Chapter 5 Why Was He Looking For Me?

• Juliet Morgan's POV
• The moment Julia and I got home, she exploded.
• "What was that?"
• I blinked.
• "What was what?"
• She stared at me from across our apartment like I'd personally betrayed her.
• "Don't do that."
• "Do what?"
• "Act innocent."
• I dropped my bag onto the couch.
• "Julia, it's two in the morning."
• "And you were talking to Charles Harrison!"
• There it was.
• I should have known.
• I kicked off my shoes and headed toward the kitchen.
• Unfortunately, Julia followed.
• "How long has that been happening?"
• "It hasn't."
• "He knows your name."
• I froze.
• For exactly one second.
• Unfortunately, one second was all Julia needed.
• Her eyes widened.
• "Oh my God."
• "Don't."
• "He knows your name."
• "Julia."
• "He knows your name."
• I grabbed a bottle of water.
• "People know names."
• "Not Charles Harrison."
• I rolled my eyes.
• "You're being dramatic."
• "No, I'm being realistic."
• She pointed an accusing finger at me.
• "Do you know how many girls would faint if Charles Harrison asked about them?"
• "I didn't ask him to."
• "That's not helping your case."
• A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
• Julia groaned.
• "You're smiling."
• "I am not."
• "You are."
• I hated having a twin.
• There was no privacy.
• No hiding.
• No escape.
• She knew every expression I made.
• Every habit.
• Every lie.
• And right now, she looked entirely too pleased with herself.
• "Tell me everything."
• "There's nothing to tell."
• "You talked."
• "For five minutes."
• "He looked interested."
• I opened the refrigerator.
• Mostly because it gave me an excuse not to answer.
• Julia leaned against the counter.
• Waiting.
• Watching.
• Smirking.
• "You're impossible."
• "And you're avoiding the question."
• I sighed.
• "Fine."
• Her eyes lit up.
• "We talked."
• "About?"
• "Nothing."
• "That's not possible."
• "It is when you're interrupted every thirty seconds."
• Julia folded her arms.
• "And?"
• "And what?"
• "What was he like?"
• The answer appeared in my head immediately.
• Confident.
• Funny.
• Charming.
• Dangerous.
• Annoyingly attractive.
• I pushed the thoughts away.
• "Normal."
• Julia looked horrified.
• "Charles Harrison is not normal."
• "He's a person."
• "He's Charles Harrison."
• I pointed at her.
• "That's exactly the problem."
• She opened her mouth.
• Then closed it.
• Then laughed.
• "Okay, fair."
• Finally.
• Progress.
• I escaped to my room before she could start another interrogation.
• The second my door closed, silence filled the space.
• Blessed silence.
• I changed into pajamas and sat on my bed.
• Then immediately regretted it.
• Because now I was alone with my thoughts.
• And my thoughts were being irritating.
• Specifically, they were replaying every second of my conversation with Charles.
• His smile.
• His laugh.
• The way he looked directly at me when he spoke.
• The way he'd said my name.
• I groaned and buried my face in a pillow.
• This was ridiculous.
• I had exams coming up.
• A future career to focus on.
• Actual responsibilities.
• I did not have time to think about basketball players.
• Especially basketball players who probably spoke to hundreds of girls every month.
• With that comforting thought, I went to sleep.
• The next morning started normally.
• Which should have been my first warning.
• Nothing ever stayed normal for long.
• By noon, I was sitting in the medical library reviewing notes when my phone buzzed.
• A text from Julia.
• LOOK OUTSIDE.
• I frowned.
• Why?
• Three dots appeared.
• Then
• JUST LOOK.
• I sighed and glanced toward the large library windows.
• My heart nearly stopped.
• A black Ferrari sat parked outside.
• Students surrounded it.
• Phones were out.
• People were recording.
• Whispering.
• Pointing.
• And leaning casually against the driver's door was Charles Harrison.
• My stomach dropped.
• No.
• Absolutely not.
• He couldn't be here for me.
• That would be insane.
• My phone buzzed again.
• HE'S ASKING FOR YOU.
• I nearly choked.
• Across the library, several students were already looking my way.
• Great.
• Fantastic.
• Exactly what every introvert dreams about.
• I grabbed my books and marched outside before the entire university could gather.
• The moment Charles saw me, he smiled.
• And somehow that made things worse.
• "What are you doing here?"
• His smile widened.
• "Hello to you too."
• "Charles."
• "Juliet."
• I looked around.
• More students were stopping.
• Watching.
• Recording.
• I hated every second of it.
• "You have ten seconds."
• He laughed.
• "Only ten?"
• "Nine."
• "Harsh."
• "Eight."
• "Fine."
• He pushed himself away from the Ferrari.
• "I wanted to see you."
• I stared.
• He stared back.
• The ridiculous thing was that he looked completely serious.
• My pulse betrayed me immediately.
• "Why?"
• His expression shifted.
• Just slightly.
• Enough to tell me this wasn't random.
• This wasn't flirting.
• This wasn't coincidence.
• He was here for a reason.
• A real reason.
• Something important.
• "I need your help."
• I blinked.
• Of all the things I expected, that wasn't one of them.
• "My help?"
• "Yes."
• "With what?"
• A strange look crossed his face.
• Like he was trying to figure out how much to reveal.
• Not here.
• Not now.
• Not in front of half the university.
• "Can we talk somewhere private?"
• The crowd around us seemed to grow larger.
• More phones.
• More whispers.
• More attention.
• Exactly the situation I hated most.
• And somehow Charles looked equally uncomfortable.
• Interesting.
• That was new.
• I studied him carefully.
• For the first time since meeting him, he seemed nervous.
• Charles Harrison.
• Nervous.
• The realization caught me completely off guard.
• Whatever this was...
• It mattered.
• A lot.
• "Juliet."
• His voice was quieter now.
• More serious.
• "Please."
• I swallowed.
• Against my better judgment, curiosity won.
• "When?"
• A hint of relief flashed across his face.
• "Today."
• "Where?"
• "The coffee shop across campus."
• I hesitated.
• Every instinct told me this was a bad idea.
• A very bad idea.
• But another part of me wanted answers.
• And that part was getting louder.
• "Fine."
• His smile returned instantly.
• And for some reason, seeing it made my stomach flip.
• Again.
• "Three o'clock?"
• I nodded.
• "Three o'clock."
• For one brief second, something passed between us.
• Anticipation.
• Curiosity.
• Danger.
• Then Charles stepped back.
• The crowd immediately surged forward.
• Questions.
• Requests.
• Photos.
• Autographs.
• Attention.
• The entire circus returned.
• But before he disappeared into it, he looked back at me one last time.
• And suddenly I had a feeling that agreeing to meet him might become one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
• Or the most important.
• At exactly three o'clock, I was going to find out why Charles Harrison had come looking for me.
• And something told me the answer was going to change everything.