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stopper in it. It will be fine.” And Emerson would gladly sacrifice a hot drink if it meant some one-on-one time for me with Hunter.
    “Well, yeah. We decided to see other people. I’ll be starting med school and she has another year here. Just made sense. I mean, the idea of living without her . . . it didn’t kill me, you know? And that’s what I asked myself. Can I live without her in my life?” He shrugged. “I figured I could.”
    “I never heard it put like that before.”
    He winced. “I guess I sound callous.”
    “No,” I quickly reassured him. “I think it was fair. To both of you.”
    He nodded and took a sip from his cup.
    “So,” I hedged, hoping I wouldn’t sound too obvious with my next question, “you’re not into long-distance relationships?” I had two more years here after this one, after all, assuming I finished on time. I hoped the right girl— me —could convince him that the challenge of a long-distance relationship would be worth it.
    “Oh, I could. I mean, I would. That didn’t factor into the breakup.”
    I smiled, relieved that he didn’t read anything into the question. Relieved that he didn’t realize I was fishing for myself.
    He smiled that achingly disarming smile of his back at me. I think it was his smile that endeared him to me the most. With all his advantages he could so easily be arrogant and full of himself, but he was just so good . “But for that to happen it’s gotta be right. It’s gotta be . . . special. You know?”
    I nodded dumbly, a fist tightening around my heart. Hope filled me. The hope that one day he would look up and see me as that someone special.
    “Sure.” I carefully sipped my hot latte. “I get that.”
    He leaned back in his chair. “Enough about me. What about you? Are you seeing anyone?” He winked. “Anyone I need to give the once-over, make sure they treat you right?”
    My face heated and I looked down at my cup, toying with the edge of the lid. “You don’t have to do that.”
    I didn’t know whether it was a good or bad thing—him adopting a protective role. If his motives were more selfish than altruistic it would be a good thing. Unfortunately, he’d always looked out for me in the same way he looked out for his sister. It was sweet, but only served to underscore his very platonic interest in me. I wanted, needed, him to look at me like a flesh-and-blood girl . . . someone he protected because he wanted me for himself.
    “And there isn’t anyone anyway,” I added.
    “Yeah. Well, when you do meet someone make sure he treats you right, Pepper. You deserve that.” His eyes softened, but not for the right reasons. Not because he saw me . His velvety brown eyes weren’t softening because he was overcome with tenderness for the me sitting in front of him right now.
    No. Looking at me, he saw twelve-year-old me. And the absolute suck that was my world—my past. A dead father. A mother God knows where. Growing up with a grandmother in her retirement community was a far cry from his idyllic life. He pitied me.
    “Well, I guess I’ll get Emerson her drink.” My throat suddenly thick, I stood, securing my bag around me before bending to collect the drinks from the round table in front of me. He followed me to the door, holding it open for me.
    Stepping outside after me, he gave me a quick hug, mindful of my cups. “Good talking to you. See you around, Pepper.”
    “Yeah, you, too.” My bright smile slipped as he turned away. I watched him move down the sidewalk, merging with the traffic of students.
    I stood there, blocking the entrance to the coffee shop until I couldn’t make out the back of him anymore. Until he became lost from sight.
    All the emotion, all the desperation I felt last night surged through me again. It came back with a vengeance. I knew what I had to do. If I was going to get him to look at me differently, minus the pity, I had to be different .

Chapter
5
    T here he
is.” Emerson shook her