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

questions or, really, caring about anything but her boobs.
    Getting close to her boobs had, ironically, kept many guys from getting close to her .
    The only person who tried to get close, even when denied access repeatedly, was Tyler Bennett. And she had a suspicion that he was actually interested in more than her boobs.
    Yes, he was definitely dangerous.
    “Yeah, okay,” Hailey said to Mark. “No problem. I’ll just talk to you tomorrow.”
    “Awesome,” Mark said.
    He pulled her close for a moment and Hailey thought maybe he’d kiss her. She tilted her face. And he brushed his lips over her forehead, barely pressing even enough to have it count as a kiss. She sighed.
    The team moved past her, jostling each other, laughing, trading insults in the way guys did to show their affection.
    And Hailey’s gaze went back to the guy standing across the gym.
    He was still talking to Megan but her back was to Hailey, and as she sought him out, his gaze met hers.
    He gave her a half smile and a wink.
    Warmth and a strange need—not desire, exactly, but a need to have some kind of contact with him right that very second—rushed through her.
    It wasn’t Mark’s fault that they weren’t close and didn’t have a strong relationship where he wanted more than her boobs.
    Her boobs were all she was really willing to give. So to speak.
    But if she was being really honest, Mark wouldn’t want more even if she offered. She knew that. And if she gave him the brush-off she’d been giving Ty over the past couple of months since he’d started paying attention to her, Mark would have been gone a long time ago.
    Ty, on the other hand, was winking at her across the gym even as he talked to another girl.
    It didn’t make Hailey a good person, she knew, but she liked that. A lot.
    And keeping Ty’s compliments and Hershey’s Kisses coming was suddenly imperative to her happiness.
    Hailey tossed her hair back and started across the gym.
    Ty saw her coming but he didn’t alter his posture or even the smile he was giving Megan.
    “So do you want to come over?” Megan asked him as Hailey came up behind her.
    Megan didn’t know she was there yet. Ty lifted a brow but didn’t say anything.
    Suddenly Hailey’s chest got tight. No. This was wrong. She couldn’t do this. And not because of Megan, though it should be because of Megan.
    No, she couldn’t do this because he might not choose her.
    He’d flirted incessantly for the past four months, he’d made her feel like a queen, he’d showered her with attention. But attention and affection weren’t the same thing. She desperately wanted both, but she knew they didn’t automatically go hand in hand. Her father didn’t give her much attention and she had to practically become Miss America to get what he did give, but she definitely knew that it wasn’t the same thing as affection.
    Stan Conner only had enough affection for one perfect, trim, well-dressed, put-together, in-charge-of-everything blond.
    And her name was Angela.
    Hailey felt her throat getting tight and the blood leaving her face as a rushing filled her ears. Her thoughts were spinning, her stomach was spinning. Oh God. She couldn’t ask Ty to choose between her and Megan. Megan was sweet and kind and was clearly eager to spend time with him. Why would he choose Hailey? She had nothing to give Ty that cute little sophomore Megan couldn’t give him—and more.
    She also could not puke on Megan’s shoes.
    She spun away, struggling to breathe.
    The fucking panic attacks. Dammit. She hardly ever had them at school. At school, she was in charge and everyone knew it. Her attacks only hit at home.
    But now…
    “Hailey?” Ty’s voice seemed to be coming to her from a distance.
    She shook her head when she felt him come up behind her and take hold of her upper arms. Instinctively she leaned back into him.
    The moment her back met his chest, she felt her lungs expand. His solid heat made it possible for her to drag in a