Getting to Her: A Sapphire Falls BONUS Novella Read Free Page A

father and stepmother, so at school, she worked exceedingly hard to do everything right—or, at least, to convince everyone she was doing everything right.
    A cool, bitchy, I’m-better-than-you vibe was a huge part of that.
    That same vibe would have likely kept most guys away. But she was also tall, thin, and blond with great boobs.
    And guys were simple.
    Their love of boobs overrode their dislike of bitchy every time.
    Her frosty attitude simply kept those guys from thinking they were in charge in any way.
    But Ty…he was different. Not only did he keep doing things she told him not to—notes and Hershey’s Kisses in her locker, flirtatious winks in the hallways, compliments whenever they were together—but he seemed amused by her holier-than-thou attitude rather than intimidated.
    Which made him very attractive to her.
    And also meant that she couldn’t let him too close.
    If she couldn’t boss him around as the Ice Queen from afar, how could she ever convince him that she was capable and confident up close?
    Most guys didn’t care enough to delve deep. They didn’t notice her moments of vulnerability before she covered them. They didn’t ask questions about her stepmother. They didn’t sense changes in her voice when they were on the phone and things were tense at home.
    She had the strange feeling that Ty would.
    Or maybe it was just that she wanted to be close to Ty, to show him the insecure, imperfect side of her and have him assure her that she was amazing and beautiful and everything he wanted anyway.
    Because Ty was two things no other guy had been with her—persistent and romantic.
    She wasn’t a sexual virgin, but she was an in-love virgin.
    Ty made her think about things like that.
    Which made him very dangerous.
    “Hailey.”
    She turned back to the pack of basketball players and, at the front, Mark.
    “Hi.” She slipped off the bleachers and gave him a big smile. They’d go out and grab some pizza or they’d go back to his house and watch a movie and she’d forget all about Ty. And Ty flirting with Megan. And Ty flirting with her . And that she was a little jealous of Ty flirting with Megan.
    “Hey, we’re gonna go celebrate the win.” Mark gave her a big grin.
    But Mark’s grin didn’t make her tingly like Ty’s smiles did.
    Dammit.
    “Okay, I’m ready to go,” she said, pulling the thin strap of her purse onto her shoulder.
    “Oh.” Mark glanced at the guys. “Actually, we were just gonna make it the team tonight. Bonding. You know.”
    Hailey glanced at the other guys, but none of them met her gaze directly.
    Uh-huh. Intimidated. Enough to not want her around for pizza.
    It occurred to her that she and Mark spent a lot of time alone. She’d always liked that. If she spent too much time with the other students, they might start to see that she wasn’t so badass after all. And the illusion of badassery was the key to her success. She kept them at arm’s length and convinced them she was great at everything and she took down anyone who dared question her right to be in charge.
    She had two girlfriends who were her right and left hands when it came to maintaining the illusion. But they were more like henchmen than friends. They didn’t get close either and were content to bask in the spotlight around Hailey. She didn’t have them over to the house because Angela loved nothing more than an audience to point out Hailey’s shortcomings to, especially if that audience was under the impression Hailey was good at something. She didn’t hang out at their houses because she might be tempted to start taking about herself and spill some secrets. They only hung out in public, the diner or the Stop—the pizza and ice cream shop/ gas station—or the pool or at river parties.
    And she didn’t hang out with the guys unless it was in those places, either. If she and a boyfriend went somewhere private, it was alone and it was to make out.
    Making out kept a guy from asking too many