I saw Mr. Finnegan’s SUV come roaring around the corner, and I also noted he was too busy fiddling with something on his dashboard to notice my sister. I didn’t even think. I tore across the street and shoved her out of the way, just in time for Finnegan to realize what was happening and hit the brakes. Unfortunately, he found the brakes too late and he still hit me. The impact wasn’t hard enough to do serious, serious damage, but I ended up with concussion, a few fractured ribs, and a broken fibula.
I’d been laid up for a while. Enough time for the town to hail me as a local hero and everyone, including my sister, to affectionately nickname me “Supergirl.”
“I hate living in a small town,” I grumbled, taking another pull of my beer.
Jake laughed, a deep, rich sound that tugged my eyes instantly back to his. My heart started racing hard again as we stared at each other. “Don’t sweat it. If you’re going to adopt a nickname, I could think of worse ones, and definitely not a better reason to have one.”
“We’re going to get more beer,” Lacey announced cheerily and not so very subtly grabbed Rose’s hand and dragged her away, giving Jake and me privacy.
I grimaced at how obvious they were. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Jake stepped a little closer. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
I tipped my head, my expression knowing. “Oh, I’ve heard you’ve met lots of people already.”
He fought a smile. “You shouldn’t listen to gossip.”
“Especially when it’s true?”
He laughed now, shaking his head. “I was just being friendly. Getting to know the new town. It’s not easy moving to such a small place after living in Chicago. Everything seems to move faster there and faster here causes shock.”
“Yeah, I can imagine it’s a huge change.” I frowned and leaned against the post behind me. “Why did you move here?”
Jake blew out a breath between his lips and shrugged. “My mom and dad are from small towns, they missed it. My dad was pretty successful in Chicago and my mom liked her life there. However, my kid brother, Lukas, got mugged coming home from school one night when he missed the bus. They pulled a knife but didn’t hurt him. Still, it freaked my mom and dad out so much, they upped stakes.”
I nodded. “You know bad things happen everywhere.”
“You get a lot of muggings in Lanton, do you?”
“Only when things are slow. I like to shake things up a little.”
Jake threw his head back and laughed, his eyes glittering warmly. “Ski mask and all?”
I shook my head. “Bandit eye strip, a banana, and a black trash bag.”
He chuckled. “Let me guess—the banana works three-fold: a ‘gun,’ a snack to keep your mugger energy up, and then the slippery peel is a great tool in your escape.”
I widened my eyes in mock surprise. “Dude, you got this down. Want to be a bandit with me?” I didn’t mean it to sound flirtatious, but it totally did.
Jake’s gaze turned even warmer and he ducked his head a little to murmur, “Definitely.”
Flushing and unable to keep the smile off my face, I dropped my gaze from his, a little overwhelmed by the intensity of the spark between us.
“So you and Alex, huh?”
My eyes immediately shot up and I saw Jake looking over his shoulder to where Alex stood watching us, not appearing too happy at all. It definitely didn’t help that his best friend Brett Thomson was sneering at us and although I couldn’t hear what was being said it was apparent Brett was making comments about us that were upsetting Alex. I’d never understood why a nice guy like Alex was friends with Brett. Brett, unfortunately, hadn’t fallen far from the bad-apple tree. His dad, Trenton Thomas, was a car salesman. On the surface he was charming and self-effacing. Some people liked him. But a lot of people knew him for what he really was—a misogynist, a bully, and a petulant toddler all rolled into one. I’d witnessed the way the elder Thomas treated his son and wife when I’d been at Brett’s house while dating Alex. I wanted to punch him in the nuts. My mom and dad had gone to high school with him and said he’d always been an ass. Lucky Brett had inherited all those wonderful qualities from his dear papa.
I waited until I had Jake’s attention again before I replied softly, “He’s a good guy, but we broke up before the summer and that’s not going to change.”
“Well, by the look on his face right now, he wants it to change. We were kind of friends before this … I’m guessing by that death stare, just talking to you has changed that.”
I sighed, annoyed. “Sorry. His family is kind of a big deal, and Alex is a little territorial. He’ll move on.”
“I don’t know.” Jake’s expression grew serious. “Is it possible to move on from a girl like you?”
I laughed softly. “Nice line.”
Jake smiled, running a hand through his messy dark hair. “I’m not sure that was a line.”
“Oh, it was a line. So was that. You’re very good at the flirting thing. Very confident for your age.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve never really had to wor—”
“Work at it,” I finished for him, quirking my eyebrow at him. “Confident or arrogant …”
His laughing eyes narrowed on me. “You think you’re pretty smart.”
“No. I know I’m pretty smart.”
“Now who’s arrogant?”
I chuckled but shrugged. “Well, I have reason to be. I’m awesome.”
“Fuck.” Jake was grinning again and he placed a hand above my head on the post and leaned in. “I really want to kiss you right now.”
Heat suffused me, the butterflies in my stomach going absolutely crazy at the thought of it, but I somehow managed to control myself. “I don’t know you well enough for that.”
“I disagree,” he leaned closer, his intent clear. “Five minutes with you and I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
“Jake.”
He stopped, his expression changing at the sound of his name on my lips. I didn’t know what that expression meant, but it made me want to melt into him. I forced myself not to.
“I’m not going to kiss you.”
A spark of intensity lit up his gorgeous dark eyes. “Are you going to make me work for it?”
I nodded and straightened up from the post, bringing our bodies so close I could almost feel him against me. “If I don’t believe I’m worth the effort, why the hell would you?” With a small shrug, I slipped past him and headed toward my friends who were gaping at me, obviously eager to know what was going on. I didn’t get the chance to tell them because Jake fell quickly into step beside me.
We hung out with my friends for the rest of the night, exchanging barbs, enjoying the frisson of electricity that sparked and pulled between us. We enjoyed it, but we didn’t encourage it. Jake didn’t encourage it. There was no more talk of kissing me, but I knew as my dad arrived to bust up the party, dragging me and Lacey and Rose back to his car, that Jake Caplin was intending to make the effort.
I knew because as I walked away, he watched me the entire time. He watched me like he wanted to watch me forever.
I knew this because I was looking back at him thinking the exact same thing.
My eyes felt swollen as I pried them open at the sound of the knock on my bedroom door. I felt crunchiness in the corners and on my lashes. Salt from my tears. Grounding them out, I tumbled from my bed, catching myself on the desk that was squished in close in the narrow space. My room was long but not wide, which gave me a slight space problem. It was also taking me a while to get used to sleeping in a twin again.
“Charley, it’s Maggie. You there?”
“Coming,” I mumbled, flinching at the sight of myself in my mirror.
I looked like hell.
After I cried in Claudia’s arms the night before, I told her that the guy chasing us out of the party was Jake. She knew all about Jake. She knew Jake was the reason I was a failure at relationships.
&
nbsp; My body still ached with tension as I was reminded of the reality of the situation.
Jake was here. In Edinburgh. At college. In the same city as me.
It was too painful to contemplate this early in the morning.
I pulled my door open a fraction and Maggie’s eyes widened a little at my current state. “You have a visitor.”
My eyes narrowed. “Who?”
“Beck.”
Beck was here to see me? Why? I sighed heavily. “Tell him I’ll be right out.” I closed the door and turned back to find my jeans. I shimmied out of my pajama shorts, pulled on jeans and a hoodie, and scraped my hair back in a ponytail. The truth was I didn’t give a crap if I looked like shit. Beck was hot, yes, but I had no intention of going there. Especially not when Claudia had a crush on him.
Upon opening my door to step out, I found myself forcefully shoved back inside by my best friend. Claudia flipped the lock in a hurry and then slammed her back against the door. Her gaze drifted over me and she paled. “You cannot go out there like that.”
“It’s just Beck,” I grumbled.
Claudia shook her head. “Lying redhead alert.”
I guessed she was alluding to Maggie but had no clue what she meant. My expression said so.
She sighed. “It’s not Beck. It’s Jake.”
I sucked in a breath at the news. “Why would the redhead lie?”
“He probably asked her to lie.”
“Either that or she saw the drama between us last night. She knew I wouldn’t go out if I knew it was him.” My heart pounded in my chest. “I’m not going out there.”
“Not looking like that.”
I ignored my friend’s look of disgust and threw myself on my bed. “Not ever. Tell him to go.”
Thankfully, Claudia didn’t argue with me. She disappeared for a few minutes and when she returned, she came right over to crawl onto the bed beside me. “He’s gone. He looked like I’d just told him Santa wasn’t real.”
“Do you feel sorry for him?” I wasn’t sure if I did or not.
Claudia shook her head. “I don’t know what to feel. I don’t know him. All I know is what he did to you. I also know it was pretty bad what he went through and, you know, it can take time to get over these things. Maybe he just wants to apologize.”
I turned my head, wishing like hell the knifelike pain in my chest would just disappear already. “I don’t know if I have it in me to listen to that apology. It took me a while to get over it, and now he’s back in my face again, reminding me of everything …”
We lay in silence for a while until eventually I turned my head on the duvet to stare at Claudia’s stunning profile. “What happened last night with Beck?”
Claud’s lip curled and I couldn’t quite read what that expression meant even as she replied, “He said I’m a good girl and he doesn’t mess with good girls because he wasn’t a one-woman kind of guy.”
My eyes widened. “He said that?”
“Mmm-hmm. He said he likes me. Wants to be friends.”
“At least he’s honest, I guess. Are you going to be friends with him?”
Claudia shrugged. “Sure, why not. I don’t do manwhores, no matter how hot they are, but he’s fun. Friends. Whatever.”
“Are you sure my eyes aren’t puffy anymore?” I asked, ducking my head as we walked up the cobbled lane toward the college.
“No puffiness or redness in sight. You look hot. You always look hot,” Claudia said a little absentmindedly.
“Are you nervous about seeing Beck again?”
“Nervous? Why on earth would I be nervous?”
I ignored her and kept following Maggie, Gemma, and Laura. They’d heard we were going to the student union to hang out with Beck and they’d invited themselves along. Beck was a popular draw.
Claudia had come into the kitchen at dinner to tell me she’d just spoken with Beck and he’d invited us to hang out at the student union. At first, I was wary. It turned out Beck and Jake were best friends at Northwestern, so Beck had called Claudia to ask if I was okay. Apparently, Jake had told him our whole story. Claudia hadn’t told him anything about my reaction to seeing Jake but she said she wasn’t sure if we were free. Beck had caught the hint and assured her that Jake wouldn’t be there.
The student union had a number of locations across the university, but the one we were headed to was Teviot. Teviot was housed in a beautiful, old, Gothic-style building on the main campus at Bristo Square. It had a nightclub inside, a couple of different bars including this really cool Library Bar Claud and I had checked out the day we got our IDs.
Beck had texted Claud to let us know they were in the Teviot Lounge bar. We followed our roommates up the stairs and into a crowded space that had the typical look of a British pub. Everywhere was dark wood, low lights, comfortable seating, and hardwood, hardwearing furniture. The smell of stale beer was a little overwhelming but it was a given in a bar with carpeted floors. We squeezed past the students milling around the doors, and I followed Claudia as she checked out the room for our newest friend.
She grabbed my hand. “He’s over there.”
I couldn’t see him yet, but I followed her as she pulled me through the crowd. We came to a stop at a table around the corner from the bar. Beck was standing with Matt, while Lowe, Rowena, and some guy I didn’t recognize sat at a small table next to them.
We’d lost our roommates and for a second, I pondered looking for them. They had specifically come with us to see Beck. Then again, they were twenty years old … they didn’t need a tour guide or a babysitter.
“Charley, Claudia, glad you could come,” Beck greeted us. “Let me get you a beer.”
He disappeared before we could say yay or nay and Matt, the blond from the party, smiled at us. “We met last night,” he nodded to me and then turned to Claud, “but I definitely would remember meeting you, and we definitely did not.” Matt’s grin widened.
She smiled politely back. “I’m Claudia.”
“Claudia, this is Lowe.” Lowe winked at her and then lifted his beer in greeting to me. “Rowena.” She gave us a friendly wave. “And our buddy, Denver. It was his party last night. Poor guy got stuck in different accommodation from us.”
Denver had messy dark hair that fell to his chin. He wore a lot of silver jewelry, a tight Black Sabbath shirt, and a pair of black skinny jeans and motorcycle boots. Matt seemed to be the odd one out, but still, there was something about the group…
“Are you guys in a band?”
Matt grinned. “Yeah. We play a lot in Evanston.”
“We have a few gigs lined up here,” Lowe added, his gaze fixed on me.
I was impressed. “How did you manage to swing that so quickly?”
Lowe shrugged. “We sent out demos to a couple of pubs and bars before we got here. Arranged some dates. We have to rent a drum kit, which is a bummer, but it would be an even bigger bummer to be here for a year and not play one fucking gig.”
“What are you guys called?” Claudia asked, seeming interested, which surprised me since she wasn’t big into music unless it was classical or country.
“The Stolen.” Beck appeared behind us with two beers. I thought that was impressively fast considering the line at the bar. No doubt he charmed his way through the crowd. “We’re indie rock.”
“I told them people will love them here,” Rowena piped up with a big smile.
“Oh my God, you’re Scottish,” I replied, somewhat stupidly.
“Aye.”
Feeling like an idiot, I tried to explain my “duh” moment. “I just thought you were American with you being with the guys and …” I drifted off, actually not sure why I’d assumed she was American.
She shook her head. “I live across the hall fae Denver. Ma flatmates are aliens. Denver saved me fae them.”
“She’s our token Scot,” Denver joked, throwing his arm around her shoulder. “We’re keeping her around for the accent. It does help, though, that the gir
l knows good music.”
Rowena looked perfectly happy tucked into his side and I wondered absentmindedly if she was more than his token Scot.
We all fell easily into conversation, Matt hogging Claudia’s attention, his gaze almost stunned as they talked. He was captivated and I instantly felt bad for him because I knew Claudia didn’t feel the same. When Claudia liked a guy, she was pretty obvious about it. Beck could attest to that—Beck, who, I noticed, was watching Claudia with an intensity that surprised me for someone who apparently wasn’t into her. He finally caught me studying him and he grinned, his expression teasing as he stepped near me.
“So,” he leaned his head down close to mine, “I know your friend is a good girl, but I still haven’t made up my mind about you.”
I didn’t know if he was coming onto me or just making conversation, but I thought I better lay it out for him anyway. “I don’t do bad boys.”
His eyes narrowed. “Anymore.”
My gaze sharpened at his insinuation and Beck shrugged. “Jake’s like a brother. He tells me everything.”
I looked away, my heartbeat picking up at the mention of him. Trying for nonchalant, I took a swig of beer. If I was to go by Beck’s next comment, I’d obviously failed.
“Look, the guy feels like shit about the way he treated you. You should give him a chance to say it.”
Making a face that I’m sure screamed “bitter,” I turned back to Beck. “He knows where I live. He’s known for three and a half years and he’s had that whole time to apologize.”
Beck sighed, every ounce of bad boy melting out of him as he told me solemnly, “It took Jake a long time to get over what happened. When he finally started to breathe again, he realized how much he’d fucked it up with you … but it was already done. It was too late.” He made a helpless gesture. “I could go on for hours, but it’s not my place. Just give the guy a chance to explain, okay?”