Page 8 of Exchange of Heart

‘I’ve got your book.’ His feet slapped the pavement.

‘Why?’ I moved closer and snatched it from his hands.

‘It fell from your bag when you ran out the door.’

‘Yeah, well, I was going to miss my bus. Which I ended up missing anyway.’ I frowned at the empty road.

‘Ah, bummer.’ He didn’t sound sorry at all. If anything, he desperately tried not to smile. ‘How long ’til the next one?’

I checked the time on my phone. ‘Half an hour.’ I slumped onto the metal bench ignoring my rumbling stomach.

Corey’s gaze hadn’t lifted from my hunched shoulders. I could tell from the lurch in my stomach and shiver down my spine, the sensation of being watched that turned my body into an armoured guard. I pulled out my phone and tapped a message to Hayley. If I died out here, at least he’d be the first murder suspect.

‘I can give you a lift, if you like.’ The words rushed from his mouth like a freight train.

My fingers paused and I lifted my head. ‘A lift from you? No thanks.’

Light droplets tapped the tin roof above us and he shuffled his weight inside the bus shelter, waiting for me to change my mind.

I glared at him, mortified by his very existence. ‘I said no, thanks.’

Not even the boyish charm of his ripped jeans and backwards hat could save him from the judgement I’d casted on him. Zero chance I’d get in the car with that conceited asshole. The tapping on the tin roof turned to pounding as a rumble drummed through the sky, followed by a sudden flash. I slid to the back of the bench, trying to angle myself away from the rain invading the shelter.

Corey pulled a business card from his wallet and held it in front of me.

‘I don’t need any Tupperware or whatever the hell you’re selling,’ I snapped.

First, I had spent the entire class being shown up by yet another man in a position I can’t seem to get to, then I had missed the bus, and now he wants me to see his VIP business card? Give me a break.

Corey’s laugh was annoyingly musical, like the opening beats to a hit song. ‘It’s to show you I’m not a serial killer or anything.’

‘Even serial killers have jobs,’ I stated. ‘Obviously. How else would they afford the equipment they need to kill and hide the evidence?’

He laughed harder. ‘Nora, please, let me give you a lift home. Or at least some money for an Uber. It’s dark and wet, and you don’t look like you’ve ever been in a fight in your life. Being out here tonight seems like a terrible decision.’

I lifted my legs and wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to avoid the rain reaching for me.

‘I don’t need—’

Thunder roared loud enough that both of us jumped. I snatched my bag from the bench and raised my finger so close to his face he must have thought I might jab his eyeballs, because he winced and squeezed them shut.

‘Fine, but don’t get any ideas. I’m not afraid to break your nose.’

I doubt he believed tiny arms like mine could do that, but he knew better than to point it out and instead graciously led me to the carpark. We stopped in front of a white Lexus, because of course he drove a high-end car, that managed to shine through the rain. He held the passenger door open while I slid my wet ass onto the leather seat, only closing it once I’d pulled the hem of my blue dress in. I might have considered him a gentleman if he wasn’t so aggravating.

‘Where do you live?’ His seatbelt stretched across his chest, likely built from protein shakes and weights.

‘I’ll direct you.’ I stared straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze.

‘What was I thinking?’ he muttered.

Two minutes down the street, I gasped and turned to face him. ‘My seat is getting hot.’

‘Too hot?’ He made to reach forward and turn the heating down.

‘No, no. Perfectly hot. I thought I’d never have feeling in my ass again after the numbing of that metal bench.’ I wanted to be mad that he owned a car with seat warmers, but right now, I was grateful. ‘We’re going right at these lights, by the way.’

I pulled the visor down, then snapped it shut and looked side to side. My fingers jittered with nerves. I was inside Corey Flemmington’s prestigious white Lexus having my ass warmed by his seats. I hated how much I enjoyed this.