Most Desirable Player (Face-Off Legacy/Campus Kings 7)

I nod. “You could say that. My life hasn’t been any kind of picnic. I don’t need some rich asshole meddling with my life again.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Shannon says. “But they’re not all like that. Jamie is nothing like what you’d expect from the son of a billionaire.”

“Didn’t his dad grow up like me?”

She nods.

“That’s why. He came from humble beginnings and raised Jamie that way. But guys like Julian don’t know what it’s like to struggle. His idea of a struggle is Gucci running out of his favorite pair of boxer briefs.”

She laughs so hard she snorts.

“Are you coming to Jamie’s game this weekend?”

“I had to move a few things around, but I’ll be there.”

“So will I.”

She glances over at me, one eyebrow raised. “You just said you weren’t going to date Julian.”

“For our auction date, I have to go to his game and the party at his house afterward.”

“Sit with us at the game.”

“I am. Sam already invited me.”

“I like Sam,” she says. “She’s too nice for Tucker if you ask me. I like her a lot. She has some balls on her. Kinda like you.”

I smile at her comment. “How will I find you guys on Friday?”

“Did Julian give you a ticket yet? You need one to get into the game. All of the team tickets are in the same section, on the ice, right behind their bench.”

“Seriously? I have to sit behind their bench?”

“They’re great seats,” she says.

“I’m sure they are.”

“Not a fan of hockey?”

I laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

“You’ll be fine. Just sit with us. Jamie usually has a bunch of drinks and junk food sent over during the game.”

Since they started dating, Jamie has come into the bakery a few times to order obscene amounts of pastries and cakes for the guys in his house. He’s a nice guy and genuine from what I can tell. He drives himself here, unlike someone I know. Not once has Jamie acted like some spoiled, entitled billionaire. I’ve always liked that about him. If only Julian would show me the side to him I know is hiding in there, behind all of the sexy smirks and flashy toys. Maybe one day he will. But that’s a big maybe.

Chapter Seven

Briana

Julian spots me the second I look over at his usual table. He wasn’t there ten minutes ago. I know his schedule well enough to avoid him, so I’m surprised to see him in the cafeteria at this hour. I hold his gaze for a few seconds, hating myself for how much I’m letting him win. It feels like he’s winning, at least.

Since the auction, Julian has randomly appeared everywhere I go. At my work. Outside of my classrooms. Across from me in the cafeteria. Is he following me?

While I can’t say for sure that he’s keeping tabs on me, it seems convenient that he stopped by Broad Street Beans, when he hasn’t come into the shop since we broke up. He just so happened to be there in the nick of time to give me a ride to work. And it’s even more unlikely that he switched his schedule to eat lunch in the cafeteria at the same time as me. For two years, I have managed to dodge him. Now, I can’t seem to get rid of him.

“What is his problem?” I mutter, clutching the spoon in my hand.

Sadie glances over her shoulder at Julian, catching Cole Harker’s attention in the process. He raises his hand, and she waves to him, which he returns. “He likes you, Bri. I don’t see anything wrong with it.”