“Like father, like daughter.”
He lifts his chin, studying me. “Oh, you’re one of those people who acts like a dog is a child.”
I laugh at the open disdain in his voice. “I don’t even have a dog.”
The look on his face suggests that’s for the best—for the dog.
“I’d be a great pet owner,” I lie.
I spend so little time in my apartment that it took me a week to realize there was a leak under the kitchen sink, and another week to get it fixed.
“Okay.” He seems unconvinced.
I frown at him, suddenly desperate to prove I’d be an exceptional pet owner. The best in the world, a real maestro of pets that other people would want to consult and write books about.
Cormac has done this to me since high school.
He’s always the smartest person in the room, and when I’m around him, I instantly feel the need to prove myself. Especially since he seems so unimpressed by everything. That, in turn, pisses me off. It’s what they call a vicious cycle.
“Look…I really want us to get along,” he says. “I’m willing to let the thing with my robot go.”
I narrow my gaze at him. “I’ve told you at least twenty times the science fair thing was an accident.”
“Do you think that means you aren’t at fault?” He adjusts his glasses again. “If you mowed someone down on the street because you were looking at your phone instead of paying attention, you don’t think you should face consequences for that?”
“I apologized,” I say tightly. “Do you want me to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness?”
His lips part, and a strange look fills his eyes. Almost as if?—
No. He’s made it very clear he finds me unappealing, and the sentiment is mutual. In high school, he was a nerd in an ivory tower who couldn’t be bothered to be civil, and I’ve seen nothing to suggest he’s changed.
“Are you really going to get down on your?—”
A strangled sound escapes him as I lower onto my knees on the wood flooring. It was the look in his eyes that did it—almost like he was daring me. Or maybe he just doubted someone like me would ever say sorry. So of course I have to apologize in the most dramatic way possible.
I gaze up at him, soaking in his surprise.
“Cormac Peebles,” I say, my voice filled with honey. “Will you please forgive me for making out with Justin Greene behind your science fair display? He was a tool, but he wasverydreamy, and I couldn’t help myself. It was completely unplanned, and the classroom seemed like a great place to hide, but I regret that your robot paid the price.”
He sighs, shaking his head, but his eyes are hooked on me. I’ve officially captured his attention. He reaches down and offers me a hand. “Get up, Nora.”
I take it, grinning like an idiot, but my kitten heel twists to the side as he’s giving me a boost. I tumble into him, and for half a second I’m pressed against his chest. Shock ripples through me, chased by the realization that he’s surprisingly firm.
The door creaks open, revealing Pansy in the doorway in a pink taffeta princess dress. She gasps so theatrically I can only conclude she’s practiced it multiple times.
“What would Marco say?” she asks in an exhale.
CHAPTER TWO
NORA
Oh no. Oh no, no, no.
I swallow the words and give Pansy a tight smile as I push away from Cormac. “Pansy, can we have a private word?”
I have no clue which magical “private words” would iron this out, but I have a few seconds to figure it out.
Cormac shifts his weight between his feet as she enters the room in a cloud of floral vanilla. His nose wrinkles. “Oh, does that mean I should…you know.”
