.

I sighed. “As soon as we realized who each other was and how off-limits a relationship would be, we tried to keep our distance. I promise.”

“Clearly not hard enough,” Theo muttered. “Since you look pretty cozy in that photo.”

“Okay, yeah,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. “So that didn’t last as long as it should have. But…we made it all the way to your birthday party without any slip-ups.”

“Something happened at my party?” Theo’s voice shot up an octave. “Is that why Owen was in my pantry?”

Ugh. My mouth seriously needed a filter.

“Uhh…” I hesitated. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“Lucy—”

“I know it sounds bad. But I swear we were trying to do what was right. Owen’s a good guy. He treats me well. He’s respectful, kind, even-tempered, mature…and things just…happened.”

I glanced behind me to where Owen was watching the beaker. He looked calm, but something in his jaw told me he was tense.

Was he mad at me for saying too much?

Upset this had spiraled out?

Theo didn’t say anything for a moment, and the silence stretched until I wanted to scream.

“I know Owen is a great guy,” Theo finally said with a sigh. “And if it weren’t for the fact that he’s so much older and, you know, your professor, I probably would’ve tried setting you two up myself.”

“So…are you going to tell Dad?” A breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding slipped out. “Because I know we’re definitely in a gray area here,” I added. “But I really don’t want Owen’s job to be in jeopardy. I promise he didn’t use his position to seduce me or anything.”

“Ew,” Theo said. “You did not just talk about being seduced by my friend.”

I let out a laugh, covering my face with my hand. “You know what I mean.”

“And you expect me to be okay with that?”

“For what it’s worth,” I said gently, “we’ve only, um…kissed. And stuff. He’s been a total gentleman.”

Not that I would’ve turned him down if he wanted to be a little less gentlemanly…

“Well…” Theo made a noise like he was trying to unhear me. “I guess that’s good.”

“So…are you going to tell Dad?”

“Not right now.” He exhaled slowly. “But you probably should, since it would be better coming from you than someone else you might accidentally send another selfie to.”

“Yeah…” I groaned. “Sorry about that.”

At least it was just a cuddle pic on the train and not anything more incriminating.

“I’ll try to figure out how to tell Dad,” I said. “I mean, he seemed to like Owen when we all had dinner together. So hopefully, he’ll remember that when I tell him that I like him quite a bit, too.”

Theo let out a low chuckle. “Good luck with that conversation.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

After the call ended, I slowly turned back toward Owen, my heart beating like it already knew how this would go.

I wasn’t sure what I expected. Frustration. A raised voice.

Something sharp.

Something I’d learned to brace for .

My pulse jumped as I met his eyes, already tensing for the fallout.

But instead of reacting the way Josh would have, Owen just arched a brow, his expression dry and unreadable.

“So…is Theo calling your dad now?” he asked, nodding toward the door. “Should I start looking for jobs in another state?”

A laugh caught in my throat. Half relief, half disbelief.

“Not yet.” I shook my head, my shoulders easing the tiniest bit. “But…I’ll probably have to tell him about us now.”