His face went pale. “That came out wrong. I’m sorry. I didn’t…”
“I know you didn’t think.” I was already stepping back, putting more distance between us. “That’s the problem.”
“That’s not…I’m not…” He ran a hand through his hair, looking lost. “Can we... can we start over? I’m an idiot. I did not mean…”
“Goodnight, Owen.”
I turned and walked away before I punched him in the face and caused a scene at my sister’s wedding.
I could feel his gaze on my back, but I didn’t turn around. “Harlow.” His voice followed me. “Harlow, wait. Please.”
I kept walking as the room blurred around me, everything running together through the tears I refused to let fall.
I made it to the hallway before the first one escaped.
Years of waiting. Years of hoping, and this was what I got: a drunken proposition and a request for secrecy.
I was done waiting.
I was done hoping.
And I was definitely done with Owen.
CHAPTER 13
OWEN
A month later…
Leaning forward, I shoved my hockey gloves into my bag. The locker room was quiet for this time of day. I was the last one here, which was exactly how I wanted it.
My phone chimed, and I snatched it off the bench, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips when I saw Jax’s name flash across the screen.
Life had been different since the wedding. The one person I thought would always be here was gone, moved to the other side of the country, and took half of his family with him. The other half was somewhere, traveling around the world, and that left Harlow and me.
“What’s up?” I sang into the phone, excited to hear from him.
“Not much,” he answered. “I’m about to head into practice, but Kaia wanted me to call and see if you would check on Harlow. She hasn’t answered Kaia all day, and she’s worried about her. Her location shows she’s at the rink with you right now.”
My smile faded.
Check on Harlow. The last person on earth who wanted to see me. The girl I propositioned like a complete asshole. The oneI was actively avoiding because not only was I embarrassed by my behavior, but every time I thought about the look on her face when she walked away from me…
I huffed out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, sure. I’ll shoot Kaia a text if I find her.”
“Thanks. Kaia’s really struggling with leaving Harlow behind. So, maybe you could check on her occasionally and make sure she’s doing ok. She’s alone in that house until mom and Robert get back, and who knows when that will be.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Someone shouted in the background, probably his coach. “Sorry, I gotta go. I’ll call later and catch up.”
He disconnected before I could come up with an excuse, and I shoved my phone into the pocket of my jeans. I stood there, staring at my open locker for longer than I should have.
I hated that Harlow was alone, too. A big part of me wished we could be friends, but I was pretty sure I had screwed up any chance of that happening.
I slammed the metal door shut harder than necessary, the sound echoing through the empty room, and headed toward the ice.
Harlow made her feelings pretty clear at the wedding and every day since, through her avoidance. Even though I had reached out to her several times, there were no return texts or calls. Not even a glance in my direction when we passed each other on the ice, at school, or in the halls. She had perfected the art of looking through me like I was made of glass, and I couldn’t blame her.
