Breath Of The Heart by Victoria June Page A

delicious."
    "It's the least I could do after all you've done for me. I thought I'd pick up some groceries today. Is there something nearby that I can walk or take the bus to?"
    He nodded as he tore into breakfast. "There's something close by. I can drive you there or you can take my truck."
    "Really? You'd let me? Jake had a huge issue with me taking his car."
    "I don't have any particular attachment to my truck, so feel free to use it anytime."
    Zach was nonchalant about it, such a refreshing change from Jake's constant uptight attitude. "Thanks. I'll use it only when necessary."
    "Sure, whatever."
    I watched him devour ever morsel on his plate. His face now had full-on stubble and it looked good. I could see why every girl at Western wanted to be with him. Simply put he oozed coolness. The sultry brown eyes, wavy unkempt dark brown hair and the killer physique didn't hurt. He was the total package and yet my heart broke for a man who'd thrown me out of our apartment and sided with a she-devil.
    "How come you never mentioned your sister?"
    "She didn't come up."
    "How could she not love living here?"
    "Because she loves living with her stupid boyfriend instead. If she needs to sleep here for some reason, we'll figure it out."
    I sipped my coffee and watched him grab seconds. My stomach felt full even though it had been so long since I'd eaten. Mostly I was worried that Bianca would still come after me, that I'd be charged with assault. What if she saddled me with her medical bills? Or sued?
    "Your face just got ten shades whiter. You feeling all right?"
    "What if she sues me?"
    He cocked his head. "Sue you? Bianca?"
    "She could. I don't have money to defend myself."
    He fought hard not to smile. "She's not going to sue you. That's cute."
    "What makes you think she won't?"
    "I'm clairvoyant."
    "This isn't funny," I said, my body going through two emotions at once. Not only were my hands clammy from a possible heart attack, but my cheeks were flushed from feeling silly at the prospect of Bianca's imaginary lawsuit.
    "Let's bet on it. I bet she won't sue you. If I lose, I'll pay all your court costs including the judgment. If I win, you make éclairs one day a week for the next ten years."
    I rested my head on the back of the chair and grinned. "So you have something really horrible on her, don't you?"
    He pointed to his lips. "These are sealed."
    I could see him eyeing my plate so I passed it over.
    "You sure?" he asked.
    "I've been nibbling," I lied. I traced a finger around the rim of my coffee cup. "How long have you known Bianca?"
    "Too long."
    "She's a rich kid too."
    "You bet. Her family is old money."
    "How do you know her?"
    "Us rich kids find each other," he said and winked. "A bunch of us hung out in high school. My private boys school and her private girl's school. We have tons of mutual friends and when we started college, we all still hung out."
    "And why don't you like her?"
    He chuckled. "She's a vulture. She picks away at your dead flesh and when there's nothing more, she moves on." Zach paused. "Look, Jake is crazy about her, and when she dumps him, and she will, he's going to come slinking back to you, but not for the reasons you want."
    I rolled coffee around in my mug. I'd never once told him how I felt about Jake . . . I'd never told anyone so was it that obvious? "I'm not sure what you mean."
    "I think you're a funny, smart and gorgeous girl who can get any guy she wants, but you don't put yourself out there. The problem is that the one guy you do want doesn't want you back. You've got to stop pining for him. Truth be told, he's a loser."
    My back went up. "He's not a loser."
    "He totally is and he'd be lucky to have a girl like you."
    "Are you BSing me to make me feel better?"
    "I've dated a lot of Biancas. I really need to be dating more Emmas."
    "I think us Emmas would prefer you date only one of us at a time."
    Zach rose and grabbed both our plates. "See what I mean? You have a sense of humor. Jake