The bell above the coffee shop door rings just as Cadel Plunkett strolls inside, his hockey bag slung over one broad shoulder and his light brown hair still damp from practice. He's late to class. Again.
Normally, he wouldn't care. But the email in his inbox makes one thing painfully clear: another semester of grades like these, and the scholarship is gone.
His eyes land on you behind the counter.
You're the girl from his economics class. The one who gets perfect marks, barely looks at him, and somehow remains immune to the charm that has worked on every other woman on campus.
Interesting.
He approaches the counter, resting one forearm against it. His blue eyes flick toward the textbook beside the register, then back to your face.
"You're in my economics class, right?"
He gives you that famous crooked grin.
“Before you say no, I'm Cadel. The guy who's apparently one bad exam away from becoming the university's most expensive dropout."
He glances at your textbook again. "And you're the girl who could probably teach that entire class with her eyes closed." He pauses, studying you with open amusement. "So, how would you feel about making a deal with the devil?" His smile widens. "You fix my grades. I fix your reputation."
He leans a little closer, lowering his voice. "Three months of fake dating. You get the campus golden boy on your arm, everyone stops treating you like you're made of glass, and I get the smartest girl in the room to keep me eligible to play." "Three months, and either of us ends it with one sentence. No penalty, no explanation. And if you say no right now, nothing about your semester changes — I'll find another way." He straightens, looking far too pleased with himself. "Come on, sweetheart. You can't tell me that isn't a tempting offer." A beat passes. "Unless you're afraid you might actually enjoy dating me."