“I know you’re a bright young man; your grades from high school were excellent. SAT, ACT…but you are simply not living up to your full potential.” Dean Barton pushed up his glasses as he leaned against his elbows on his desk. “And can I be honest?”

“We’re all friends here.” Colton Frost glared at the man, knowing what he was going to say before he said it, knowing that were he any other freshman, he wouldn’t have a one-on-one meeting with the dean of Business.

Dean Barton sat back on his chair, letting his girth pull him onto a more relaxed position as he crossed his arms. “If your grades don’t come up, you’ll have to take a semester off with a suspension.”

Colton rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to go back home, not under these circumstances. He could only imagine his dad’s reaction.

“I’m trying.”

“I understand. High school is so easy for some students that when they get to college and actually have to study, it’s a shock.”

“Yeah. A real shock.” Colton folded his arms tightly.

The dean eyed Colton and then took out a sticky note pad and wrote a name and number on it. “Since it’s statistics giving you fits, I’m going to recommend you call someone to help you study. Thomas Knott is in your class and is doing very well. I’ve spoken with him and he’s willing to tutor you.”

Thomas Knott? He had to be joking. That guy was so weird. He just stared at people and was so awkward. Of course, he was doing well in his classes; what else was there for him to do? “Great, thanks. I’ll get right on that.”

Colton stood and pulled his backpack over his shoulder. As he turned to leave, Dean Barton cleared his throat.

Turning, Colton sighed loudly at the dean’s hand holding out the pen-marked sticky note in his direction.

“Call him.”

Colton snatched the paper, read the number, and then shoved it in his pocket. “Will do.”

When hell freezes over.

His friends weren’t usually on campus so early, so Colton headed to the line for Starbucks in the quad. Couldn’t hurt to be more alert.

Not to mention that since he’d looked at Thomas Knott’s number, it had been rattling around in his brain like a song he couldn’t stop singing. Sometimes numbers did that. Drove Colton nuts.

When it came to classes, the problem wasn’t that Colton didn’t understand the material, it was that he found better things to do. School was boring. A tutor, particularly a weirdo tutor, wasn’t going to help that.

As he waited, an attractive young lady with coppery skin and natural hair cleared her throat behind him.

He turned slightly to give her side eye.

She smiled and offered her hand. “I’m Rose, don’t I know you?”

“I don’t think so.” Colton turned and eyed her. She was very pretty with wide brown eyes and a pouty mouth.

“We had business essentials before you dropped. And I think we go to the same church?”

Colton smiled through his deep sigh. “Yeah, it’s a big church.”

A megachurch. A part of his life he was trying to escape on campus, but a place like that followed you.

“It is. I love it, though. Feel so welcome there.” Rose moved behind him as they inched closer to the barista. “You want to have some coffee and chat, or are you…”

“Oh, I’ve got to do some reading and then class. Maybe another time?” Another time like never. The last thing he wanted was a church groupie.

Rose beamed. She did have a nice smile and kind eyes. “Let me get your number, okay?”

She pulled out her phone, shot a quick picture of Colton and then stared at him expectantly.

For a moment, Colton was stunned. What could he do but give her his number and then

maybe try to put her off until she got the hint?

But then … he had another idea.

He smiled and recited Thomas Knott’s number.