Page 14 of Crazy Love

Bright, cheery, and true, but I’ve never felt more fake than right now.

“Penn,” I start, but before I can say another word, he turns and walks away.

My heart sinks. I move to follow him, but my dad catches my arm.

“Adeline, come meet a few more people,” he says, steering me toward yet another group.

“I just need to catch someone,” I tell him.

My eyes dart to Penn, and my dad turns to see who I’m looking at. “Penn? Penn Hudson? What would you want with him?” His eyes narrow on me. “Don’t waste your time on him, sweetheart. He’s a manwhore and lots of trouble that you do not want to get involved in. Trust me on this.”

“You shouldn’t talk about one of your players like that,” I say under my breath.

I smile bright and keep the conversation brief before taking off in the direction Penn went. Weaving through people, I apologize as I rush by.

When I see him, I call his name, but he doesn’t slow down. His long strides put more distance between us, and these sandals are not the best for chasing someone with legs as long as his.

Finally, I catch up with him as he nears his SUV.

“Penn!” I say again, breathless.

He stops abruptly and turns, his expression a mix of disbelief and frustration. “Adeline Evans,” he says, his voice low but sharp.

I flinch. I deserve his tone, but it still stings. “Can you please…not go?”

His jaw clenches, and he crosses his arms over his chest, looking down at me. “Why not?”

I swallow hard. “I didn’t mean to?—”

“You didn’t mean to what?” he cuts in, when I don’t say anything else. “You didn’t mean to kiss me the way you did and then disappear on me?”

“I didn’t mean to ghost you,” I say quickly, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Well…you did.”

Guilt twists in my chest, but I feel a little defensive too. I step closer. “You don’t know what was going on, Penn. You don’t know why I left.”

“I’m listening.” His tone is clipped, but his eyes don’t look as cold.

Maybe that’s just hopeful thinking.

“I wanted to spend more time with you. Even though I shouldn’t have. Kissing you…scared me.”

He blinks, clearly not expecting that. His eyes soften. “It scared you?”

“Yes. For a lot of reasons…one being because I was considering coming to work for the Mustangs…”

His shoulders sag a little with that.

“And you were this…surprise I didn’t expect. I wasn’t ready for you.”

He doesn’t look as angry, but the hurt is still there. “You could’ve told me that.”

“I wanted to. But then my friend got in a car accident, and I had to leave. I left in a hurry and didn’t have your number…”

He gives me a look and I sigh.

“I know I could’ve gotten it, but…from my dad? And the more time passed, along with the fact that I did take the job—surprise!” I hold up my hands and his lips pucker with his effort to not smile. “I just…”

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