After months of therapy, Garrett Delko is still struggling to cope with his brother's suicide. The only time he finds peace is on the pitching mound and with a mysterious girl he's been obsessed with since the first week of college. One night, he se...
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Garrett ignored the looks from students passing and wiped his eyes. Feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to bring Spencer back. Neither was having a meltdown in the middle of campus.
Collecting himself, he drew in a breath and entered the library. He almost wished he hadn't because Harmony and her group of friends stood in the marbled entrance. He wanted to turn and run, but before he could, her heart-shaped face lit up as she locked eyes on him.
"Garrett," she greeted, breaking away from the group. He recognized a few of them. They were power players on campus, each a queen bee in their own right and they weren't hiding the fact that they were eavesdropping. Harmony looked up through her lashes and gave him a playful frown. "You've been avoiding me."
He shifted uncomfortably, trying not to stare at the cream-colored skin bared in her apricot laced top. It hugged her curves, skimming the swells of her breasts and tapering to her waist. "Just busy," he said, which seemed to be his go-to answer for everything.
Amused, Harmony replied, "You're a freshman. You don't know busy." Inching closer, she shifted her tote bag letting her strawberry blonde hair cascade over a shoulder in effortless waves. The subtle invitation wasn't lost on him, but he didn't feel tempted in the slightest. His blood, it seemed, only boiled for one person.
He shifted on his heels, putting distance between them. "Chalk it up to acclimating to higher learning," he replied lightly, easing the rejection with a self-deprecating smile.
Her shoulders stiffened, but her tone was smooth as she asked, "Have you started your essay yet for Professor Fraser's class?"
He thought of the blank Word document open on his laptop. "Still at the research phase."
"Same, but I'm lucky. I got my hands on a copy of that book he recommended."
"How'd you manage that?" All the copies had been checked out of the library weeks ago, and the waiting list was three months long.
"Professor Fraser's TA is in my sorority. I'd be happy to lend it to you."
The impish wink she sent Garrett reminded him of the first time they met at the start of the school year. He'd been late for art history class. Greg, in a drunken stupor, had accidentally torn out Garrett's alarm o'clock from the wall. He'd woken in a panic, and dashed across campus, barely making it in time for Professor Fraser's closing remarks. Every seat had been filled, so he quietly lowered himself on a step in the back. A girl at the desk closest to him caught his eye, winked, and then handed him her copy of the class syllabus. Attached was a note explaining he could have it as long as he gave it back next class. It'd been the start of a friendship. Or at least, that's what he thought. She had other things on her mind.
But despite his lack of interest, he couldn't let her offer go. The book would cut his research time in half. "That'd be great," he told her. If he pushed his other work back, he could read the book and return to her by the end of the week.
