My nerves were a wreck. That morning, I said bye to my dad like nothing especially interesting would happen that day, but it was my first day at UF.

Keeping things the way they always had been, Joseph and I rode together, keeping Dad unsuspecting of anything. Joseph dropped me off next to campus. “Have a great first day, Jas.”

“Thanks.” I took a deep breath before opening the door. “Meet you at the restaurant after my last class. I’ll call an Uber to take me.”

Joseph nodded. “Sure thing.” I went to get out of the car, but he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “And don’t worry about Dad. He never comes into the restaurant before dinner. Just focus on your classes.”

I wandered around campus with my head buried in a map, looking for the Food Science and Human Nutrition Buildings. The campus map had it right next to the Dairy Pond and McCarty Hall, all four McCarty Halls. I flipped the map upside down as I looked at the building next to me: McCarty Hall B. That meant Food Science must be back behind it toward the East end of campus. I flipped the map upright again. Or did that mean it was on the Western side?

I was utterly confused.

Just then, as I turned my map upside down one more time, someone collided right into me. “Oh, shit! Sorry,” some guy mumbled at me.

“No, it’s my fault,” I quickly took the blame as it was mine to take.

The collision had sent my map flying away. Without that map, I’d be lost all day. Envisioning myself walking around like a blindfolded kid playing Marco Polo for the rest of the day, I chased after the map as the wind picked it up, fluttering it further away from me.

From behind me, I heard the guy who’d ran into me yell, “I’ll get it!” He jogged past me, elegantly retrieving the map with one easy swoop of his very muscular arm. As he walked back towards me, map in hand, I realized it was Alex from the restaurant a few weeks before.

Oh shit! What should I do now? Act cool, Jas, it’s just a guy. Just a totally hot, sexy as sin guy. Who seems to be making my body super-heated with just his presence alone.

Of course. The most gorgeous guy in the world had witnessed me stumbling around like a circus clown, trying to catch a flying map.

A few feet away, his face brightened. His killer smile emanated from his face. “Jasmine?”

Oh my god. He remembers me.

My stupid cheeks blushed crimson. I couldn’t see them, but I knew I must have looked like a tomato from the heat that had suddenly taken over my face. I didn’t know how to act. How to speak. So I went for dumbass. “Yes?”

With a little frown that didn’t affect his sexiness one bit, he handed me the map. My trembling hand took it, too scared to look him in the eyes. “It’s me, Alex Cantrell. I was in your restaurant a month ago?”

Standing next to him, I was in complete awe of the guy. In his shorts and tight t-shirt, I could see the muscles in his arms and legs. And he was tall. Six feet at least. Dreamy. But still, I feigned ignorance. “Oh, yeah?”

Way to go, Jas. What a bitch thing to say.

I wasn’t trying to be aloof. I was just so unsure of myself that it came off that way.

“Yeah. I asked you out? Your father turned me down for you…” he tilted his head a bit and reached out his hand to touch my chin so I’d actually look at him. “That guy. Remember him. The jackass who said the perfect steak was anything but that. You know the dopey guy who made your cousin cry?”

Here you go, Jas, fix this lame shit pronto! “Alex! Yes. I remember you. Sorry about my father.” In fact, I hadn’t forgotten Alex since that day we met. I had thought about him nearly constantly for the last month. And here he was, right there. Looking at me.

God, what do I have on? Is it sexy or boring? Why don’t I know how to dress for the love of Pete?

Afraid that I was staring at him too much after I finally gave him my undivided attention, I forced myself to stare at the ground.

With a chuckle he took me by the chin again, lifting my face to look at him. “Hey, don’t worry about that. I mean, I get it.” Then his hand moved away from my chin, breaking the contact that had my heart pounding as he opened his hands, gesturing to the campus as a whole. “Are you going here now?”

“Yes, I am. First day.” I held up the map. “That’s why I desperately need this map.” Then I promptly felt like an idiot. Of course, anyone new needs a map.

God, Jas! You act like you’ve never talked to a guy before. ‘I desperately need this map.’ What a moron…

Alex chuckled. “I still need a map. This campus is huge!” He pulled out a folded up map from his back pocket to prove his words and that made me smile.

Maybe I wasn’t such a dufus after all. “I don’t feel so bad then.” My eyes returned to the ground. Talking to Alex was terrifying.

But there came his hand back to my chin. Lifting it up and making my body hot all over. “I have to say; I was very disappointed when your father told me that you were too busy to date anyone.”

A grimace took over my expression as I was so embarrassed. “Yeah. My dad likes to talk on my behalf. I’m sorry about that. I hope he wasn’t too rude to you.”

Alex just laughed. “I get it. I mean, I’ve heard of your dad, Jose Fontaine. I might have heard about his cantankerous personality.” He gave me a sly wink that had this edge of sexy to it. Like he wasn’t even aware of how gorgeous and charismatic he was. “My faculty advisor, Dr. Dupree, may have mentioned it. And he wasn’t too hard on me. Although my ego has been bruised ever since that fateful night when I was turned down for the first time. But getting to talk to your father, even if the words we exchanged were nothing I’d ever thought we’d talk about, was a dream come true for me.”

“Rebecca Dupree?” I laughed, thinking about the conversational sparring my father and Rebecca got into whenever she visited the farm. “She’s wonderful. I love her. She’s been a big help on the farm. My dad bounces ideas off of her. He’s always looking for ways to improve his oxen.” I was kind of shocked Alex knew her. And kind of intrigued that he was in one of her classes.

His smile was devastating as he looked at me. “She’s a huge fan of his.”

“My dad doesn’t let a lot of people onto his farm. Rebecca is one of the select few. He’s super protective of his animals,” I explained.

With a wink, he added, “And his daughter too, I guess.”

“A bit,” I admitted. Standing there, looking down at my shoes, I worried Alex thought I was a child to have such a protective father who turned down dates for her, but when I glanced up, Alex’s spectacular eyes were shining at me.

“Are you that busy today?” he asked. “I know your dad said…”

“I’m busy after class today. I’m working the dinner shift at the restaurant,” I quickly answered, hoping to get Alex’s mind off my dad’s overprotective behavior. Alex’s smile wilted. So I added, “But, I’ve got a free hour between my classes for lunch.”

His smile returned, even bigger. “Great!” We stared at each other for a brief moment, 0ur eyes peering deeply back at one another. Alex mesmerized me, his smile, his eyes, his upbeat personality. When I realized what was happening, I looked away, feeling the hot rush of anxiety creep up my neck.

“What are you majoring in?” Alex asked, breaking the silence and relieving me of the awkward moment.

“Food Science. The university just started an interdisciplinary program combining Food Science with Culinary Arts. There’s no other program like it in the country.” I stopped myself from babbling. Maybe he didn’t want to hear about my plans with my Food Science degree.

But his reaction told me otherwise, “That’s amazing! You must be something else to get into it.”

“I don’t know.” A twinge of embarrassment pierced my chest. I assumed that my application was accepted past the enrollment period because I was Jose Fontaine’s daughter.

It bothered me slightly to think that was the reason for my unconventional acceptance, but simply being the great Jose Fontaine’s daughter wasn’t going to assure me good grades. I was determined to prove myself in the program.

“Bet you are.” He playfully jabbed his elbow at my ribs. “I’ll meet you outside the Food Science building. I want to hear more about your program over lunch.”

He does? Just probably being nice, I bet.

“Ok. Sounds good.” I looked down at my map. “Do you happen to know where the Food Science building is?”

Alex laughed. “Sure do. It’s right behind this building, McCarty Hall B. You can cut through.” He pointed to a set of doors straight ahead of me.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later,” I said, walking away. I was vaguely aware that Alex might have been watching me. Shaky and nervous from talking to him, I made sure to focus on walking properly and not tripping on something.

What kind of impression would that make? Falling ass over end right in front of him. It wouldn’t have been the first time I took an embarrassing spill in front of people.

Once inside McCarty, I heaved a gigantic sigh. I couldn’t believe I had run into Alex on my very first day. What were the chances of that? We were going to meet for lunch! Was I dreaming?

I’d secretly hoped that Alex would come back to the restaurant, but he never returned. It’s not like I could blame him. That would have meant he would have to deal with my dad again. Most people who sensed my father didn’t like them were wise enough to keep away.

Alex’s directions were spot on. Exiting McCarty Hall B, put me right in front of the Food Science building. My excitement grew as I walked toward the tall, imposing building, but my happiness, unfortunately, had a subtle raw bitterness to it.

If my father ever found out I had enrolled in UF, I’d probably see a level of astronomic anger I’d never seen before. Entering the doors of Food Science, I was full of hope that I would do well there and graduate without him ever finding out.

Once I had my degree, I could present my father with my new ideas on how to revolutionize his business. If he didn’t approve, I, at least, had a degree that I could use elsewhere.

This degree was my key to freedom. Without it, I’d never be able to make it all on my own if my father disowned me for disobeying his wishes.