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My bestie levels her green eyes on me. “We have to study.”

“Whatever.” I hop up and give myself a quick look in the mirror, flicking my fingers through my hair.

She stands, giving me an exaggerated sigh and tapping on her phone as she leaves the room.

“You’re going to be stalking the new guy anyway.” Satisfied with my appearance, I hit the green button on my computer.

“It’s called moving on with my life,” she yells back.

“Moving on?” Taron’s magnetic gaze hits me, and my stomach tightens. Never…

“Mindy’s checking out the new guy in our finance class. He’s from Dallas.” His brow furrows, and I shake my head. “Don’t worry—he’s not my type.”

“What’s your type?” His voice drops to sexy, and my insides sizzle.

“Hmm…” I grin, leaning my head on my hand, wishing I could snuggle my nose against his neck. “Tall… dark hair, magnetic eyes…” I run my eyes around the screen as if I really have to think about it. “Playful, but strong… Catches me if I fall…”

“Good luck finding that guy.” That makes me laugh, and Akela trots in the room. “Hey, Akela! There’s my girl.”

Her ears quirk back, and she sits, making a soft noise almost like a whine, like she’s still confused why he’s in that small rectangle and not here with us. I pet her head before turning back to the screen.

“You’re early tonight! You interrupted my accounting torture session.”

“Sorry. We finished up early, and I guess I was missing you. Check this out.” He holds the phone up, and I see a vast canopy of green trees and mountains. “Isn’t that something?”

The guys were diverted to Mexico to assist with peacekeeping along the border. Taron says it’s pretty boring, mostly walking around and being visible. I worry someone might try to take a shot at them. The situation is so tense—at least it feels tense from where I’m sitting.

“They keep saying we’re headed to Caracas soon, but it feels like we might be stuck here a while.” As he talks, he walks into a beige building.

“I’m stuck in accounting. Mindy’s pretty good at explaining it to me, but there’s so many tax laws!”

He goes into a small room and lies back on a bed, putting his arm behind his head. His bicep flexes, and I want to put my head on his chest. “Doesn’t your brother have an accountant?”

“Yeah, but to be a proper business major, apparently I need to know all this stuff, too.”

“How’s your business going?’

“Good! I’m running out of everything, though. I have no idea how people are finding out about me. I haven’t had time to do much marketing at all.”

“You said it yourself, people are looking for clean, organic products.” He holds up the small, round jar of hydrating lip masque. “I’m almost out of this.”

“I’ll make a little care package for you.”

I immediately start a mental list of all the things I’ll add to it. Prints of those pictures we took before the Peach Ball—I have both of them framed on my dresser. A little book of peach puns I found in a gift shop. A tennis ball with a line on it…

“I talked to Sawyer last night.” His voice is quiet, and he immediately has my attention.

“What do you mean?”

He shifts position, sitting up. “We had night watch, and we were pretty much trying not to fall asleep… He asked me if we were serious.”

“What did you say?” I don’t know why my chest feels tight.

“What do you think I said?” Taron’s pretty eyes crinkle with his grin. “I said yes.”

“How did he take it?”

“Just like Sawyer. He nodded and didn’t say much. I think he’s okay with it, but I’m watching my back.”