Excerpt Charity by Rochelle Paige

Charity by Rochelle Paige (Black Mountain Academy)
Each Black Mountain Academy book can be read as a standalone, and this one will connect to the Fortuity Duet.
Corby Kingβs skill on the ice was the only reason he ended up switching schools his senior year. He was being scouted by pro hockey teams, and his new foster dad thought Corby was the key to the Cougars winning a state championship.
Cutting through red tape was easy when you had money to burn, but Corby didnβt complain. Playing for his rival team was a small price to pay for a better chance at a full-ride to college.
What Corby didnβt expect was to meet someone heβd grow to love as much as hockey. Emmeline Cushing grew up in a different world than him, but Corby was determined to claim the shy girl who stole his heart.
Excerpt Charity by Rochelle Paige
βGood morning, Emmeline. Are you all ready for the new school year?β
βYup.β I nodded as I walked to stand in front of her on the other side of the long counter. βMy schedule is great, and Iβm looking forward to it.β
βOf course, itβs great.β Ms. Jansen pointed at the glass case on the wall to my left, where the school posted the lists for perfect attendance and honor roll. My name was on both and had been every semester I had been a student at BMA. βAfter all those dual enrollment courses youβve taken, you only need a couple more classes to graduate.β
Thinking about how light my schedule was this year, I grinned. βWhich is why Iβm the office aide during first period and have a study hall at the end of the day.β
βOh, thatβs right.β She swiveled in her chair to grab a sheet of paper from the printer. βYour first task of the day is to show one of our new students where each of his classes are. He did a quick tour last month, but you know how difficult it can be to navigate our building when youβre unfamiliar with everything.β
I glanced down at the paper after she handed it to me, and my breath caught in my throat when I recognized the name printed thereβCorby King. Holy crap, I was going to spend the next half hour or so guiding my new hot neighbor around the school. My mind was further blown when I scanned down the list of his classes and realized I had two classes and lunch with him. We also had study hall together during last period, but most students used that as an early dismissal instead of staying on campus. I was going to be seeing a lot of him around schoolβand I wouldnβt even need to bring my binoculars.
βSorry to interrupt. I was told to come in early for another tour before classes started.β
I whirled around at the sound of the deep voice, and an awkward laugh bubbled up my chest. Corby had no idea what Iβd just been thinking, but my cheeks filled with heat as though he did. I went to wave at him in greeting, but I forgot I was holding the printout of his schedule and almost gave myself a paper cut on my nose. Luckily, his gaze was aimed at Ms. Jansen, so he didnβt catch how lame I was right off the bat.
He was even hotter up close than he had been all those times Iβd gawked at him as he ran past my house. His blond hair was a little on the longer side, and a lock had dropped onto his forehead. His eyes were crystal blue, and his skin was lightly tanned. The white material of his polo stretched tight across his broad shoulders, and his biceps bulged just below the short sleeves. He had a good eight or nine inches on me, and I kept casting glances up at him out of the corner of my eye, so he didnβt realize I was staring at him.
βYou must be Corby?β He nodded, and Ms. Jansen continued, βEmmeline is going to show you to each of your classes.β
His blue eyes focused on me, and butterflies swirled in my belly. He gave me a head nod and said, βHey.β
βHi.β Getting that one tiny word out was hard enough. I couldnβt imagine what I was going to say to him while we were walking around. Just the two of us. Dang, I really needed to pull myself together before I started to hyperventilate.