Page 3 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

Just before they disappeared, though, Elliot turned back and winked at Lucy, making her knees feel slightly weak. She bit her lip. Developing a crush on her brother’s best friend hadn’t been her plan for her first week of college, but it was already too late to do anything about it. With any luck, her feelings would pass. After all, she needed to focus on studying and getting used tocollege life, not mooning over a guy who wouldn’t have looked twice at her if he weren’t being nice for her brother’s sake.

“Come on.” Dominic nudged her with his shoulder. “It isn’t quite dinnertime, so I’ll buy you an Eastwick sweatshirt before we head over.”

“I don’t really need one,” Lucy protested.

“Yes, you do. Everyone here has one. I wouldn’t want you not to fit in.” Dominic smiled at Lucy. “So, what do you think of our college so far?”

“I love it.” Lucy grinned at him. “It’s everything I imagined when you described it to me.”

In truth, Lucy had chosen Eastwick completely because of her brother. Dominic was not just her only sibling but also her closest friend. They’d spent a lot of time together in high school, and she’d missed him dearly the last three years when he’d been away at college. It made sense for her to follow him to Eastwick, and Dominic had been thrilled with her decision.

“Perfect. Now, do you have any questions I didn’t cover in our tour?”

“Hmm.” What Lucy really wanted to ask about was Elliot, but she didn’t want to lead with that. “Do you know the professors I’ll have?”

“I know your stats professor, Professor Jenkins. Or Harry. He likes people to call him Harry. He’s nice and great at teaching, but he has high standards. You’ll want to make sure you get every piece of work in on time.”

Lucy nodded fervently. “I will.”

“I know you will, Lucy Goose. And don’t worry, you’ll do great in college. I have no doubt about that.”

“Thanks.” Lucy smiled, hesitated, then decided to go for it. “I also wanted to ask about Elliot. I know he’s your best friend.”

“He is.” Dominic nodded. They veered to the left, around the side of the library and towards the small collection of shops and restaurants across the street. “He’s great.”

“He seemed really nice.” Lucy looked up at the canopy of green leaves overhead, remembering Elliot’s hand on hers.

“He is.” Dominic hesitated. “But I’d be careful, Lucy. He’sverycharming, but he’s also a total playboy. He’s with a girl at every party, and I’ve rarely seen him with the same one twice. He’s a great friend, but… well. Just be careful.”

“Right.” Lucy’s heart sank. “Of course. Yeah.”

It wasn’t like she’d been planning to date Elliot, but Lucy was still disappointed by her brother’s honest evaluation. Maybe Elliot had been nice to her not only because she was Dominic’s little sister, but also because he flirted with every girl he met. Lucy would need to keep her distance.

“Sunil and Mike are great, too,” Dominic continued casually. “Sunil is incredibly smart. Did you know that he loves movies?”

Dominic continued into a story about his friends, but Lucy was only half listening. She kept thinking about Elliot and his smile and his big brown eyes. Of course she had a crush on someone who was a terrible choice. It was just like in high school, when she’d had fleeting crushes on celebrities but never found herself attracted to someone attainable.

Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Lucy was at Eastwick to learn and to spend time with her brother, not to fall in love. She’d have plenty of time for romance later — after she graduated.

For the rest of the evening, Lucy focused on picking out an Eastwick sweatshirt in the college’s signature dark green, enjoying a dinner of Chinese food with her brother, and setting up the remainder of her things in her dorm. Her new roommate, Karin, had already put up a few posters of baby animals, so they had a conversation about their mutual love of all that was cute and tiny. By the time Lucy went to bed, she was in a good mood again. Love might not be in the cards for her, but a great college experience definitely was.

As Lucy drifted off to sleep that night under her new Eastwick duvet — another gift from Dominic — she listed, once more, the reasons why it would be a mistake to date Elliot. One, Dominic told her his friend was a playboy. Two, Lucy needed to focus on her education. And three, Lucy had never had a real relationship before. Her first one shouldn’t be with a guy who would break her heart.

CHAPTER 2

ELLIOT

The moment Elliot Cobb saw Dominic’s little sister, he knew he was in trouble.

First of all, she was gorgeous in a sweet, self-conscious way with her long, wavy brown hair and those blue eyes that sparkled like cloudless summer skies. In her shorts and pink top with her backpack on, she looked every bit the eager freshman, yet Elliot knew there was more to her.

Dominic really had bragged about his talented younger sister almost constantly from the moment they’d met, so Elliot knew a few things. He knew that Lucy had won a high school design competition last year from a flyer she’d created for the after-school program where she volunteered. He knew that she wasn’t just on the swim team but had also been the captain for her last two years. He knew that she had big dreams and stellar grades, just like her older brother. And he knew that she was absolutely, completely, definitely off-limits.

If Elliot hadn’t known that from the beginning, the warning look Dominic shot him outside the sports complex would have let him know.

That night, Elliot went with Mike and Sunil to a start-of-the-year party in a student house just off campus. As they walked up to the building, the loud music and crowd of people gathering outside let them know they were in the right place. A few familiar faces toasted him with their red Solo cups as they approached.

“No Dominic today, huh?” Mike asked as they climbed the three steps to the front door.

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