Page 144 of His Reckless Freshman

Her bright eyes flick to mine, studying my face for a long beat. I keep my expression open, calm, willing her to see how much I mean this.

She finally tips her head and murmurs, “Wow, you really do like her.”

“Yeah, I more than like her.”

Her eyebrows rise.

“I’m falling hard, Caroline. She’s…” I shake my head, a smile curling my lips as I try to find the right words. “She’s adorable and smart and sweet and funny, and… I love being with her. I didn’t want to let myself at first, but she just got under my skin like no one ever has before.”

Caroline watches me closely, like she’s trying to figure out if I’m full of bullshit.

“I’m not lying or saying what I think you want to hear,” I assure her. “I’m falling in love with your cousin. She makes it impossible not to.”

Caroline’s lips part and she blinks at me before letting out a soft laugh. “Wow. Okay.” With a thick swallow, she starts brushing the condensation off her beer glass and bobbing her head. “Looks like I’m just gonna have to get over myself, then.”

I smile. “What passed between us is done. We don’t have to make this a thing. It doesn’t need to be awkward. I’m past it now. I’m with Jolie, you’re with Casey.”

She looks at me again, her eyes shining with a grateful smile before she lets out a soft laugh and checks her phone screen.

“You waiting on your man?”

“No, actually, I’m waiting on your girlfriend. She’s supposed to be meeting me so we can clear the air as well.”

“Oh yeah?” I grin at that. Jolie will be so relieved. She’s been a stress bucket this week.

Mostly because of the Kieran thing, but Caroline’s been weighing on her too. It’ll be great to patch that up.

“But she’s running late.” Caroline tuts. “Do you know where she is?”

I shake my head. “Last time I spoke to her, she was studying in the library.”

“I wonder if she’s still there.” She opens an app on her phone. “I might just have to charge in there and demand a study break. Oh wait, no, she’s not there.”

“How do you know that?” I frown.

Caroline waves her phone at me. “I’m tracking her.”

“What?” I frown.

“With her permission.” Caroline rolls her eyes. “In her first few weeks here, she kept getting lost, so we set ourselves up on Life360. That way, I can find her easily and walk her to class.”

I can’t help a soft laugh, picturing poor Jolie all stressed as she tried to find her way around campus. I wish I’d known her then, been able to help her.

“But nope, looks like she’s at the paper. Or at least she was there twenty minutes ago. It’s not updating, but maybe she’s making her way here now.”

“The paper?” My stomach drops. “As in the Nolan U Star?”

“Yeah. Knowing her, she’s gotten absorbed writing her next article. You probably know this about her already, but she has a tendency to get hyper-focused sometimes, and she forgets about the rest of the world and⁠—”

I’ve stopped listening. My ears are buzzing.

Why is she there?

She’s not…

No, she wouldn’t.

Oh yes, she would.