Chantal Fernando - Toxic Girl

A huge thank you to the people that were with me every day as I wrote this book.

Ari - I could write a whole page thanking you.

Thank you for your amazing work and everything you do for me. I couldn’t live without you! Oh and thank you for the boxes full of tasty treats and presents! You spoil me! Love ya Cherry…

JC Emery - Thank you for the daily writing sprints, and the encouragement. I really appreciate it.

Pepper Winters - Thank you for being there for me. My signing buddy—I’m going to be seeing a lot of you this year. Lol. Next up- Edinburgh!

Thank you to my beta readers: Kara Brown, Stephanie Knowles, Claudia Juarez, Kimberly Brower and Alice Priday.

Kimberly - thank you so very much for your help on this book. You were honest and I really appreciate the time and effort you put in.

Kara - I annoy more than anyone else, sending her chapters of my work in progress at any random time. I appreciate the time you put in to help me. Thank you so much.

Thank you to my sister Tee, for everything you do for me. You’re my rock.

Becky at Hot Tree Editing - Thanks so much for all your hard work. I really enjoy working with you!

Jenny Sims - Thanks for your help!

A HUGE thanks to Rose and Tash at Forever Me Romance blog for everything they do for me!

Last but not least I want to thank my eldest son Ty. Even though he can’t read my books (and he’s asked), he’s my biggest fan. If you ask him, he will tell you what I’m writing, and all the books I’ve written in order of release.

I love you Ty. You, Tahj & Jax are the reason I breathe.

Never forget that.

I hope you all enjoy Toxic Girl!

For my cousin Sasha.

Why? Because she knows exactly who I am…

And she loves me anyway.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, gathering courage.

I can do this. I know I can.

Why?

Because it’s amazing what you can do when you have no choice.

I keep my gaze downcast, not looking anyone in the eye.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look anyone in the eye again.

I swallow hard, and push everything out of my mind.

I push out why I’m here, why I need to be here.

I make my mind go blank.

I forget who I am.

Instead, I become who I need to be.

A Toxic Girl.

I clutch the strap to my bag, hitching it higher up on my shoulder. Saying I am overwhelmed is an understatement. There is little else I can do except stare wide-eyed at the uni I have transferred to. I am in my second year, new to town, and only know one person—my roommate, Anaya. The two of us are sharing a two-bedroom apartment about a five-minute walk away from here. The place isn’t anything to brag about, but it’s home for now.

Today is our first day. Anaya’s classes start a couple of hours before mine, so I’m left to fend for myself, but I keep hoping to see a flash of her red hair around campus. As I walk toward a three-story brick building, I hope it’s the one I’m supposed to be at. Anaya gave me a quick tour a few days ago, but I’m still slightly confused. I glance down at my class schedule, scanning it to find the room number again. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Today is a new beginning for me, a fresh start. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

As I turn a corner in the direction I think I’m meant to be going, I walk straight into someone’s hard chest. A big, warm hand clasps my wrist, preventing me from falling on my ass.

“Sorry,” I mutter, as our eyes connect and hold. I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry as I take him in. He has dark brown eyes, twin dimples—which he’s currently showing off, and shaggy dark hair. He’s slightly unshaven, giving him a sexy, rugged appearance.

“You okay?” he asks as I gently pull my wrist away from his touch. He gives me an odd look, his brows furrowing.

“Fine,” I manage to say. For some reason, I can’t look away from him. I find myself staring at his dark eyes—framed by long, thick, black lashes. He’s tall and muscled. Holy hotness.

“I’m Grayson,” he says, looking down at me. His expression is open and curious, searching even.

I blink once, not replying. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

He clears his throat. “And you are?”

I bite my lip. “Paris,” I say. My voice comes out a little hoarse. He smells good. Really, really good.

“Paris,” he says to himself, as if testing out my name. If all the guys here look like him—let’s just say I’ve walked out of hell and straight into heaven. “It suits you.”

“Umm, thanks,” I say, shifting my feet.

He smirks and takes a step even closer, invading my personal space.

“Boundaries,” I say.

“What?” he asks, a smirk playing on his perfect mouth.

I take a step back. “Nothing.” I don’t have time for this. I need to get my ass to class. I mumble something about needing to go, and then head in the direction I think my class is in.

“Where are you off to?” he asks, gently catching my elbow.

“Ancient history,” I say, turning my body halfway around to face him.

“Ancient history is that way, Paris,” he says with a chuckle. I turn around to see him pointing in the opposite direction. Red-faced, I head toward where he’s pointing.

“See you around,” he calls out, then turns around and begins walking off. I ignore him, inhale deeply, square my shoulders, and walk to my class.

* * *

I take the first vacant seat I can find toward the back of the room, keeping my eyes down and not looking at anyone. I don’t need any attention; I get more than enough of that after school hours. Someone sits at the desk next to me, but I don’t look up or even risk glancing at them.

“Nice of you to save me a seat,” comes a deep familiar voice. His scent once again invades my senses.

Grayson.

“You’re in this class?” I ask, leaning back in my seat.

“I am. I would have walked you here, but I had to drop something off to my friend Bryce. He’s—”

I cut him off. “Okay.” I don’t know why he’s explaining himself to me.

“I just didn’t want you to think I was an asshole for not walking you to a class you obviously didn’t know how to get to,” he says.

“I got here just fine,” I point out.

“That you did,” he says. He turns his body toward me. “What class do you have after this?”

“Why?” I ask, suspicion lacing my tone.

“Just curious,” he says, grinning playfully. “Were you conceived in Paris?”

I almost fall out of my chair. “What kind of question is that?” I ask, gaping.

“Your parents named you it for a reason,” he says, shrugging.

“No, my mum just liked the name,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. Is he going to ask me questions throughout this whole class? I glance around. Maybe I can switch chairs with someone.

When I look back at him, his eyes are still on me. “I haven’t seen you around here.”

“Is that your version of a pick-up line?” I ask, pulling out my file and opening it. Everything is organized into categories and colour coded. Just the way I like it.

Silence. “Just being friendly, Paris.”

Great, now I feel like shit. “Want some gum?” I ask him, pulling some out of my pocket and offering him a piece to break the ice.

“Sure,” he says, showing off those dimples. He takes the piece from my hand, and my palm tingles from the contact of his fingers. This one is dangerous. The attraction is there—I can feel it, and I think he can feel it too. I offer him a slight smile, and then turn to face the front of the class.

The lecturer speaks, saving me from having to socialise. I keep my head faced to the front, my eyes locked on the man speaking. I pull out my purple pen and start jotting down notes, wanting to be on top of things from the get-go.

He clears his throat. “Can I borrow a pen?”

I put my pen down and turn my head to look at him. His warm brown eyes look at me expectantly, his dark hair curling behind his ears. I force myself to move my gaze away from his face, to stop taking in every inch of him.

“You came to your first day with no pen?” I ask, blinking slowly.

He shrugs and flashes me a boyish smile. I wonder if he knows that he could use that smile as a weapon, or if he’s somehow unaware of his charm. I hope it’s the latter, but most likely it’s the former. I open my pencil case, trying to find an appropriate-looking pen. Baby blue with sparkles, that’s going to have to do. I hand it over to him, making sure our hands don’t touch, and wait for him to complain about the girly pen. Instead, he surprises me by smiling and thanking me. I scrunch my eyebrows, turning back to face the front of the room. When I feel his gaze on me, I ignore it. When he keeps staring, I decide to say something.

I turn to him and tilt my head. “Okay, what?” I ask.

“What?” he asks, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?” I ask him, trying to keep my tone casual. I push my light blond hair off my face and arch an eyebrow.

He fights a smile. “No, you don’t have anything on your face.”

“Then what?”

“Then nothing. You’re just beautiful, and I like looking at you,” he says, shrugging as if it’s no big deal.

“Oh,” I reply, apparently having nothing witty to say back to him. His lip twitches before he looks down at his work. Now it’s me who’s staring at him. He smiles knowingly, but keeps his eyes on the paper in front of him, and I force myself to look away. There is seriously something about him. Sean Paul’s “Other Side of Love” plays as my phone rings. I cringe, realising I forgot to put it on silent. I grab it out of my bra and turn the volume down. I look around to see everyone staring at me. Great.

“Nice place to put your phone,” Grayson says, his eyes twinkling in amusement. I roll my eyes and slide my phone into my bag, careful not to make eye contact with anyone else. I hear the lecturer ask a question, and I slide deeper into my chair hoping he doesn’t ask me. The chances are small, but I really don’t feel like talking in front of this new group of people. I’m not surprised when Grayson calls out the correct answer and the lecturer praises him.

“So …” he says, getting my attention. I turn to him and raise an eyebrow. He’s good-looking—I’ll give him that. Those dark eyes and dimples matched with a muscled athletic body … I can’t see many girls saying no to that. He smirks, and I know that he saw me check him out. Dammit.

“So?” I reply, staring back.

“Are you single?” he asks me. Straight-out, no games. I like that.

“Are you?” I counter.

He grins. “I am, and if I wasn’t, I would be now.”

What? “Am I supposed to be charmed?”

“Yes,” he says, smiling a little shyly this time. “At least, I hope so.”

I lift my shoulder in a shrug. “I guess I’m a little charmed. But not charmed enough.”

He chuckles at my reply, shaking his head at me in an amused way. “I guess I have my work cut out for me then.”

I fight a smile in return. “You have no idea.”

The rest of the class passes quickly, and soon I’m standing and shoving my books back into my bag. Grayson moves to stand in front of me and hands me back my pen.

“Keep it,” I tell him, quirking my lip. Can’t have him going to his next class without a pen. I pick up my bag and walk out of the class without looking back.

* * *

I take a bite out of my sandwich when someone sits next to me. I know without looking who it is by the light scent of his cologne.

“I’m pretty sure stalking is illegal,” I mumble into my sandwich, not looking up at him.