Page 1 of Collecting Her Debt

PROLOGUE

Dear Ms. Gaines,

We have reviewed your appeal for the Hemshaw Grant and have unfortunately come to the conclusion that you do not qualify. We appreciate your enthusiasm and love for the Early Childhood Education Master’s Program here at Elora University and encourage you to apply again next year.

Good luck and best wishes.

Jenette Mcreedy, Dean

Well, isn’t that a great way to start your Monday morning? I applied for the Hemshaw Grant, hoping and praying for a miracle because I knew I wouldn’t have enough saved up to pay for my courses this year. And now I’m sitting in my dorm room with dread washing over me because I have no idea where I’ll get fifty thousand dollars in three months. My parents paid for my last degree, and they agreed that a master’s was a smart leap forward but told me that my education fund had run out, and I would be left to my own devices.

What I didn’t expect was to be left completely on my own, trying to find a way to make it all work. Financial aid was out the window. My parents make too much money, and in their eyes, that apparently means so do I, so that’s out. Not counting the Hemshaw Grant, I’ve applied to every single scholarship you can imagine and have been rejected every time. If I don’t come up with something soon, my dreams will be nothing but a flicker on the horizon.

Zack: Hey, babe, come over and hang for a bit. My dad opened the pool today.

At the mention of Zack’s dad, my heart rate picks up. I know I shouldn’t have a secret crush on my boyfriend’s dad, but when he looks like Mr. Bishop, it’s inevitable. Colton Bishop is a mystery to me. I’ve met him a handful of times over the past year, smiling in passing as I come over to see Zack, but those memories linger. The way his eyes would follow me as if there was this pull between us. The way his hands would fist at his sides whenever we were in the same room always made me weak in the knees. Yet I kept my distance, stayed close to Zack, and wished away my feelings because being attracted to a man almost twice my age isn’t exactly ideal. And when that man is also your boyfriend’s father? It’s even worse.

Me: I’ll be there in a half an hour

I shut my laptop, shaking the anxiety off as if it were a cardigan, and head toward my closet. I ruffle through some piles of clothes until I find my navy-blue bikini, the one that covers just enough to be decent, and shove it into my bag. I should probably get changed here to save time, but getting across town at this hour isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, so I want to get on the road as fast as possible.

I take one last look at myself in the full-length mirror that hangs on the back of my closet door, ignoring the bags under my eyes and the defeated haze over my face, and plaster that fake smile that’s been getting me through these past few weeks. Maybe I can spend the night with Zack and forget my impending doom for a few hours.

Parking outside the Bishops’ residence always causes my breath to catch because it looks like something out ofThe Great Gatsby, with the large white columns adorning the entrance, the mile-long gravel driveway, and the hedges that appear to be three times the size of normal ones.

“You know you don’t have to gawk at it every time you come over.” A deep voice echoes across the way, and when my head turns, my heart almost drops to the floor. Colton Bishop is standing in front of me wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. His gloriously tanned skin shows off just how much time he spends perfecting that body and gives me an uninterrupted look at his tattoos. I can’t help as my eyes rake over him, taking in the splattering of black and gray ink that travels from his chest and down both arms toward his elbows.

“H-Hello, Mr. Bishop,” I say quietly, tilting my head down so he doesn’t see just how much his presence affects me. “Is Zack already in the pool?” He nods, his eyes never leaving me as I make my way up the staircase toward the front door.

“Sutton?” Mr. Bishop asks, his voice settling between us. “Everything okay?” Those dark brown eyes stare me down, causing every alarm bell inside my head to ring. He can’t know what’s happening. He’ll try to fix it, and I can’t have him do that. Zack has always been hush-hush about what his dad does for a living. I’ve asked more than once, joking about him being in the mob, but Zack just rolls his eyes and says that it’s embarrassing and he would rather not talk about it. At the time, I agreed, but on many occasions, I’ve tried to google Colton, the need to know more about him gnawing at my insides. But I always come up empty.

“Yup, just school stress, you know?” His head tilts to the side, eyeing me suspiciously before he gives me a small smile, nodding. “I’ll see you around,” I say before turning and bolting into the house. The second the door shuts behind me, I slump against it, taking a deep breath and reminding myself that I can’t long for a man like Mr. Bishop. I just can’t.

As I step out into the backyard, I shade my eyes with my hand against the sun’s reflection off the water and squint until I see a lone figure lying on one of the many lounge chairs.

“My, don’t you look comfy?” I mutter, putting down my bag as Zack opens his eyes.

“Hey baby, you got here quick,” he says, pulling me down to sit next to him. Before I can even answer him, his mouth latches onto mine, his groan lingering between us. “Fuck, I’ve missed you. This past week has been hell.” I blush. I can’t help it. Knowing a guy misses me sends a thrill through my body. Zack has always been attentive, loving, and lustful when it came to our relationship, and that’s why I push my thoughts of Mr. Bishop out of my head. Zack is one of the good ones, and I can’t do that to him. Or to me.

“How long have you been out here?” I ask, seeing the tinge of red on his skin. Unlike his father, Zack is as pale as me, so seeing that makes me think he’s been out here a while.

“Maybe about an hour? I just finished my last exam, so I thought I would relax for a bit.” I close my eyes, wishing I had his life, knowing that everything would be okay no matter what he chose to do next year. As much as I love Zack, our lives couldn’t be more different. He grew up wealthy, while I grew up middle class. I had enough money to survive and afford certain luxuries but nothing to his extent.

“You should put some sunscreen on. You’re getting a bit red.” He eyes his chest, muttering a curse under his breath as he sits up. “I’m gonna go inside and change into my suit, okay?” He nods, taking the bottle of sunscreen off the table and squirting it into the palms of his hands.

“Hurry back, babe. I have plans for us in that pool.” He winks, making me pause. Don’t get me wrong, Zack and I have had a great sex life over the past year, but something has been different over the last few months. He seems far away, reserved, and not as interested as he used to be. Yet from the way his eyes are taking me in as I stand over him, it’s like something’s shifted, and we’re back to normal.

I scurry away, hauling my bag over my shoulder and taking the stairs two at a time, wanting to get back down to the pool as quickly as possible. I open Zack’s bedroom door, taking a deep breath and smelling his familiar cologne, and I smirk to myself as I throw my bag onto his bed. As I’m pulling up my swimsuit bottoms, a ping echoes across the room. I’m familiar with that sound. It’s his computer telling him he has an email. I ignore it, but then it goes off again and again until I can’t take it anymore. I stride over to his desk and wake his computer up, hoping I can turn off the sound. I’m hoping I can spend the night tonight, so listening to that sound later will only drive me crazy.

The second the screen turns on, my eyes scan the keyboard to find the volume button. Just as I’m about to press it down, another notification sounds, and this time, my eyes catch the bubble.

Auction Closed. All bids are suspended.

Huh, that’s weird. Zack never told me he was bidding on anything, but as my eyes scan the room and I see signed baseballs from hall of fame players, hockey jerseys signed and notarized hanging on his wall, and his coveted hockey card collection sitting in a glass case, I remind myself who I’m dating. I shake my head, wondering what he bought this time and cringing at the money it probably cost him, hating that seed of envy that sparks in my belly.

I hit the mute button just as another notification appears. This one makes me pause.

Congratulations, SexManiac34, you are the winner of tonight’s auction. Click here to claim your prize.

---