When I remained silent, Waverly announced, "I think she has a thing for you."
Nowthatgot my attention. "What?"
"Oh come on," Waverly laughed. "When you were standing in front of the mower, she was practically drooling."
I frowned.Arden? No.
She hadn't been drooling. She'd been sweating. And she'd looked obscenely good doing it. Her cheeks had been flushed, and her yellow T-shirt had been clingy with perspiration. And her bra? Well, let's just say the lace wasn't nearly thick enough to hide the outlines of her damp nipples.
And now, my jeans were growing tight.Again.
Shit.
The hot-and-sweaty look shouldn't have been sexy. But on Arden, it was.
Good thing she didn't realize it, or I'd haverealtrouble on my hands – because if Arden ever turned on the charm, assuming she had any, I'd be more tempted than I wanted to admit.
I told Waverly, "Sorry, you're wrong."
"I sure hope so," she said, hitting me with a sultry smile of her own. "Becausewedon't need her."
We.There was that word again. The way she talked, it was just the two of us against the world.But that's not how it was.
For the last few years, it had beenthreeof us against the world, and Waverly wasn't part of the team.
No.The trio consisted of me and my two brothers.No parents. No aunts. No uncles. No doting grandparents either.
It had been like this for a while now, beginning late in my senior year.
And this – in a roundabout way – was why Arden Weathers hated my guts.And vice-versa.
Chapter 17
Brody – Six Years Earlier
It was Saturday, and the last place I wanted to be was in school. But I'd promised Arden Weathers – my overachieving lab partner – that I'd be here.
So here I was.
Yeah, maybe I wasn't on time, but if Arden knew the grief I'd gone through to get here, she'd be kissing my ass, not scowling like someone had peed on her pancakes.
I spotted her before she spotted me.
She was wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt along with a little white jean jacket. Her long brown hair was tied in a tight ponytail, and her bangs fell loose over her eyes.
She was waiting outside the door to the chemistry lab, staring up at the clock on the opposite wall. She wasn't leaning either.No. Not Arden Weathers. She was standing straight-up, as if to make it obvious that she wasn't one to lounge around, waiting for anyone while there was schoolwork to be done.
At the sound of my footsteps, she turned to look. When she spotted me, her scowl deepened.
No surprise there.
She didn't like me.But hey, the feeling was mutual. Arden was too uptight, too worried about her grades, and too ready to raise her hand for extra credit.
She was the kind of girl who made guys like me look worse than I was. And considering how little I cared for school – or for kissing ass –thatwas saying something.
She was cute, even when she scowled, but that didn't mean I was interested.
I had bigger problems than school and no time for girls who were such a hassle. I made a point to slow my pace as I approached.
