“Hurry up, Eva! You’re going to be late.” A large hand slapped her ass. She sat up and glared at Callum. He was already dressed in jeans and a sweater that brought out the blue in his eyes. His hair stood up, looking rumpled. She wanted to take him back to bed again.

Instead, she rolled over and held out her hand. “Where’s my coffee?”

“In the kitchen. Now get dressed and get that pretty ass of yours downstairs.” He strode out.

She frowned, but she felt too good to hang onto her disapproval. She felt…stretched in interesting places. Her body almost hummed still from the joy of last night. She got up and headed for the bathroom to shower. Half an hour later, she had on a new baggy cashmere sweater, jeans and tall boots.

Callum glanced at her and shook his head. “No way. This is an East Coast campus, meaning you dress with some respect. Get some trousers on—no jeans. And a sweater set if you have it.”

Making a face, she headed back upstairs. She didn’t want to change, but she also wanted to make a good impression. And she trusted Callum. Coming back downstairs, she grabbed his coffee from him.

“Better?” she asked. She did a small turn. She’d put on wool trousers and changed into a black cashmere sweater set. She’d also put on small, gold earrings, and had wiped off some of her makeup.

He nodded. “Good. Very good. Come on, we want to be early.”

“What are you driving?”

He glanced at her and grinned. “Well, your brother has a Ducati in the garage, but I think we’ll leave it here. I called a taxi.”

The taxi was waiting outside. The driver was playing ethnic world music of some kind that he turned down when they stepped from the condo. Eva’s stomach knotted. Callum reached over and put his hand over hers. “You’ll do great. Make the essay clear—don’t get fancy. And go with your first instinct for answers. Don’t second guess yourself.”

She nodded. “Clear. Instinct. Got it.” Except she didn’t. They headed for the main office. Callum escorted her in. She hardly knew who she met. She shook hands, smiled, let Callum do most of the talking. Everyone seemed so nice—the dean even came out to meet her and remarked on her brother’s generous donation to the university.

“He bought my way in?” she demanded.

A strained silence settled. The dean—an older man with gray hair and a gray suit—gave a laugh. “Of course not. That’s not how we work here. But we’re more than happy to show you every courtesy we can—and maybe bend a few rules to help you test. Now it’s up to you to show us you’re ready for college.

She pushed out a breath. Was she? She thought about turning around and heading to the airport. Athens sun and the pool called to her—a simple life. She could shop, have fun with her friends, maybe take some classes at a local college. It would be so easy to leave this behind. She glanced at Callum.

He gave her a nod and a wink—as if she was about to do the easiest thing ever.

She pushed back her shoulders. “I’m ready to test anytime.”

The dean smiled, turned her over to his assistant, a red-headed woman who seemed all business. Eva found herself in a quiet room with leather chairs, a single desk, photos of past officers of the university, and dark wood paneling. She swallowed hard. A computer blinked at her. She was testing on a computer? Panic settled. She couldn’t.

She started for the door and stopped with her hand on the knob. What would Callum think of her if she ran? What would she think of herself?

She turned back, wiped a sweaty palm on her trousers, and walked to the computer. She could do this—she would do this.

She sat down.

* * *

A soft knock sounded on the door. Eva glanced at her watch. Two hours gone—already? She stood and the all-business red-headed woman walked in. “Finished, dear? How did you do? Great, I’m sure. We’ll notify you in a few days of acceptance—or not.” She smiled.

“A few days? I thought it would be weeks?”

The woman smiled again. “Courtesy. We have no wish to keep you in suspense.”

Eva started for the door. But the woman called out, “Oh, your friend left this for you.” She handed Eva a card.

In the hall, Eva tore it open. She had to lean against a wall as she read it. Callum hadn’t written much. She scanned the words.

For the best…your world, my life…don’t meet…tell Antonio to keep his money, I should have paid for the education I got with you.

She crumbled the paper into a ball and demanded, “Where is he?”

The red-headed woman blinked at her. “Your friend? He had a friend of his pick him up. Left the taxi waiting for you. That’s going to be some bill to pay.”

“Oh, someone will pay,” Eva said and stormed out. On the way back to the condo she texted Callum. He didn’t text back. She tried again, texting him he was a coward to run out. He still didn’t answer. She texted that if she ever saw him again, she’ll tear him apart. And he still didn’t reply.

In the condo, Eva went to his room. She found it empty. She sat on his bed. It didn’t smell like him. He hadn’t slept there. She went up to her room and crawled under the blankets.

Why had he left her? And how was she going to get him back?

Her mind whirled, but her phone rang, Antonio’s voice came over the line. “How goes it, zouzouni mou?”

For an instant, tears blurred her eyes and she wanted to blurt out everything. But this was her problem—her life. She was tired of others fixing everything for her. She sat up. “Tonio, why didn’t you tell me you made a huge donation?”

“It wasn’t that big.”

She wiped her hot face with her fingers. “Tonio, take me skiing. Meet me in Aspen. I need something to do while I wait to hear how I did, and I’m…I’m tired of Callum. I…I sent him away. Take me skiing, Tonio. Please?”

Three hours later she was on a flight to Denver. Antonio and Claire would meet her there and they’d head to Aspen. Dareios and Alexandra would meet them in a day. Eva nodded. Yes, this was her life. She was much happier without Callum. She lifted her chin. She’d learned all she could from him—and if she ever saw him again, she would make him so damn sorry!