Page 27 of The Ruse

Did he really think all he had to do was pay me a compliment and whisper a few words in my ear and I’d fall at his feet?

He barely even knew me.

Plus, who was he to assume that he was even my type?

Sure, guys who looked like he did wereeverygirl’s type. But for all he knew, I could be into shy, homely-looking guys with great personalities.

I wanted to correct his cocky assumption that I’d even be interested in him, but then Miss Crawley called for everyone to come back for the second half of our read-through.

“Sounds like it’s time to start.” I straightened my shoulders and met his gaze. “As much as I want to stay and chat with someone asattractiveandcharmingas you,” I said, hoping he’d catch on to how unimpressed I was by his arrogance. “I better get back to my seat.”

Then I walked away without giving him the chance to say anything else.

9

ASHER

Well…thathadn’t gone to plan.

It was true that I hadn’t exactly had the best welcome back to Eden Falls, but I’d thought for sure that if I turned up the charm a little with Elyse, she’d just lap it up like other girls had in the past.

I mean, that’s how it usually worked for me.

But something must really be off with me today because instead of looking interested, she’d only been annoyed. Even while we sang what many people would consider to be one of the most romantic duets of all time, “All I Ask of You,” she was stone-faced—barely even looking my way as we sang together.

Which I guess just showed that she was either really, really interested in dating Nash in a way that she couldn’t even look at another guy…or she just wasn’t interested inme.

For my pride’s sake, I hoped it was the former. I didn’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t rely on my looks or flirting skills anymore.

Not that my usual charm was working so great when everyone believed that I killed my girlfriend.

But even if Elyse only had eyes for Nash, my new plan could still work since she didn’t necessarily need to be interested in me. I just needed Nash tothinkI was a threat.

And let’s face it, Nash was bound to get riled up over any amount of time I spent with Elyse.

So when Miss Crawley ended our rehearsal by giving us a few more details about this weekend’s retreat, I formulated version number two ofOperation Annoy the Crap Out of Nash.

The first step of that plan would be to apologize to Elyse for acting like an egotistical jerk who thought every girl bowed down at his feet. And after I’d groveled a little, I would simply try to befriend her.

Would me being friends with Elyse drive Nash bonkers?

Yes. I was one-hundred percent certain that Nash’s blood would boil if he saw Elyse and me spending any amount of time together outside of rehearsal.

But that was just a secondary perk, because it really would be nice to have at least one friend at this school.

As everyone chatted excitedly about their plans for the retreat as they walked toward the wing where the dormitories were located, I followed closely behind Elyse.

She said goodbye to Cambrielle and Nash in the school’s lobby—they would be heading home for dinner with their perfect family. And just before she opened the door to the common room of our house, I said, “Hey, Elyse, can I talk to you for a second?”

She turned around, and when she saw it was me, Elyse furrowed her brow in confusion.

I looked at the painting of one of the old headmasters on the wall behind Elyse, trying to figure out exactly what I was going to say since I hadn’t rehearsed this particular speech.

I cleared my throat. “Um, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I don’t know what got into me.”

“Yeah, what was that about, anyway?” she asked.

“Well…” I adjusted the strap of my backpack on my shoulder. Then, deciding to just go with the truth, I said, “I guess I saw Nash watching us and I wanted to see what he’d do if he saw me flirting with you.”

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