She didn’t chase. She didn’t beg. She wasn’t impressed by wealth, legacy, or the Holt name. She liked me for who I was, not what I could offer. And damn if that didn’t make me want to offer her everything.
So when Bianca cornered me after Calc IV, pressed against the lockers in her too-tight cashmere and classic French perfume cloud, it was the fastest a man’s mood had ever gone from zero to get-me-the-fuck-out-of-here.
“You’ve been quiet lately,” she purred, one hand trailing up my chest, curling her fingers around the perfect knot in my navy silk tie. “Too quiet.”
“Maybe I’ve been happy,” I said flatly, stepping back.
She followed, her heels clicking like a threat. “With her?” Her mouth twisted like she’d tasted something bitter. “Come on, Leo. We both know how these scholarship girls end up. Clingy. Embarrassing. Unfit.”
My abs tightened—not with attraction. Withrevulsion.
“I’m going to Paris this weekend,” she added breezily. “Daddy’s yacht. Dinner under the Eiffel Tower. Front-row at Balmain. And a private suite at Le Meurice with your name on it.”
Her fingers slipped under my blazer, gliding across my ribs.
I feltnothing.
Until—
There she was.
Jade.
Coming down the marble stairwell across the rotunda. Hair loose, backpack slung lazily over one shoulder. No designer label plaid skirt in sight. Just crisp navy blue pleats and a slouchy sweater. And yet she stole the air from the hallway the second she appeared.
My girl.
Myqueen.
I grinned.
“You’re wasting your breath, Bianca.”
“What—?”
I brushed past her like she was invisible, my stride already lengthening.
“Leo!” she hissed after me.
But I didn’t look back.
Every step I took erased her perfume. Drowned out her hiss. Drove me closer to the only thing I actually wanted.
Jade saw me coming.
Her mouth twitched like she didn’t quite trust the smile playing at the corners of her lips.
So I gave her more.
Full smile. Dimple on display. Like I’d just spotted the moon and knew it belonged to me.
When I reached her, I didn’t care who watched. Didn’t care what names they called her behind our backs.
I slid a hand around her waist, pulled her in, and kissed the corner of her mouth.
“Hey,” I murmured, low and rough, just for her.
She arched a brow. “Bianca looked… clingy.”
