Page 67 of Puck and Prejudice

We all laugh, then I ask, “Wait, that’s oddly specific. Has Alex done that before?”

She nods, and Sammy, Logan’s girlfriend, adds, “Oh yeah.”

“I want to know the story,” I say.

Blair and Sammy trade a look, then Blair replies, “It happened after they won the Frozen Four in their last year playing college hockey.”

“That was a wild night!” Sammy laughs.

“Oh, you bet this will be even wilder,” Caroline pipes up. “I’m gonna text Jackson again to ask when they’re coming.”

I try not to react. Caroline has been texting Jackson all night. As far as I know, he hasn’t answered any of her messages, but I’m still bothered.

“Did he answer any of your texts?” Sammy asks, as if she’d read my mind.

Caroline squares her shoulders. “No. He probably doesn’t have his phone on him.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I fish it out quickly to see what Manuel wants now. We’ve been texting all night. In the last text, he bragged about his tips, and I answered him with a middle finger emoji.

But the text isn’t from Manuel. It’s from Jackson. My heart does a cartwheel in giddiness.

JACKSON: On r way. Can’t wait to celly with you.

I have to read the message again to make sure I’m not seeing things. Then a seed of doubt penetrates my brain. What if that text wasn’t meant for me? Caroline has been blowing up his phone all night. Maybe he meant to reply to one of her million messages.

Shit.

Are you sure you want to “celly” with ME?

I hit send before I change my mind. The reply was innocent enough. If he made a mistake, it’s no big deal.

I stare at my phone and wait for a reply, but after a minute of nothing, I realize I’m acting like an idiot. I put the phone away and get up.

“Where are you going?” Jane asks.

“I have to pee,” I lie.

I just need a moment alone to recover from the texting fail.He’s drunk, Izzie. It’s possible he passed out in the car. I know none of the players are driving. The team had cars on standby to drive everyone home.

I lock myself in the bathroom and end up doing what I said I would. Then I try to fix my appearance. My hair is frizzier than usual, thanks to the humidity, and my makeup is long gone, and I have nothing with me to fix it. I’ll have to raid Jane’s stuff. I leave the hallway bathroom and head upstairs to the master bedroom. Jane hasn’t moved in completely yet, and I’m weirded out to be roaming the house by myself. But I’m too tipsy to care.

Chad’s bedroom decor is very masculine, with dark walls and furniture. I’m sure a redecoration will be happening in the near future, because this is so not Jane’s style.

I find everything I need in the ensuite bathroom. I splash my face with cold water first, then I apply light makeup. I leave my hair alone. The only way to fix it is to wash it, and I’m not about to take a shower in Chad’s bathroom.

Feeling a bit better now that I don’t look like something a cat chewed up and spat out, I head back to the party. But when I reach the ground floor and hear male voices, I freeze. The guys have arrived.

My pulse accelerates. Jackson is here, and I still don’t know what he meant by his text. Then he walks into my line of sight, and our gazes connect. It’s like my entire body goes haywire. My stomach flutters, and breathing becomes difficult. He smiles, but instead of reciprocating, I pivot and enter the first room to my left, which turns out to be Chad’s home office. It’s big enough to fit a wall-to-wall bookshelf, a sturdy mahogany desk, and a brown leather couch.

Illumination comes from the tall window facing the water, and if I stood close enough, I could probably see the pool area.

The door opens behind me, and I turn around as Jackson comes in. My heart leaps into my throat, and the gremlins in my belly act up. I shuffle back until I’m flat against the bookshelf. God, I’m shaking. Why am I shaking?

“There you are,” he says in a husky voice. “Were you trying to hide from me?”

“What?” I squeak. “Why would I hide from you?”

He walks toward me, and with each step he takes in my direction, my heart seems to beat faster. He must have showered recently, because his hair is still damp, and I can smell his citrusy cologne from where I stand.

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