Need Read Online Free

am peaceful and good. I am peaceful and good. I do not want to give anyone the finger.”
    I switch off the car, thrust myself out the door, and wait.
    The MINI Cooper guy jumps out of the car with the grace that only really good jocks have and lands on an ice patch without slipping at all. He has boots on. God, the guys up here wear boots: tan, I’m-a-carpenter boots. It’s like I’ve completely abandoned civilization.
    He slams the door, turns around, and finally notices that I exist. How kind of him.
    My heart stops. It starts again, but it beats a lot harder when I meet his eyes. I’m frozen there and he strides across the ice like he’s moving across gravel or grass. He doesn’t slip once. Each step he takes brings him closer to me, and he only stops when I make out the deep brown irises around his pupils, the tiny bit of stubble on his cheeks and chin (not too much but enough that you know he has to shave a lot). I can actually smell the musk of him. He’s so close it’s like he’s invading my territory-no, my personal space. I take a step backward and slip. His hand reaches out and grabs my elbow, balancing me.
    “Be careful. It’s wicked slippery here,” he says, a smile leaking across his face.
    I would smile back, but I’m too busy feeling all wiggly inside. I tough up my voice. “Oh. Yeah.”
    His thick chestnut hair lifts with the wind. He sniffs the air. “You sure you’re okay?”
    “I’ll be okay?”
    “Yeah. Thanks.”
    He nods and gives a little half smile and waves before he walks away. He strides, really. He’s beautiful, even from the back. I shake my head to stop staring, bustle off to the school’s front office, and push open the door. It’s a lot lighter than I expect. It slams into the wall with a big thud. My cheeks get all hot and I say, “Sorry.”
    The good-looking pale girl doing the announcements gives me one of those “Who the hell are you?” looks.
    I smile at her and try to channel total sweetness while I say it again. “Sorry.”
    It doesn’t work. She flings her long strawberry blond hair behind her shoulder and lifts her lip in a little snarl. I raise my eyebrows in some sort of movie move. Touche.
    My apology works on the school secretary, though. She perks right up and bustles over to the counter. She reminds me of Mrs. Santa Claus, only without the red jumpsuit and the sugar cookies.
    “Oh! You must be Zara White! Betty’s granddaughter.” She pushes her long, thinning hair behind her ears like a little girl. “You look so much like your mother. It’s really remarkable. I would have known you anywhere. It’s like twins… only different hair. You must have your father’s hair.”
    She takes a breath in the middle of her gushing and I take advantage.
    I nod, all awkward. “Yep, that’s me. Hi. I need to register for classes. Sorry if that makes extra work for you.”
    Evil Announcement Girl huffs and her nose actually twitches but the secretary smiles and says, “How sweet. She’s sorry. Your mother raised you well. I’m so sorry about your stepfather, dear.”
    A gulp sticks in my throat but the word manages to get out. “Thanks.”
    “I blew them, you know, your parents…”
    The secretary pulls off her glasses and squints at me with smiling pity eyes, then she pulls the edge of her shirt sleeves down closer to her wrists and hauls out a folder, plopping it on the counter. Evil Announcement Girl rolls her eyes and turns her back. The secretary lady doesn’t even notice. She yanks out a class schedule. “Here you go, sweetie. All your classes. I’m Mrs. Nix.”
    I take the computer printout with my shaking hand. The whole paper shakes with it. God.
    “It’ll be okay, dear. First day’s the hardest!” She turns to Evil Announcement Girl. “Megan, you want to show Zara to her first class?”
    Megan. What an absolutely perfect name for Evil Announcement Girl. Megans always hate me.
    This Megan isn’t about to break my record.
    She turns and