I was preoccupied. That's the only excuse I have for what happened next. My mind was a million miles away.

We were winning the game – that was for sure. There was no way Jenkins and his friends could catch up with a score of three to nothing in so little time. That was why I felt confident in letting my mind wander. If his team had been slightly better, things would have happened a lot differently.

Maybe. Sometimes, accidents seem like they’re meant to happen.

I absently saw Brian steal the ball. Then he looked at me and I knew he was passing it to me in the hopes that I could score another goal. But, of course, being so lost in thought, I didn't stop to think but acted instinctively. I saw the ball heading for my face and reflexively kicked it away.

"Damn it, Mike!" Brian yelled at me as the ball went sailing over the field and into the bleachers.

Most people got out of the way.

Unfortunately, one girl did not.

"Oh, no."

"Way to go, Mike," Brian said, coming up behind me.

I ignored him and ran for the bleachers where people were moving away, following the medic's orders. I saw Tonie Melman smiling faintly beside the girl's unconscious form as she looked at me. I glared at her. She always seemed to find me funny.

I climbed up the bleachers and knelt down beside the doctor, who was examining her head, and for the first time, I saw her face.

Except it wasn't the first time. I'd just seen her with Tonie, and even then she had looked familiar. I’d seen her many times before, often at Tonie’s parties and a few boring functions for the stupidly rich. I had always thought she was kind of pretty, even though I had no idea who she was. I didn’t really talk to many people during parties. Maybe I should have paid more attention to those things, I found myself musing stupidly.

I shook head. Get a grip, Harding. Now's not the time to strategize about picking up girls.

"Is she all right?" I asked the medic anxiously.

"She'll be fine, Mr. Harding," the doctor reassured me. "Just going to have a little headache. All she needs now is a cold compress to bring the swelling down and to minimize the bruising."

I reached for the first aid kit, found one, and put it over her cheek and right eye just as Aaron Jenkins came barreling through the crowd.

"Is she okay?" he demanded.

I frowned up at him, noting his concern. "Do you know her?"

"She's my cousin, Jamie."

So that's her name, I thought. Jamie. Then I stopped suddenly, feeling cold. Jamie...Jenkins? Visions of tabloid headlines danced across my head. Nat Jenkins' daughter: brained by Harding's son.

"Damn," I muttered. If my father ever heard of this, he'd blow the whole thing out of proportion.

But I didn't have time to dwell on that because the girl – Jamie – began to stir, her eyelids fluttering.

"She's coming to," the doctor said calmly and Jamie opened her eyes.

She was looking right at me.

It was her eyes that got me then. Up close, they were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. They were the most amazing shade of gray, and they seemed to switch from serene and translucent to stormy. Her pupils were wide and dark in contrast. I couldn’t stop staring.

She blinked, breaking eye contact, and sat up.

I felt suffocated, then realized that I’d been holding my breath.

“What happened?” she asked a little groggily.

“You got hit by a ball,” Aaron said from behind me, sounding vastly amused for some reason, despite the fact that I’d nearly brained his cousin.

“What? How did that happen?” she moaned, feeling her face. She winced upon encountering the bruise.

“Maybe you should ask Mike that,” Tonie suggested.

She looked at me suspiciously. “Oh, no. You didn’t—”

“I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized, giving Tonie the dirtiest look I could. “I guess I wasn’t really thinking—”

“Oh, of course you weren’t!” she exclaimed in a voice that dripped sarcasm and wallowed in it. “It isn’t expected of you, anyway.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Jamie, don’t,” Aaron warned.

“No, let her say what she wants to say,” I told him icily.

“I don’t have anything else to say,” she said, glaring at me. “Except the apology is most definitely not accepted.”

Aaron groaned. “It’s the blow to the head,” he told me. “Of course, she forgives you. Can we just forget about this...?”

“It’s not like I hit you on purpose,” I argued.

“Oh, here we go,” Tonie said, still sounding like she was having fun.

“People like you don’t do things on purpose,” she went on angrily. “You’re like accidents waiting to happen – and don’t you try to shush me, Aaron. It’s entirely your fault that I’m here in the first place. Why are you taking his side, anyway? You’re not going to let him get away with this because he’s a Harding, are you?”

Aaron sighed heavily. I saw him turn to Brian out of the corner of my eye. “I should apologize in advance for any injuries my cousin will most probably inflict on your brother.”

“I’ve heard about her,” Brian replied, sounding impressed. “Did she really punch a guy on your wrestling team?”

“That’s a lie. She kicked him. Somewhere men should never be kicked.”

“Do you mind?” Jamie demanded acidly.

“You should really keep the cold compress on,” I told her.

Every single person nearby held his breath.

“You mean I have a bruise?” she asked in a voice that was chillingly quiet. “You gave me a bruise?”

“I already apologized! What more do you want?”

“Just get away from me,” she snapped.

Gee, you’re a real brat, aren’t you? I almost said aloud. I probably would have, if Brian hadn’t chosen that exact moment to grab my arm and haul me to my feet.

“Let’s go, Mike.”

“But I—”

“Just don’t. Please. Or you’ll get us both in trouble.”

“This isn’t over, Harding,” the girl said menacingly.

“Oh, yeah? Well then—”

“One more word, Mike!” Brian interrupted, his voice rising. I turned to him abruptly. He looked like he was going to have a coronary.

I sighed and let him drag me away. I didn’t look away from her, however. I stared at Jamie Jenkins’ furious, pretty face and beautiful burning eyes for as long as she was in sight.