Page 78 of Wicked Prince

"Tell him to fuck off, then—and your dad, too, while you're at it. If nothing else, the fact that Kayleigh likes him so much should be all the reason you need to be wary of him."

That actually does seem to give her pause. More than the whole disappearing people thing, at any rate. "And you're just looking out for me?" she asks flatly. "For my own good. Is that it?"

"I don't know why you find that so hard to believe," I tell her. "I'm not the one who ended things."

"Ended what, the lucrative opportunity to be your mistress?" she snaps.

Before I can respond to that, I realize we're not alone. I look up to find Stefan standing at the end of the hall, a look of faux concern on his face as he eyes us both.

"Everything okay?" he asks warily.

"Everything's fine," Amelia says, pushing past me. "Lorenzo's just lost. Do you mind if we get going? I'm still not feeling too hot."

"Of course," Stefan says, putting a hand on her shoulder to lead her back down the hall. He glances back at me, a faint smile on his lips.

Son of a bitch.

I'm tempted to stop her again, but shy of physically kidnapping her and throwing her in my car, there's not much I can do to deter her from going with him if she won't listen to reason. He might not be an immediate danger to her, especially considering who her father is, but the idea of him being anywhere near her still makes my skin crawl.

The kidnapping idea is sounding better by the second.

ChapterThirty

AMELIA

As I wait for Stefan outside the guest housing on campus, I find myself stewing on the events of the night before. Specifically, Lorenzo's behavior.

Who the hell does he think he is?

Oh, that's right.

Lorenzo Rossi.

Silly question.

It figures the one time he isn't content to just pretend like I don't exist in public is when I happen to be with his nemesis, by all appearances. At least, that seems to characterize the relationship between them on Lorenzo's end.

Stefan really doesn't seem to care all that much, one way or another. That, or he's just mature enough to be capable of putting on a civilized front for other people.

I still can't get Lorenzo's words out of my mind, which happens often enough. This time, though, it's for a different reason.

I can't help but wonder… is he just jealous, or is there a grain of truth to his warning about Stefan?

When the door opens and Stefan walks out, smiling brighter than the sun shining above us on a particularly pleasant morning, I feel ridiculous for even thinking that.

Of course it's just Lorenzo being jealous. He only wants what he can't have, so it figures he would do or say whatever it takes to keep someone else from playing with a toy he's already bored with.

"Good morning," Stefan says in his usual pleasant tone. I'm not sure why I'm surprised he's a morning person, considering how cheerful he managed to remain at the airport.

"Good morning," I reply. His cheerfulness is admittedly kind of contagious. "How was your night?"

"It was okay," he answers. "I'm pretty sure there's either a ghost or a drunk frat boy living down the hall, though."

"Well, it is Bainbridge. It might be both."

He chuckles, falling into step alongside me. "It's a nice day. I'd be tempted to suggest we cut class, but I don't want to get you in trouble, and I should probably go for at least one day if I'm thinking about transferring."

"Probably," I agree. "You should at least know what you're in for, before you end up being bored to death."

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