“I appreciate it. You must be so busy.”

“Never too busy to be a beautiful girl’s knight in shining armor.”

I smirked. Interesting choice of words. Karma was definitely working extra hours today.

“She’s not a tortilla chip. No need to put so much cheese on it.” Knight tousled his own hair, his eyes drenched with disdain as he threw Jefferson a scowl.

Jefferson was still staring at me and shaking my hand, his chiseled face smiling radiantly at me.

“Actually, I’m vegan,” he deadpanned.

“I’m vegetarian.” My eyes bugged out.

Why was I surprised again? His grandparents ran a shelter. They were both vegetarian. Eugene and Beth looked between us, sharing a sly smile before they left to open the shelter doors to the general public.

“What are the odds?” Knight feigned interest. “I bet Harry Styles was both your favorite Fifth Harmony member.”

“Harry Styles was in One Direction,” Jefferson pointed out.

Knight spread his arms triumphantly. “Damn, son. You walked right into the trap. Not the kind of information that should occupy your brain cells.”

Again, Jefferson ignored him. Our palms were still clasped together, and I made no hurry to withdraw mine.

“I’m Poppy!” Knight’s girlfriend offered in her dangerously smooth British accent, thrusting her hand in Jefferson’s direction. He turned from me, his face opening up when he saw her.

“I adore your accent.”

“I adore your grandparents! I’ve been volunteering here for three months. Mainly over the weekends. Shame we never bumped into each other.”

She was overeager to sell him to me by pointing out how attractive he was.

“I usually volunteer on weekdays. I give the shelter dogs a live acoustic performance. It’s less dumb than it sounds, I promise.”

“Doubt it,” Knight grunted.

Poppy elbowed his ribs. Michael Jackson’s eating popcorn GIF played in my head. I stifled a smile. This was surprisingly entertaining.

“It doesn’t sound dumb at all. I wish you’d come on the weekends,” Poppy purred, her gaze slicing to me.

“Maybe I will.”

“I’m the boyfriend, by the way,” Knight cut through their flirtatious exchange, offering Jefferson his big hand.

Jefferson laughed and shook it. “No disrespect, man. I was actually baiting Luna.”

He turned back to me. “You come here on weekends?”

Knight’s jaw ticked.

“Used to. I go to Boon in North Carolina now.”

“Crying shame.”

“I still have winter break.”

Jefferson clutched his shirt where his heart was and threw his other fist in the air.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

“You sure know your Martin Luther King, Jr., sir.” I grinned.

Knight rolled his eyes. “Real subtle, bro.”

Poppy poked her lower lip out, looking between us peculiarly. Of course she was happy if Jefferson and I rode off into the sunset together; then she could have Knight all to herself. Little did she know, I had no intention of spending time with her boyfriend this winter. Our last encounter in the treehouse had been a bid to keep the boat from flipping over, but Knight and I were both smart enough to know we were still on troubled water.

Half an hour later, the place was jam-packed with families and couples, crouching and cooing over crates. I had no time to think about Knight, Poppy, or even Val. Jefferson shadowed my every move, acting as my voice.

Three hours into the event, we had already managed to send twelve dogs home with their new families. I peeked at Beth and Eugene, who were laughing with their friends in the corner of the room. They looked relaxed and happy. Between Poppy and the other volunteers, we had it on lock.

Knight never left Poppy’s side. He texted on his phone with a gloomy scowl. Every time he looked up and our eyes met, I turned around and struck up a conversation with Jefferson.

“So. You and Knight,” Jefferson said when we were closing up.

He picked up Goldie, a golden retriever pup, letting her lick every inch of his face. I laughed at Goldie’s eagerness.

“There’s no me and Knight.”

“You should tell that to his eyes. They’ve been putting extra time in on following you everywhere today.”

“He has a girlfriend.” I shrugged.

“Poppy deserves better.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I plucked Goldie from his embrace, rubbing my nose against her fur. Jefferson continued staring at me with an intensity I was too inexperienced to decode. He leaned forward so we were hunched together behind the register. He’d just opened his mouth when Knight appeared in front of us, rapping the counter with his knuckles.

“A word,” he hissed my way.

I tore my gaze from Jefferson, playing dumb.

“I don’t talk.”

“To me you do.”

“Think again.”

“Don’t make me embarrass you, Moonshine.” He smiled impatiently. “Because I will. And make a damn good show of it.”

“I hate you.”

“Good. It will make our conversation much easier, and we’ll be on the same page so you can return to Ken over here.”

“You’re a delight,” Jefferson observed.

Knight shot him one of his football-hero smirks that seemed to dismantle ticking bombs. “And you’re in my fucking way.” His gaze shot back to me. “Now.”

I knew Knight would make the rest of the evening hell for Jefferson, Poppy, and me if I didn’t oblige, and we still had to help clean up the place.

Reluctantly, I slid from behind the register and joined Knight outside on the sidewalk. Main Street was buzzing with shoppers, bright lights, and the dense scent of fresh winter air, cocoa, coffee, and baked goods. My mouth would’ve watered if I wasn’t so furious.

“What the hell was that?” I jerked my thumb behind us as Knight slacked against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut.

He looked worn out. Frustrated. Exhausted. If he was so distraught, why didn’t he break up with Poppy? Why did he keep this charade going?

“I can’t,” he said simply. “I can’t fucking look at you anymore. It’s wrong. I know. It’s hypocritical. Hell, I know that, too. You owe me nothing, but you slept with someone else, and it’s the only thing I can think about when I look at your face, no matter how much I want to see anything but that.”

He turned his body fully toward me, opening his eyes. I watched as they hardened as he arranged his indecipherable mask. The one I couldn’t get through, even before Josh.

“Screwing FUCKING JOSH. Kissing Vaughn. Flirting with Ken. You’ve really become quite a hussy, haven’t you, Luna?”

“Jealous?” I smiled sweetly, folding my arms over my chest.

Inside, I was fuming. How dare he. How dare he parade his gorgeous girlfriend around while giving me grief. How dare he belittle me. And how dare he slut-shame me when he was the very person who used to raise riots when people said words like slut and hussy around him.

“Jealous? Why would I be jealous? Guy’s a vegan. He probably doesn’t even have the energy to fuck you. Ken here is no competition for me, and we both know it.”