1
CAMILE
“Wow, Camile. You look fucking incredible.”
The compliment comes from the gorgeous man leaning over from the driver’s seat of the truck as he opens the passenger door for me.
“Thanks.”
I offer him a nervous smile and climb in, resisting the urge to tug my top down to cover my stomach.
Ledger Marx is one of the most eligible bachelors at the college. He started only a few months ago, and all the girls, and some of the guys, have been swooning after him. He’s got this dark, mysterious vibe going, since he keeps to himself, and no one knows much about his family, or his life in general.
I’m not sure why I caught his attention, but here I am. He’s taking me off the grounds of Verona Falls University for a date, and I’m kind of excited, and kind of nervous.
“Really,I mean it. You’re gorgeous.”
He leans across the console to plant a kiss on my cheek, and my face warms.
Come on, Camile. Get it together.
I’m not used to people giving me compliments, and I don’t normally date. This is a first for me, in many ways.
His truck has that new leather smell, but beneath that is something sweeter, mixed with the woody scent of tobacco. Is it pot? Is that what I smell? He doesn’t look stoned. Maybe someone else had been smoking in his truck.
It’s not a big deal. It’s only a bit of pot, and we’re both adults.
I’m twenty-two now, almost twenty-three, and it won’t be long until I graduate from college and head home to my family. I know exactly what will happen then. My dad will introduce me to the son of someone he needs to form a business alliance with, and I’ll be handed over like the goddamned prize cow.
He’s even more desperate to marry me off these days, to consolidate his power, since our family has come under heavier attack than usual this past year. People have tried to breach Father’s compound more than once, and I know he believes that if he can marry me to an heir of another crime organization, it’ll put him in a stronger position. He’s probably been scouting for a suitable husband for me, someone in our world with power and money, like a Bratva heir, or a prince of the Cosa Nostra. That way, he’ll be able to see his enemies off for good.
For my family, I’m a pawn in their games, and nothing more.
Watching my friends fall in love while they’ve been at the college, and choosing their own paths in life, even if it wasn’t what their parents wanted, has beenboth uplifting and painful. I’ve often wondered if I have the guts to do the same. But I’ve always been the good girl. The sensible one. The one others turn to for advice.
I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone before the cage snaps shut. I want to be the bad girl for a change, to surprise people.
This might be my last chance.
Ledger is gorgeous—thick, dark hair, long eyelashes, blue eyes that literally seem to sparkle. And yeah, he clearly has a body underneath his shirt that would look even better without the clothing.
But I’m broken. What is it about him that leaves me dead inside? The same goes for all the college guys. They just seem so immature. They’re little boys, even if they do look like men.
Only one person has left me spinning in the same way I’ve seen my friends fall for their men. That heart palpitating, short of breath, just been hit in the chest feeling. But I’m not allowed to think about him. I can’t. It’s too dangerous to my sanity and the friendships I’ve built while I’ve been here.
“You ready?” Ledger asks.
I hold my tiny purse in my lap. “Absolutely. Where are we going?”
“Aah, now, that’s a surprise. I wanted to do something romantic.” He throws me a wink and a lopsided grin.
I wish he’d given me some idea. It isn’t easy to pick an outfit when you have no clue what you’re dressing for. My bedroom floor currently looks like my closet exploded, but I think my emerald green cami top shows off my dark hair, and the dark blue washed jeans could pass for both casual and dressy. I’ve paired it with a pairof heeled pumps. It was only my one hundredth outfit option for the night.
It’s a warm evening, with the sense of being right on the cusp of summer. Ledger has the windows of his truck rolled down, and he slings his arm over the back of my seat as he reverses and then swings the vehicle back around. His forearm is muscular, and tattoos peep out from under the cuff of his shirt. Objectively, I know he is hot, so why doesn’t he do it for me?
I know why, but I push the thought from my head.
You’re not allowed to think about him.
