It was hard, man, to get up the courage to ask her something so personal. He didn’t want to be rejected and he knew better than to reach for the stars—which was what she was. A bright, perfect star who made him laugh whenever she came near.
And he was a loser. Don’t put yourself out there unless you want to get shot down. He’d been taken down enough by his classmates; he wasn’t about to give Kody the chance to kick his teeth in. At this point, he was lucky she’d even talked to him in the hospital. No doubt tomorrow she’d be just like al the other cool, rich kids and pretend he was invisible.
Rol ing his eyes at his own stupidity for even considering the thought of asking her out, he shut down the Nintendo and put it back in his pocket. Tomorrow he’d have to face the demon principal and the cretins of his school. To do that, he needed rest.
And maybe a flamethrower or two.
Nick was finishing up the leftover cake he’d eaten for breakfast when a knock at the door startled him. Since his mom and al of her friends except Menyara worked until dawn, he wasn’t used to early morning visitors.
His mom went to open the door. In this neighborhood, he expected it to be cops wanting to know about something that’d happened while they slept.
What was there shocked him to the core of his being.
It was Brynna Addams dressed in a pretty blue dress and cream sweater. With her dark hair held back from her face by a thin lacy headband, she looked like an absolute angel. One that didn’t belong in the run-down crap hole that was their house.
“Hi, Mrs. Gautier. I’m Brynna—the friend of Nick’s from school who’s been leaving his assignments at the hospital desk. Since it’s his first day back and al , my brother and I wanted to give him a ride … if that’s okay with you?” His mother opened and closed her mouth as if she was as stunned by their offer as he was. Turning around, she met his startled gaze. “You know a Brynna?”
Heat exploded across his face, partly because he was embarrassed by their shabby house when he was sure Brynna had never seen anything so run-down in her life and partly because his mother had a weird look on her face that he didn’t quite understand while she stood barely dressed in an open doorway. “Um, yeah.”
“You want them to take you to school?”
“I guess so.” His stock answer any time he was unsure of something.
He picked his backpack up from the floor but before he could shrug it over his uninjured shoulder, Brynna took it from him.
“Let me carry it. You’re stil healing.” Nick tightened his grip as he pul ed it back. “No, thanks. I’m not having a girl carry my stuff. Wouldn’t be right.” And it would make him look like a mega wimp.
He could tel Brynna wanted to argue, but with a nod, she stepped back and let go of his patched and shoddy secondhand bag.
His mom moved forward to turn down the col ar of the oh so lovely blue Hawaiian shirt he wore—at least this one wasn’t so foul it glowed in the dark. “You have a good day, baby.” Yeah … She should have just burped him while she was at it. Anything to shoot down his manhood.
Without a word, he gave her a quick hug since his dignity had already been shattered, then fol owed Brynna outside to where her brother waited for them in a new black Lexus SUV.
He let out a low whistle of appreciation. It was an obscenely nice ride. “You know, a car like that in this neighborhood
—people gonna think you’re both drug dealers.” Brynna laughed as she opened the door to the front seat and stepped back. Nick ignored her invitation to sit up front and opened the back door.
“You don’t want to be in the front seat?” He climbed into the backseat and shut the door before he answered. “No offense, I don’t know your brother and I don’t want anyone thinking anything funny about us. I’m not even sure why you guys are here. How did you know where I live?” Brynna buckled herself in, next to her brother. “Kyrian told us. He’s the one who had me drop your homework off while you were in the hospital so you wouldn’t fal too far behind.” He froze. “Do what?”
“Kyrian Hunter?” she said. “Your new boss? He’s an old family friend of ours and you’l see us around at his place from time to time. He asked if we could take you to school and watch out for you, so here we are. This is my brother Tad, by the way. Tad, say hi to Nick.”
“Hi.” Tad pul ed away from the curb.
Nick finished buckling his seat belt as he glanced back and forth between Brynna, who was turned around in her seat to look at him, and her brother, who ignored them while he navigated morning traffic. Dang, Tad favored her a great deal.
He was just tal er and hairier.
Brynna’s eyes sparkled with warmth but for al that, she wasn’t anywhere near as spectacular to him as Kody was.
Brynna was pretty. Kody was sizzling. “You’re real y going to like working for Kyrian. He’s a great guy.”
“If you say so.”