Resplendent (35 page)

“Sorry about that.”

She looked up at the owner of the deep, raspy voice and into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. He had the most beautiful face, but if asked, she wouldn’t be able to describe it. She was lost in his eyes and the warmth emanating from his touch. “I – um…” Struck speechless, she simply nodded and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his brow furrowed.

“Yeah. Yes, I’m fine,” she forced out, nodding again.
Stop nodding, Embry!

“You sure?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m good, thanks.”

He quirked his head to the side, studying her. His face twisted into something just short of … pain? He looked perplexed, confused, frustrated.
Why?
Embry watched him shake his head slightly, as if trying to clear the emotions playing across his face. He slowly dragged his thumb across her skin before he removed his hand from her arm, leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake.

“Sorry again,” he said with a sheepish grin, and just like that he was gone. He turned and walked away like they hadn’t just collided and had the most intense moment. Their entire exchange couldn’t have lasted more than a minute, but Embry felt it in every fiber of her being.

Shaken by her run-in with the mysterious stranger, she retraced her steps down the long hallway until she found the atrium. The large, open room was filled with sunlight streaming in from the sky lit ceiling. Tables and chairs, filled with new students laughing and talking, were scattered around the big space. The walls were covered with pictures of Supreme Court justices and esteemed faculty members, and at the end was the student services office. She made her way into the office, and even as she sat and listened to her advisor dole out the bad news about her tuition, all she could think about were those striking blue eyes.

Embry walked through the crowded atrium, head spinning. Her advisor had just informed her that her scholarship didn’t cover everything; she was short on tuition. She had enough money in savings to cover her rent for the year, but the news meant she had to dip into that to pay the balance of her tuition. Her parents were good, hard-working people. They did what they could for their daughter, but they wouldn’t be able to help her. She had to find a job to cover the rest of her expenses.

Embry had nothing against working, but the school frowned upon it. She had no idea how she’d manage working and a full class schedule, but she’d do what she had to. If she worked during the day, she’d be forced to switch to evening classes and it would take her an extra year to graduate, so bartending was her best option. She’d bartended her way through college but thought she was finished with that when she got to law school.
Guess not.
She took her pity party to one of the empty tables and sat down to review her orientation packet.

A large iced coffee was placed in front of her as Morgan sat down beside her. “Looked like you could use this. I saw you pouting from across the atrium.”

“Light and sweet?” she asked, eyeing the coffee.

“Of course! I know what you like. Now tell me what’s wrong.” Embry recounted the meeting with her advisor, skating over the details. Morgan, of course, picked up on it right away. “So, what’s the problem? You have money saved to cover the tuition, right?”

“I have money saved...” Embry trailed off.

“But not enough,” Morgan said, putting the pieces together. “So how can I help?”

The Maxwells were well off, but Embry didn’t want their charity. She was already living in an apartment that they owned and charged her half the rent of the other apartments in the area. She wouldn’t accept any more help. She’d made it that far on her own; she’d figure it out. “I appreciate it, Morgan, but I’ve got it covered. I’ll make it work.”

“Stubborn,” Morgan scolded.

“Idealist,” she shot back with a grin.

Morgan laughed and playfully shoved at Embry’s arm. “Come on, we have our first classes in ten minutes.”

Embry followed Morgan from the atrium and down a long corridor to their classrooms. They weren’t in the same sections, but for orientation week, everyone had their first class at the same time.

“Good luuuck,” Morgan called as she pranced off toward her class.

“You too, M!”

Embry walked into the classroom and stood in the back, getting her bearings. Rows of stadium seating lay before her, and she watched students mill around below. She wandered down the stairs and chose a seat toward the middle of the classroom. As she pulled out her computer and began setting up, someone slid into the seat next to her.

“This seat taken?”

Embry looked up into a handsome face and a pair of big, brown eyes. They had nothing on the sexy guy from the hallway, but he wasn’t lacking in the looks department.
What has gotten into you, Embry?
It had been a while but not
that
long. She hadn’t been in a relationship in five years, but that hadn’t stopped her from having fun. Law school was different, though. She didn’t want any distractions: no guys, no sex, no drama. At the rate hot guys were popping up, though, she’d be failing out by the end of the week.

“Nope, all yours,” she answered, busying herself with her computer.

“Cool, thanks. I’m Jeremy,” he said as he gave her a half wave.

“Embry.”

“So what’s your story, Blondie?” he asked, reaching out to twirl a piece of her golden hair.

That snapped her out of it. “What?” She tugged her hair out of his grasp.

“You know, your story. Where are you from, what did you go to school for ... the usual.”

She pointed to herself. “Embry. Not Blondie.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, sorry. I like nicknames. You’re a little uptight, aren’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, starting to lose her cool.

“I could help you loosen up a bit, you know.” He winked. Winked! The guy was hot—she had to admit that—but was he serious?

“Are you serious?”

“Only if you say yes.”

She had no words. She rolled her eyes and went back to her computer.

He didn’t leave her alone for long. “I got your mind off your first day jitters though, didn’t I?” All she could do was stare at him.
Who is this guy?
“I did, didn’t I?” He nudged at her arm.

She finally let her guard down and laughed. “Yes, yes, you did, okay? Happy?”

“Not until you go out with me.”

“Not happening.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she deadpanned.

“You sure?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Positive.”

“Friends?” he said. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, not entirely trusting his motives. He tilted his head, widened his eyes, and pouted, giving her what she was sure was his best puppy-dog face. “Come on, we got the sex out of the way. Now we can keep it strictly platonic.”

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Sex? What sex? There is going to be no sex!” She said
that
louder than she meant to. She should have been aggravated, but for some reason, he was making her laugh. And he was right; her first-day jitters were history.

“It’s out of the way. I hit on you, you friend-zoned me, so we’re all good. It’s platonic now.”

“Okaaay,” she said reluctantly.

“That is, until you realize how ridiculously attractive I am and regret your decision. I can’t promise I’ll wait for you, though.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Believe it, baby.”

“Embry,” she stated, pointing toward her chest again.

“Embry Baby.”

“Just Embry.”

“We’ll work on it, Blondie.” He winked again.

He was infuriating and funny at the same time. She eyed him again and then shot him a genuine smile.

“Friends,” she said. And that was that.

“So, you hear anything about this Professor Curtis?” he asked.

“Nothing good.”

He nodded as he tapped his pen on the desk. “You know, after that Oscar-worthy performance by the Dean, I’m starting to think this is all just a big set-up to make us go running for the hills.”

“Yeah, I thought he was laying it on a bit thick,” she said, searching through her bag for her notebook.

“I’m pretty sure it’s all a big act. It can’t be
that
bad,” Jeremy said confidently.

“Let’s hope….” Embry’s sentence trailed off as the room went silent.

The students were suddenly engrossed in watching Professor Curtis walk into the room. After the rumors she’d heard, Embry was expecting someone a bit more intimidating. Professor Curtis was a petite woman, about mid-forties, with librarian glasses, shoulder-length brown hair, and a stylish skirt suit. She glided up to the podium, put down a stack of papers, and headed to the whiteboard.

“I’m Professor Curtis.” The dry erase marker squeaked across the board. “I’ll be your contracts professor this semester. These are my office hours and contact information. My door is always open, so feel free to stop in. We’re just going to go over the syllabus and class objectives today. I’ll tell you a bit about myself, and I’ll send you on your way; so you can all let out that breath you’ve been holding.”

The entire class breathed an audible sigh of relief as they realized Professor Curtis wouldn’t be torturing them on their first day.

At the end of class, Embry packed up her things and felt Jeremy’s eyes on her.

“So, really, where are you from? What did you study?” he asked.

She was taken aback by how normal he was behaving. “Oh. Um, well, I’m from here. Originally, anyways. I did my undergrad at the University of Florida. Studied poly sci and psych. What about you?”

He smiled, gathering his things. “I’m from Rochester. My Dad owns a law firm back home and I’ll be going into the family business, so law school was the next logical step. I went to Syracuse.”

Before Embry could ask Jeremy about his father’s firm, Professor Curtis interrupted the class with a late announcement. “Oh, before I forget. I’m looking for a research assistant for the year. If any of you are looking for some extra money and good experience, come up and see me.”

Embry’s ears perked up. The research assistant position would be the perfect solution to her problem. She could make the money she needed and still focus on law. All she had to do was impress the professor. “I’m going to head up there and check that out.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Apply at your own risk. I hear she can be pretty tough.”

“Thanks for the warning.” She waved goodbye to Jeremy and made her way to the front of the room.

Embry walked out of the classroom in a far better mood than she had entered it. Professor Curtis seemed much nicer than everyone described her, and Embry had a good feeling about her chances of getting the position. She was actually excited for the semester to officially start next week. She dug in her bag for her cell phone to text Morgan. When she glanced up, she froze.

Walking toward her was the sexy stranger. He was farther away, and she had time to take in his beauty. Tight, gray V-neck shirt and faded jeans. Dark, perfectly mussed hair, those bright blue eyes, perfect nose, and strong, chiseled jaw.
Gorgeous
. He was carrying a box, and it must have been heavy because his muscles were straining against his T-shirt, and Embry couldn’t look away. When she finally dragged her eyes from his biceps, she found his baby blues searching hers. He held her gaze as he walked toward her, causing her cheeks to flush under the intensity of his stare. As he drew closer, she noticed his lips twisting into an amused smirk.