Page 20 of From Angel to Rogue

Adorable.

“Okay. I’ll just go get my jacket.”

“You can wear mine,” I muttered, running back to my window and digging for my zipper hoodie that I had flung on my desk earlier. Thankfully, I had some dollars stuffed in my jeans. “Here.” I handed her my hoodie.

“Thanks,” she muttered, her delicate fingers clasped around the sleeves as she pulled it around her. My hoodie swallowed her frame; she was taller than most girls, but I was taller than her. I had always been taller than the average person, but my recent growth spurt made my previous skinny, lanky form fill out a bit. I even had muscles showing up on my arms and abs.

I walked as close to her as I could get, digging my hands into the pockets of my jeans. Her sweet rose scent wafted my way whenever the wind brushed our skin, and I think I liked it. I liked it a lot. I wondered if her lips would taste like roses too. Not that I knew what roses tasted like.

“Do you always call your mom by her name?” Her question made my eyes slide to her. “I mean, you called her Lara earlier.”

“She’s not my mom. They are my parents’ friends. I just live with them.”

Her lips curved into an “O” as she frowned. “So that girl from earlier is not your sister?”

My lips twitched. Did she not like the fact that there was another girl our age under my roof? “Serena is a friend, but I’ve lived with her long enough that I consider her mysister.”I stressed the last word, and if I saw right, I’d say relief glowed in her eyes.

“Your parents… are they?” She hesitated, biting her plump lip. “Are they alive—”

“Yes, they are. They live out East. Let’s just say they are busy and wanted me to experience the whole small-town life.”

“I have never heard of something like that. What parents left their child with their friends? That seems so irresponsible and cold,” she muttered before her eyes rounded to saucers. “Not that I’m saying your parents are irresponsible. I’m sure they must have their reasons.”

Probably because they wanted their youngest to have the most normal life as possible. I did miss them, my family, my friends, and the only world I knew. But I liked living the regular American life with the Locksons.

“They do. They actually love their younger son a little too much and want him to experience small-town life. Let’s just say where I come from, that’s a little impossible.”

Twin City. That was my home, and normal wasn’t the right word to describe life up there.

My family, the Greigewoods, was one of the richest families in the world. Coming from seventh-generational wealth, we, the Greigewoods, amassed billions and were major stakeholders in the Twins. When a ransom attempt on me and my brother went wrong two years ago, they packed me up to go live with the Locksons, while my eldest stayed back. Lucien was the face of the legacy, so there was no escape for him.

“It’s an unusual arrangement. But as long as everyone is happy, who really cares, right?” she added with a small smile.

And it was only then that I realized I hadn’t even asked her name.

That was how befuddled she made me in a matter of minutes.

I wasn’t one to lose composure. I was laid back, calm, and collected, and nothing usually fazed me. Sometimes, my best friend Jon called me an unfeeling monster. I’d much rather prefer the term socially selective, more of a lone wolf who loved his company more than other humans.

Although I wondered if that would change if she were to keep me company.

“Your name?” I asked, memorizing the slope of her nose and the dip of her lips.

“Katy,” she replied sweetly. “Yours?”

“Landon.”

“Landon.” She spelled my name on her lips as if she was testing it, and right at that moment, I never wanted anyone else to ever call me by name except her.

“That’s Marty’s.” She pointed at the big blue sign on a huge corner store next to the gas station. “This is the biggest grocery store in our town. There’s another one on the other side of town, but it’s pretty much the same thing.”

I nodded as she led me, and just as we approached the door, I sprang before her and held the door open. I knew girls liked it when guys did that. And Katy very well did, judging how the red flushed across her face matched the maroon of my hoodie she was wearing.

I’d never imagined when Linda and Frank told us we would be moving to a town called Bellevue, that I would spend the first night trying to impress a girl.

She grabbed a basket from the stand, and I immediately took it away from her delicate fingers.

“What did you want to get?”

---