I had ten missed calls and countless text messages from Hayley when I checked my phone. After Cole dropped me off and I walked through the front door, my phone rang instantly with another call from her.

“Where are you?” she asked as soon as I answered.

“I ditched school today,” I replied, making my way upstairs to my room. “I wasn’t really feeling up to it. Jake and I broke up this morning.”

“I know. I heard. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day. I can’t believe he would let you go!” I had to love my best friend for sounding so indignant on my behalf. “I’m already planning the perfect revenge.”

“Hold up, Hayles. We don’t need another revenge operation on our hands. It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. Jake has been going around school all day telling people you’re a frigid tease and that’s why he had to break up with you.”

My chest tightened and I could barely breathe. How could he say that about me? That wasn’t even close to the reason we broke up. I couldn’t believe he’d be so cruel.

“He really said that?” I finally whispered.

“That’s what Tanner told me. Although I think we all know Jake’s only saying that because he’s jealous. He’s absolutely vile. I refused to sit with him and the rest of those posers at lunch.” My heart warmed at the thought of her taking such a stand for me.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I murmured.

“Are you kidding? I would have had it out with him right in the middle of the cafeteria if I’d come within ten feet of the guy.”

“You probably would have won too.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I’ve got moxie.”

I laughed. She totally did.

“So, back to my revenge plan,” she said.

“No revenge plan!” That was the last thing I needed.

“You haven’t heard me out yet.”

“I don’t need to. Your last revenge plan totally backfired. Mr. Callahan and Miss French are getting married.”

I shook my head at the memory. Miss French had given Hayley a C on her math test, and Mr. Callahan had spoken to her parents about her needing tutoring in biology. So, Hayley decided to exact revenge on the two of them.

She took Mr. Callahan’s biology mascot, a giant stuffed toy heart, and hid it in Miss French’s desk. Then she wrote a ransom note for the heart. It was addressed from Miss French, and the letter demanded Mr. Callahan’s phone number in exchange for his toy. Hayley had hoped to embarrass them both, but her plan failed miserably.

“How was I supposed to know that kidnapping Mr. Hearty would end up being the catalyst for them falling in love?” Hayley asked. She sounded so devastated about it that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You seem to be doing okay,” she commented.

I let out a breath. There was an ache in my chest, and my insides felt completely hollow, but I wasn’t falling to pieces like I might have expected.

“I guess things hadn't been going well between Jake and me for a while,” I explained. “It was almost like we were already broken up, only neither of us had said the words.”

I’d cried my eyes out when Jake had forgotten to pick me up from work the other weekend. I think in my heart I knew it was over then. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like our breakup was actually a relief.

“I think I’m mostly sad that I’ve lost him as a friend,” I continued. “We were never that great as a couple, but he always used to be a good friend.”

“Yeah, well, he’s banned from being your friend. Good friends don’t say hurtful crap about each other,” Hayley responded.

“Yeah,” I agreed. I still couldn’t believe Jake had told people we broke up because I wouldn’t have sex with him. It was so cliché.

“Madison Matthews!” my mom shouted from downstairs. I rarely heard my mom’s aggressive tone used to call my name, and I knew it meant I was in trouble.

“Oh crap,” I muttered into the phone.

“Your mom?” Hayley asked. I wasn’t surprised she’d heard the scream through the phone. It had practically shaken the walls.

“Yep,” I replied. “I’m dead.”

“It was nice knowing you,” Hayley replied. “I’ll put flowers on your grave.”

I laughed and hung up the phone before slowly making my way downstairs. I hoped that my friend would also pick out a kick-ass inscription for my tombstone. I was fairly certain I’d need it.

It turned out I was wrong about my mom and I didn’t require a funeral. I was worried Jake might need one though after I explained the breakup to my mom. She was so livid she threatened to call his mother. It was a reaction typical of my mom. I was mortified at the thought and somehow managed to talk her down, but I had to love her for standing up for me.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t there to back me up and help me fight my battles at school the next day. Seeing Jake in the corridor first thing was like a punch to the gut. He completely ignored me as I walked by him. His gaze slipped right by me like I didn’t exist at all.

Worse still was the way Laurie flirted with him at lunch. I’d grown used to her behavior over the years, but it broke my heart to see him returning it. I thought she was after Cole, but now I was beginning to wonder if she was hedging her bets between the two boys. Either way, I couldn’t bear to watch, so I kept my gaze fixed on my food for the rest of the lunch hour.

There was also the whole “Cadi” thing to deal with. I felt like I was in mourning and yet people kept coming up to me in the corridors to tell me they were rooting for Cole and me. I even had one teacher tell me how much she wished she were young and in love again. I wasn't even in one of her classes, so to say it was a strange conversation was an understatement.

It was a relief to get to work on Thursday night. I rarely saw other kids from school at the gourmet pizza restaurant I worked at during the week. Crust was more of a weekend hangout, so I was looking forward to the few hours where I’d be able to interact with other people without the stupid True Love competition being brought up.

The moment I walked in the door though, I heard a squeal of excitement. “It’s the star of True Love,” Jazz shouted as I walked toward the staff room. “You have to tell me everything!”

I pushed down a shudder—so much for avoiding talk of the competition tonight. How did Jazz even know True Love existed? She was so busy with university, or working as a server in the restaurant, I was surprised she had time to bother herself with a high school dating contest.

“You watched the show on Sunday?”

“Obvi. One of the girls in my dorm has a sister in the competition so we all watched it together, but I had no idea you were in it! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure you’d be interested,” I replied. Jazz may be in university, but sometimes she made me feel older than her.

“Of course I am,” she gushed. “And I totally voted for you. You and Cole are so adorable together.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I murmured.

“Ah, yeah I did. We need to make sure that Laurie girl doesn’t sink her claws in him. Poor Cole doesn’t deserve that.”

I shook my head at her. “Do you even know Cole?”

“Nope, but I wouldn’t mind getting to know him. If you know what I mean,” she said, wriggling her eyebrows at me.

“I’m not sure that Cole could keep up with you,” I laughed. Jazz was incredibly beautiful. Her thick black hair and large, chocolate eyes always mesmerized guys when they came into the restaurant. She was also renowned for being a serial dater.

“What? I can’t help it if I get bored quickly,” she replied.

“How many dates so far this week?”

“Three,” she replied, with a shrug. She spoke so openly about it and I had to give her credit. Jazz really owned her single status.

I dropped my bag off in the staff room before joining Jazz back in the kitchen. She was flirting with Abe, one of the kitchen hands. He stared at her adoringly, but I knew nothing would come of it. Jazz was a firm believer in not dating co-workers. I think it was her only rule.

“So how is that delicious boy toy of yours going?” Jazz asked, ditching Abe and joining me as I walked back through to the restaurant.

“Are you talking about Jake?” I asked. “We broke up.”

Jazz grinned brightly. “So you can date Cole then,” she said, as if that were the obvious next step.

“I could…but that doesn’t mean I want to.”

She ignored my comment. “Don’t be silly, of course you do. He’s yummy. And if it doesn’t work out, there are plenty of other guys on the football team.” She sounded serious, like it was a perfectly natural thing to date the entire team. It made me seriously wonder about what she was like at high school.

“Please don’t tell me you dated the entire football team,” I said.

“Well, not all of them at the same time, obviously,” she replied. “There were only a few overlaps…”

I held up a hand as she went to continue. “I really don’t want to know.” And I didn’t. It was bad enough that she went into excruciating detail about her dates every week.

“But—“

I gave her a look, warning her not to continue. Thankfully I was saved from the sordid particulars of her relationship with the football team as a family walked through the front doors.

“We’ll talk later,” she said as she walked off to greet the customers. Apparently, I wasn’t saved after all.

Jazz was still chatting with the family when the next lot of customers walked in. My eyes widened as I caught sight of the group. As if by reflex, I dropped to the ground behind the bar. I took several deep breaths in to try and calm my racing heart.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned, as I ran a hand through my hair.

It was kids from school. But not just any kids. It was the film club walking in with their cameras, and Cole and Willow were trailing in behind them.

I’d forgotten their single date was tonight. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

A head popped over the top of the counter and I nearly screamed. “Madi, there are customers here,” Jazz said, a wicked smile on her face.

“Yeah, I know,” I replied. “I’m not serving them.”

“They’re sitting in your section…” She glanced over her shoulder, licking her lips. “That Cole is even hotter in person than on film. On second thought, maybe I will serve them.”

A small wave of jealousy fluttered through me. Jazz got any guy she ever set her eyes on. I jumped up and received a knowing look from Jazz.

“Change your mind?” she asked coyly.

I glared at her, making her laugh. “It’s okay to like him, Madi,” she said.

“I don’t like him,” I hissed.

Jazz was talking way too loudly and at risk of getting Cole and Willow’s attention. Luckily they were seated in one of the booths at the far end of the restaurant and seemed pretty content talking with one another. Cole’s eyes didn’t stray from Willow as they spoke, and I experienced a strange pang in my gut as I watched the two of them.

“Uh huh,” Jazz replied, in an annoyingly cocky tone.

I shot her another foul look. “Why don’t you seem surprised that they’re here?”

Her grin grew larger. “Oh, didn’t I tell you they were coming in?”

“Clearly not.”

“I can’t believe I forgot,” she tittered. “We got a call last night from the film club to see if it was okay to film here.”

I pointed my finger at her. “You are pure evil.”

“And you are letting our customers wait…”

“Alright, alright, I’m going,” I said.

I took in a deep breath before I started making my way across the room. There were just two cameras focused on the date tonight, and Angus was seated with the rest of the film club at a booth directly across from Willow and Cole. With the cameras and the crew practically hovering over the date there looked to be little chance for romance.

I tried not to glare at Angus as I neared. This whole thing felt like a set-up. He was constantly asking me about my work schedule to make sure I was able to take part in the contest, and he knew perfectly well I was rostered to work tonight. I would definitely be having words with him later.

I approached Willow and Cole’s booth. My body was tense, and I felt an unusual bought of nerves as I drew close. I wasn’t sure why I was freaking out so much. I’d never cared who Cole dated before, and I shouldn’t care now. I guess I’d started seeing him a little differently after we ditched school together on Tuesday. He hadn’t behaved like the cold-hearted jerk I was so used to dealing with. He was more like the boy I had once been friends with, and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed having him in my life.

“Hey guys, what can I get for you?” I asked, using the cheerful tone I adopted when serving. It didn’t sound as genuine as normal, but I hoped I was the only one who could notice. One of the cameras was right up in my face, which may have accounted for at least some of the awkwardness in my voice.

Cole’s head jerked up at my question, and his eyes grew wide with surprise. He looked like his brain was failing to compute how I was standing in front of him.

“You work here, Madi?” he asked. His voice was hesitant, and he seemed unsure of himself. I guess I wasn’t the only one Angus had blindsided with the date tonight.

“Yup,” I replied, popping the p. “Do you guys want some drinks to start?”

“Oh, err, yeah,” Cole replied. He rubbed the back of his neck and his eyes moved to look at Willow. His gaze softened as he stared at her and my stomach tensed in response.

“What would you like, Will?” he asked.

Will? He called her by a nickname. A nickname I hadn’t known existed until it left his lips.

“Just a glass of water is fine,” she said, smiling up at me. Her smile was so open and pretty. There was no pretense to it, unlike so many of the other girls I knew.

“I’ll have water too,” Cole said, not taking his eyes off Willow.

“Sure thing.” I retreated to the kitchen without waiting to see if they wanted anything else.

As I crossed the restaurant floor, I sensed someone following me closely like a shadow.

“Madi,” Angus called.

I turned and frowned when I saw he’d followed me into the staff only area. “You can’t be back here,” I replied, shooing him back toward the restaurant.

“I’ll only be a second,” he said.

I let out an exasperated breath. “What is it?”

“I think we need to do that scene again,” he replied. “But next time I want you to be more surprised and upset to see Cole here on a date with Willow.”

Anger riled up inside me. “You want me to what?”

“Well, I think that we could really play up the love story between you two if you would just—”

I cut him off with a scowl. “No, Angus. I’m not going to manipulate the situation into something it’s not. I’m at work, and you’re not my boss. So take your ideas back out into the restaurant and keep them to yourself.”

He opened his mouth to try and argue back.

“Don’t make me throw you and your film crew out of here,” I warned.

“Fine,” Angus grumbled. “But just so you know, you’re missing out on an excellent opportunity to grow the interest in our show.”

He gave me a disappointed look before turning and heading back to the main restaurant. It took me several minutes to calm down before I went back out there myself.

When I brought the water to the table, Cole still didn’t look at me. He murmured a, “thank you,” but didn’t make eye contact when he said it. It was so unlike him. Even when he’d been dating girls before, he’d always made time to try and irritate me.

“Are you guys ready to order your food?” I asked. As far as I was concerned, the sooner they ate and left the better. I knew Angus wanted to get a reaction out of me, but I was determined not to give him any material to work with. I would do my job and treat them just like everyone else.

“We’ll have a large Mr. Beefy and a small Little Miss Veggie,” Cole responded. It was obvious who wanted which pizza considering the sizes and the fact Willow was a vegetarian.

I jotted down the order and tried not to smirk at Cole’s choice of pizza. I always felt like people’s pizza choices said a lot about their personality. Cole had pretty much chosen the jock of all pizzas. It was hardly surprising.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

I looked up and found him watching my lips. “Nothing,” I responded, quickly. I’d barely even been smiling.

“No, clearly something about our order is making you laugh,” he continued.

“It’s nothing you’d be interested in,” I replied. I walked off before Cole could continue to press me, but I could feel his gaze on me as I walked across the restaurant.

“Want me to coat his pizza in hot sauce?” Jazz asked, peering over her shoulder in Cole’s direction as I came to stand next to her.

“Why would I want you to do that?”

“Because he’s looking way too comfortable with his date,” she said. “I think we should make things interesting. Spice them up a little, you know.”

I followed Jazz’s gaze toward Cole and Willow. They did appear awfully comfortable with each other. I’d never seen them exchange two words before, and yet they seemed to be talking easily enough. They actually looked happy to be there, which I hadn’t really expected.

I was especially surprised by Willow. She was usually so nervous around people and had been terrified in front of the cameras so far. How was it that Cole of all people could put her at ease?

I focused on Jazz once more. “No hot-saucing the food, Jazz,” I warned. I could already imagine the commotion that would unfold because of it. It would probably make Angus’ night.

Jazz looked back at me and let out a sad sigh. “You used to be fun.”

“Don’t lie,” I replied, with a grin. “We both know I was never fun.”

“True,” she agreed with a smirk. “Fine, I’ll leave the sabotage for now. But I won’t be able to control my actions if he goes in for a kiss.”

I laughed, but my stomach also dropped at her words. I had thought it was sweet of Cole to choose Willow for this date, but did I really want him to kiss her?

I glanced in his direction and found Cole was looking at me. He lifted one eyebrow when our eyes met. There was a questioning look in his gaze that I couldn’t seem to understand. He was probably just wondering where his pizza was. I looked away quickly and disappeared into the kitchen. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what Cole was wondering.

I somehow managed to keep my interactions with Cole and Willow to a minimum for the rest of the evening. I kept things entirely professional when dealing with them, which I’m sure annoyed Angus. I knew he was after drama, but I refused to pretend to be someone I wasn’t.

When the two of them finally left, thankfully taking the film club with them, I felt like I could breathe again. Their presence had seemed to steal all of the oxygen from the room, and I’d been struggling to fill my lungs during the couple of hours they’d been in the restaurant.

Unfortunately, Angus hung back for a few minutes once everyone else had gone. He was frowning, and when I saw him beckoning me from the door, I had a bad feeling that whatever he wanted to talk to me about wasn’t pleasant.

“I’m disappointed you weren’t more willing to help us out tonight,” Angus told me as I reached him.

I gave him a shrug. “That’s not what I signed up for. I’m sorry, Angus.”

He nodded to indicate he was listening, but his eyes were calculating as he watched me, and I could tell he already had his comeback prepared.

“I understand,” he said. “But I think you too need to understand, Madi. The audience needs someone to root for, and at the moment they are rooting for you. I thought I could help make you the star of this show—the sweetheart of the True Love contest. I’m beginning to wonder if I was wrong though. It seems you’re just going to let them down.”

I frowned at him, completely lost for words. On what Earth did Angus ever believe that I wanted that sort of attention and pressure? I was meant to be eliminated on Monday, and I was hoping and expecting to be gone by next week.

As he watched my reaction, he nodded once more. “Yes, I can see that maybe Teagan would be a better choice. Well, anyway, I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

With that, he turned and left the restaurant, and I was left standing by the door wondering what the hell had just happened. He’d been talking with me calmly enough, but his words had felt threatening. What he was threatening exactly had me confused though. Was he trying to tell me he was going to manipulate the audience to vote for Teagan if I didn’t start to do whatever he asked?

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to figure out the answer to that, so I returned to work, trying to push my talk with Angus as far as possible from my mind.

The rest of my shift flew by afterward, and I was let off early when the restaurant quietened down for the evening. I said my goodbyes to Jazz and the kitchen guys and made my way outside. The evening was cool, and I put my jacket on as I left the restaurant. It was dark outside, and I stood by the front window bathed in the restaurant’s warm light as I pulled out my phone to call my mom.

“Need a lift?” a voice called.

I practically jumped out of my skin, dropping my phone as I looked up. Cole stood there, leaning against his truck, which was parked by the curb a little way down the road from me.

“Dammit, Cole!” I exclaimed as I bent down to pick my phone up. Thankfully the screen wasn’t cracked. “You nearly scared me half to death.”

He pushed off the car and walked toward me. I half expected to find the film club following closely, but the street behind him was empty and it looked like he was alone.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. He came to stand in front of me and I caught a whiff of his cologne. It was subtle but enticing, and nothing like the cheap spray can scents most of the boys at school wore. It was bad enough that he was unfairly hot; why did he also have to smell good?

“I thought you might like a ride home,” he said.

I frowned. “How did you know when I would finish work?”

“I didn’t,” he replied with a shrug.

“So you’ve been waiting out here in the dark like a total weirdo?”

He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck like he was suddenly uncomfortable. “I’d been going more for chivalrous knight in shining armor, but when you put it like that…”

I smiled. “I’m only joking. I would love a ride. Mom’s always so busy driving Lucas around, I don’t really like asking her unless I’m desperate.”

“Is that why you walked home in the rain when Jake forgot to pick you up from work a couple of weekends ago?” he asked.

“You heard about that, huh?” I asked, receiving a nod in response. “Mom and Dad were at an away game that night with Lucas. There was no way they’d have been able to get back in time to pick me up.”

“Oh,” he replied. There was a flicker of concern in his eyes, like he was worried about me even though the incident had been nearly two weeks ago.

We started walking to his truck, his arm brushing lightly against mine as he kept pace beside me. When we reached the car, he opened the door for me and I jumped in, giving him a small smile in thanks.

Cole’s scent seemed to fill the cab, and as I breathed it in I found myself wondering what Willow had thought of it. Had he even given her a lift home or had they arrived at the restaurant separately. I immediately pushed the thoughts from my mind. What had happened between them tonight was none of my business.

“Why don’t you have your license?” Cole asked as he got in and started the car.

“I do,” I said. “But I’m saving up for my own car.”

“Your parents won’t buy you one?” he asked.

“No,” I replied. “I mean, they probably would if I hounded them enough. But I think they want me to learn to save. I don’t mind my job, and it feels good to know I’m saving my money for something important. I’ve always managed okay without a car anyways.”

He gave me a warm smile. “I think that’s great you’re going to buy your own car.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling in return. It was such a small thing to say, but it meant the world to me. Hayley thought the whole thing was crazy. My parents could easily afford to buy me a car. She didn’t seem to understand how important it had become that I did it myself.

“I hope tonight didn’t feel too awkward for you,” Cole said, interrupting my train of thought.

I glanced at him and tried to figure out his expression. He seemed relaxed, but his fingers were tapping against the wheel as he drove.

“Tonight was fine. You and Willow make a cute couple.”

He swallowed and then frowned slightly. “I don’t see Willow that way,” he said.

I tilted my head as I continued to watch him. Was he telling the truth? The two of them had seemed so comfortable around one another. Perhaps he just saw her as a friend.

“If that’s true, I hope you’re not leading her on…” I said.

He let out a laugh. “Nah, Willow and I are on the same page. Trust me.”

I still couldn’t tell if he was lying or not, so I decided not to push him on the subject.

“Did you really not know I worked at Crust?” I asked, trying not to focus on Cole’s potential feelings toward Willow.

“I had no idea,” he replied. “Angus suggested it for the date tonight and I didn’t think twice. Their pizzas are awesome.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty good,” I agreed.

We both fell silent. I was still analyzing what Cole had said about Willow in my mind. I wasn’t supposed to care, but I couldn’t seem to look past it.

“Do you know what we’re doing for the group date tomorrow night?” I asked as he pulled into our street.

Cole grinned at the question and stopped out the front of my house. Neither of us moved to get out of the car though. “You know I can’t discuss that with you,” he replied.

“Come on. Just a hint?”

His smile grew broader. “Dress warmly. That’s all I’m going to tell you.”

“Hmm.” I tapped my fingers over my lips as I considered what his cryptic little clue could mean.

“I think you’ll like it,” he added. He pulled his focus from the road ahead and looked over at me with bright eyes. There was such an earnest openness to his gaze and I found my heart beating faster.

“And if I don’t?” I asked.

“Well, I’ll have to make it up to you then. Won’t I?”

I went to respond, but I forgot what I wanted to say as his eyes dipped to look at my lips. He suddenly seemed so close, and the cab felt smaller than it had before. His scent was everywhere around me, and I felt like I was in some kind of Cole-induced haze.

A part of me wanted to lean into him, but another part of me wanted to open the door and run. I didn’t know why I was reacting this way to him. The only thing I knew was that I shouldn’t be feeling like this about anyone. Not so soon after Jake and I split up. And definitely not toward Cole Kingston.

I blinked, and the slight movement seemed to clear the haze from my mind. “I should get inside,” I said.

He nodded, but I could see a flicker of disappointment in his eyes as they met mine once more.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said.

“Anytime, Madi,” he replied. His voice was deep and rough, and the way he said my name sent shivers running down my spine.

I swallowed and gave Cole a stiff smile before getting out of his truck. I hurried away from it, trying to avoid the confusing and unwanted feelings I’d just experienced. No amount of distance seemed to dispel them though. And even once I was inside my house, I could still feel the echo of the temptation I’d felt to kiss him.

He was my enemy, right? I suddenly wasn’t so sure.