Page 104 of Revenge Puck

“Thanks, Audrey,” I say with a shaky smile as tears roll down my cheeks. “I thought…I thought I loved Christian, but I knew…I loved Preston.”

“I know, honey. Come here,” she says, pulling me into her arms where I cry on her shoulder.

37

Preston

As soon as I walk into the house, I smell the warm, delicious brownies. Loser brownies, she calls them. My sister’s made them after every loss since we lived together in Raleigh.

From the living room sofa, Maya whispers, “Sorry about the loss.”

“It was bound to end anyway,” I grumble as I flop down in the closest chair, letting my duffle slide onto the floor. “I don’t know why I let it go on as long as it did.”

“Uh, what are you talking about?” she asks.

“Elle.”

“Oh. I was talking about the game, and you getting ejected. What happened with Elle?”

“I told her I was done. We were done.”

“What? Why in the world would you do that?”

“Why do you think? It was a mistake. She’s a distraction I didn’t need. Riley used her to get to me tonight. And it worked.My penalty cost us the game, and my fucking post-season bonus.”

“But wait a second. I thought Elle was helping you with your temper. That being with her and rubbing it in Christian’s face kept you from fighting him.”

“Yeah, well, she was the cause of our fight today.”

Going up on her knees to lean in closer to me, she says, “What did he say?”

“He talked shit.”

“What did he say exactly?” Maya asks with an impatient huff.

“He’s convinced she’ll eventually want him back and said she told him that she was faking it all with me.” Faking it in bed with me is what I know he meant. Was she? Fuck if I know. I thought we were good together, amazing in bed, but what do I know? I haven’t been with a woman in years, and she was just in a relationship with a man who should be a pro at sex after all the women he’s been with.

“Faking it?”

“Riley went to see Elle at the salon yesterday. She told him it was all fake.”

“Did you ask Elle what exactly she may have said to him?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She told me he wanted another chance, would buy her a ring. She didn’t mention telling him anything about us was fake.

“Yes, it does matter, Preston! Christian was probably lying!”

“He knew about the kiss the day we met being staged.”

“So? That could’ve been a lucky guess. Come on, Pres. Don’t let that jerk make you lose something great. You should never believe him over her.”

“The truth doesn’t matter as much as the consequences. Those are all still the same. I lost my temper because of him talking about her, and we lost the game because of that powerplay from my ejection. Now I’ve lost money since I broke the clause in my contract.”

“You lost the game because the entire team was playing like a bunch of nervous little shits tonight. And you have no one but yourself to blame for losing money, breaking whatever rule of your contract.”

“We’re so close to the championship trophy. One game away. I’m not going to let Elle get in my head and make me lose focus again.”

“So, you’ll just decide to stop thinking about her and that will be it?”

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