Cole doesn’t look offended at all. “How about we get you home and into bed?” I don’t miss the way his eyes gleam when he says the last word.

Gross.

Sawyer nods emphatically. “Yes, please.”

After trading places with Sawyer and exchanging goodbyes with them, I spot Stone walking out of Cluck You.

Running over, I wrap my arms around him. “Happy Anniversary.”

Body going slack, he squeezes me tight and breathes me in…as if he needed this hug more than his next heartbeat.

“Everything okay?”

I’m not sure what to make of his expression when we break apart, but he’s definitely not happy.

“No.” Frowning, he looks down at his shoes. “I didn’t get into the pre-med program.” He snorts. “They fucking waitlisted me.”

Oh, shit.

The crestfallen look on his face punches straight through my heart.

However, hope isn’t lost just yet.

“I know it sucks getting waitlisted, but there’s still a chance—”

“No, there isn’t,” he snaps. “You think Duke’s Heart is going to take some dirt-poor motherfucker like me over a bunch of rich assholes whose parents have connections?” Head hanging low, he ambles to his car. “I fucking knew this was gonna happen. Don’t even know why I bothered trying to begin with.”

He tried because he wants better for himself.

He tried because he’s determined and hard-working.

He tried because he’s not the type to give up, despite whatever obstacles are in his way.

It’s just one of the many reasons I love him.

Framing his face with my hands, I utter, “You’re amazing and smart—”

“Stop.” He removes my hands. “I don’t need or want your pity.”

It’s not pity…it’s love.

But he’s so upset right now, feeling like the universe is against him, he can’t tell them apart.

“Stone?”

“What?” he grinds out.

“What can I do?”

Because there has to be something.

Dark brows snap together and his shoulders hunch. “Nothing.” Turning to his car, he gets inside. “I just want to be left alone.”

I ignore the disappointment in my chest as the engine roars to life.

“Get in. I’ll drop you off at home.”

Part of me wants to argue because I don’t want to leave him alone tonight, but I think there might be a way I can help him after all.

I know Stone loathes rich kids whose parents have connections…but his girlfriend happens to be one of them.

And she’s going to use it to his advantage.

“Is Dad home?” I ask Jace as I pass him on the staircase.

“Yeah, actually. He’s in his office.” I continue up the stairs, but he stops me. “I saw your acceptance letter from Duke’s Heart on the kitchen table.” His face lights up. “I’m proud—”

“Can we catch up later, Jace? I really need to talk to Dad.”

As happy as I am to be attending college with my brothers and their girls, I can’t celebrate quite yet.

Not until I know Stone will be there too.

He blinks. “Yeah…sure. Is everything okay?”

“No, but it will be.”

Brushing past him, I sprint up the stairs and into my father’s office.

“Hey, Dad. Do you have a minute?”

He presses a button on his phone. “For you? I have a million.” Speaking back into the receiver, he says, “Nadia, darling. I’ll have to call you back in a bit. Bianca needs to talk to me.” He smiles. “I love you.”

Hearing him tell another woman who isn’t my mother that he loves her should probably make me angry, but it’s hard when I see how happy Nadia makes him.

My chest knots.

He deserves someone who loves him unconditionally.

After hanging up with Nadia, he looks at me. “What’s up, sweetheart?”

Heart beating fast, I walk over to the empty chair across from his desk and take a seat. I haven’t worked out what to say exactly, but my father is the best person to help me because he owns the largest pharmaceutical company in the country…which means he has a lot of connections in the medical industry.

“My boyfriend, Stone—”

His green eyes narrow. “The DaSilva boy.”

It takes everything in me not to scream because the one thing Jace, Cole, and my father all seem to agree on is that I should never be allowed to have a boyfriend.

“Yes, Stone DaSilva.” I can’t help but fidget because I’m nervous. “He applied to the pre-med program at Duke’s Heart.”

My father seems impressed. “Good for him. It’s a tough program, but also one of the very best in the nation. Lots of great doctors come out of there.”

I sit up straight. “I know, and he worked so hard for it.” I lick my dry lips. “However, he found out today that he was waitlisted.”

He rubs his chin, assessing me. “Okay.”

Time to stop talking in circles and get to the point. “I guess I was hoping…you know, with all of your connections—”

“You want me to see if I can get him into the program,” he concludes with a sigh.

I draw in a breath. “Yes.”

It feels like an eternity before he speaks. “Bianca, you know I love you, but asking me to do a favor for some boy—”

“He isn’t some boy, Dad.” I stand, my frustration rising. “I love him.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare him down. “Stone is the hardest working person I’ve ever met, and he deserves to be in that program.” I punch my finger into the mahogany wood of his desk. “All I’m asking for is a phone call so they give him a chance.” I throw my hands up. “But if you don’t want to help me, it’s fine. Because I will figure out another way to make it happen.”

Stone’s dreams are my dreams and come hell or high water, he’s getting into that program.

“Wow,” my dad whispers.

I glare at him. “Wow, what?”

He sits there—staring at me—for what feels like an eternity before he finally speaks. “You remind me so much of your mother right now. She was always so passionate about the things—the people—she believed in.”

My muscles lock up and my heart seizes. “Oh.”

Scrubbing a hand down his face, he leans back in his chair. “This young man is really important to you, huh?”

I look him right in the eyes. “I wouldn’t be here asking for your help if he wasn’t.”

A long-defeated sigh escapes him. “I’ll make a few phone calls tomorrow.”

Chapter 34

I can barely contain the excitement coursing through me when Stone opens the door to his apartment.

He doesn’t know it yet, but my dad was able to get him into the pre-med program.

They’ll be sending out his acceptance letter this afternoon, but I wanted to be the first person to tell him.

He perks up a bit when he sees me. “Hey—”

“I have to tell you something, but I need you to promise me you won’t get upset,” I blurt out.