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hell was Gaia even
doing
here, anyway? Wasn’t she supposed to be off in Europe or something? Maybe Ed’s weirdness didn’t have to do with their little bargain. Ed had blown her off yesterday on the phone; he’d stiffed her earlier today. Maybe this was about Gaia.
    Every time Gaia Moore turned up in Heather’s world, she ruined everything. With her Greek goddess name and looks, she caused trouble everywhere she went.
They should have named her Nemesis,
Heather thought miserably, following Tina, Megan, and the others to a table.
That’s Greek, isn’t it?
A hollow laugh escaped her lips. The knot in her stomach disentangled and then re-formed, harder than before. Heather felt like she’d swallowed a crystal. Or a splinter of glass. Unconsciously her eyes wandered back to Ed and Gaia.
    There’s no way Ed would tell Gaia about what he agreed to do for me, is there?
    No. Of course not.
Ed loved her. And she loved him.
She had no doubts about that. They trusted each other. But still, deep down, she knew she was compromising that love and trust by asking him to hang on to his settlement—to discourage anyone from thinking he would walk again so as to help Heather’s family financially.
    She was barely conscious of slumping down between Megan and Tina. At least they were being polite to her. That was something. Recently they’d treated her like dirt. They’d drop her in a second if they knew she was broke, too. God, it was an awful mixture, love and money. Heather didn’t have a choice not to take this path. She had to help her family. Even if it meant risking her relationship with Ed.
    Because if she didn’t help them, who would?
    â€œOH, GOD, GAIA,” SAM MURMURED, wrapping Gaia tightly in his arms. “I’m so sorry. I’m so,so sorry....”
    Soap Opera Cliché
    Gaia found herself surrendering to his embrace. It was so strange: She was fearless, powerful, strong, a fighter. But in Sam’s presence she was powerless to resist a simple hug. She’d walked into this dorm room with every intention of scolding him for their missed date. She had planned to let him have it—to tell him about her whole encounter with the burglar, about waking up alone in his hall and staggering home, about buying the rose and throwing it away... but the moment Sam had seen her, he’d apologized profusely and then begun to kiss the nape of her neck.
    And in seconds, somehow every ounce of anger and annoyance had slipped from her mind.
    She still wasn’t used to this. The feeling that she’d just swallowed a ten-pound bag of Pop Rocks or turned into one five-foot, ten-inch-tall circuit board. Her body transformed into a map of electrical nerve centers that fired off whenever Sam’s mouth grazed hers, whenever his fingers touched her skin.
Her reaction was so completely predictable: Sam came near, she went haywire.
Every time. But its predictability didn’t make it any less thrilling.
    Before she knew it, they were collapsing onto Sam’s bed, and Sam’s arms were wrapping around her upper body. She kissed his neck, feeling the pulse beat against her lips.
    â€œYou are so beautiful,” Sam murmured. His hand slid gently from her shoulders, caressing the exposed small of her back just below her T-shirt. Gaia’s heart hammered. And as he brought his mouth to hers for a slow, deep kiss, she trembled.
Nothing could be more perfect than this moment.
Sam’s kiss grew urgent, his palm tightening around Gaia’s right hand, pressing it flat and smooth against the sheets on his bed.
    â€œI want you,” he whispered, his voice husky and full of need.
    As if watching herself from afar, Gaia broke from the kiss. Her breath came fast. She gazed into Sam’s beautifully kaleidoscopic, cut-glass eyes—the amber color burning with feeling and raw energy. Whatever had been worrying Sam seemed to have vanished. Now he was all