Page 13 of Peach Blossom Hollow

“And everything else so far, which means there’s only one thing I can do.”

“What’s that?” he asked with interest, taking the concrete steps up to the next level with the ease of someone with killer quad muscles.

“Give up.”

He gave a low whistle. “Already? Wow.”

“I had this whole vision of how fun this Dragon Babes thing would be.”

“Kind of like a rebound?”

She nodded vigorously.

“You just came out of something serious?”

She nodded again. She still couldn’t believe things with Owen were just…over. She hadn’t even had a chance. She’d had it all laid out in her head, but now he was starting his life with someone else.

How had she done it again? Gone and seen something that wasn’t there, like she had with Wyatt? Or was that blasted curse messing up her love life?

“Broke his heart, huh? How long were you together?”

“Kind of hard when he barely knew I existed.”

“What?”

Realizing she’d misled Leo about the seriousness of her relationship with Owen, she corrected herself. “No, not... Iwasin something long-term. But that was before.”

She felt that familiar stab of embarrassment whenever she referred to her wedding day. The hurt that cut deep into her soul when she thought about how she’d been dressed and beautiful at the altar, believing her whole life was about to begin.

And then seeing Wyatt’s eyes fill with panic. The way he’d been unable to say “I do.” The pleading look of forgiveness as he shook his head, turned and jogged out of the church. Okay, it had started as a jog. Ended as a sprint. Until he hit the doors. They weren’t push doors. They pulled inward.

One day she’d laugh about that.

She stopped at the top of the arena stairs and closed her eyes, bringing herself back to the present. “I mean, Owen and I were… He probably wasn’t even that interested, or didn’t realize I was, because hejust got married. But we were moving closer to dating.” She opened her eyes again. “I sound crazy.”

She needed a dating coach or something. Like that guy Will Smith played inHitch. Did they exist in real life?

“I’m a little confused.” Leo had stopped walking, too, and drew her aside so people could pass through the busy area. “You were in something longterm, but the guy didn’t know you existed?”

She hid her face in her hands, then dropped them. She’d finally managed to talk to a hunky guy, but of course couldn’t seem to make any sense. “I was crushing on Owen from afar. Except we were friends, so not really from afar. I thought he noticed me, but obviously not.”

“I find that hard to believe. You’re this lovable, angry panda bear—impossible to overlook.”

A panda bear? Really? Ugh.

“Pandas are chubby.”

“They’re cute, and you do seem to wear a lot of black and white.”

“Hmm.” She still wasn’t so sure about being called a panda bear, even though he’d called her lovable.

“Okay, so we’ve confirmed the man is blind. Then what happened?”

“He married his ex.”

Leo hissed as if in pain. Yeah, he was going to be a good friend.

“And get this,” Violet said, leaning in. “He now rakes in millions a year in major league baseball.”

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