Winning the Heir Who Bullied Me Chapter 54

My arms drop to my side as I watch the bus grow smaller and smaller. What the hell?

Didn’t they do a head count before departing? Didn’t Eliza and June tell them I wasn’t on the bus?

“I told them not to worry,” a cold voice behind me says, and a chill runs through my body. “That you’d be riding back with me.”

I force myself to turn and not immediately break into a run when I spot Lucas’ smirk. The pretentious mask he shows the world is off his face, and he’s looking at me in all his sinister glory.

He gestures to his car. “Hop in.”

“I would—” I stop and clear my throat, determined to pass my message on with a steady voice. “I would rather walk.”

His smirk falls, and his eyes darken with that familiar feral anger. “You need to know when to stop playing, April.” He says the words like a threat.

“*You* need to realize that I’m not playing any sick game with you.”

Lucas takes a step closer, and I can’t help but retreat as my heart races. I barely take two steps back when my back collides with something warm and solid.

“What’s going on?” That familiar warm voice spreads through my body, banishing the chill, and a hand lays lightly on my hip to steady me.

Instantly, Lucas’ mask slams back on at the sight of his brother.

I turn to Nathan, relief flooding through me. “The bus accidentally left me behind,” I tell him. “Could I possible ride back with you?”

He glances over my shoulder at his brother, and I see a muscle tick in his jaw. Unlike Peter, Nathan knows what Lucas is capable of, and I see suspicion dance in his eyes.

“Sure,” he answers, his hand leaving my hip and gripping my arm.

“I already offered her a ride,” Lucas says.

Nathan’s grip on my arm tightens ever so slightly, and his eyes harden as he looks at his brother. “And yet, she’s asking me.” His voice is tight. “So I guess that’s that.”

Without any more preamble, Nathan turns, leading me gently to his car.

He opens the passenger door for me, and I don’t bother turning back before I slide in. Nathan closes the door, and for the couple of seconds it takes him to round the car to the driver’s side, I take a deep, calming breath.

Instantly, Nathan’s intoxicating scent that fills his car wraps me up like a hug, comforting me.

“You’re safe,” I whisper to myself.

But a thought niggles the back of my mind. How many more near-misses do I get before Lucas gets his way with me?

I shake that thought away as Nathan’s door opens, and he slides in.

It’s at that moment that I realize that maybe I’m actually not safe. I traded up being in an enclosed space with Lucas Ashford, a man who makes my heart race and my palms sweat with fear, for Nathan Ashford, a man who makes my heart race and palms sweat for a whole other reason.

Maybe I should have found Peter and ridden back with him. Or walked.

Nathan doesn’t start the engine right away, turning to me instead. “Are you okay?”

I nod a little too enthusiastically. “Yeah…why wouldn’t I be?”

His eyes search my face, and I hold my breath. It’s crazy how they’re exactly like Lucas’ but completely different.

Finally, Nathan lets out a slow breath. “I don’t want you around Lucas,” he says.

I blink. “Huh?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t want you around Lucas. I don’t like how uncomfortable you always seem around him.”

I face straight ahead, not saying anything. I also don’t want me around Lucas, so no argument here.

Nathan starts the engine, and the car comes to life with a quiet hum.

As we pull out of the camp, silence descends on us. I realize I finally have what I’ve wanted since we got to this camp—alone time with Nathan.

But, of course, my nerves are all going haywire, and I can’t bring myself to break the silence.

*Get it together, girl. Are you going to be a little shy bitch all your life?*

“You—”

“I—”

Nathan and I start and stop talking at the same time.

“Sorry,” I mumble. “What did you want to say?”

He shakes his head. “You go first.”

I’m about to argue when I smack myself internally. He’s literally giving me the floor.

“I wanted to say thank you,” I say in a small voice.

“For what?” Nathan asks with furrowed brows.

“For June. Doctor Penny installed the insulin pump two nights ago.”

A small smile tugs at his lips. “She thanked me already,” he says, and my eyebrows raise. How did June manage to talk to Nathan when I couldn’t get a chance? “Said she loves being bionic.”

I let out a laugh. “She does love it.”

He nods, still smiling. “I’m glad.”

I open my mouth to say something else—something about how freaked he was when she’d had the reaction—but I close it. It’s a silly, unnecessary thing to bring up.

“Um, what did you want to say?” I ask instead.

“Oh, right.” He reaches out and taps on the screen. He opens the Spotify app and his hand drops. “I wanted to ask if you wanted to listen to music.”

“Oh…sure.”

He gestures to the screen. “Choose what you want.”

It’s such a casual request, but my heart skips a beat. I can’t believe I’m in a car with Nathan Ashford, about to share music.

Feeling very self-conscious, I lean towards the screen.

A small smile spreads on my lips when I see Nathan’s playlist. I recognize almost every artist on his playlist, and butterflies explode in my belly for the ridiculous reason that we have the same taste in music.

A small squeal escapes me when I see a particular album. “You listen to AJR?” I ask in delight.

Nathan smiles at me. “You know them?”

I nod. “They’re literally my favorite band.”

He chuckles and nods to the screen. “Play them then.” I tap on the first song and lean back into my seat as the melody starts to play.

*“Remember when we all got drunk, I ended up with two broke thumbs. Oh my God I felt so dumb, lucky me.”*

My eyes widen as I turn to Nathan, who’s singing along with the song.

During all the years I knew—and crushed heavily on—him, I gathered a lot of things about him. I knew he was smart, talented, popular, and could speak many languages, but I never knew he could *sing.*

Nathan glances at me, and his lips twitch at my obvious surprise. “Am I the only one in this singalong?”

Still staring at him, awestruck, my lips start to move. “*When all is going wrong and you’re scared as hell…”*

Nathan grins. *“What’you gonna do, who you gonna tell?”*

“*Maybe a hundred bad days make a hundred good stories,*” we chorus. “*A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties*.”

The moment is surreal. If someone had told high school April that she would one day be in a car with Nathan Ashford on a road trip, belting along to one of her favorite songs, she would have called immediate bullshit.

But here I am, the butterflies in my stomach making me feel dizzy, and it feels like nothing can ruin this perfect, *perfect* moment.