PL

At Westview High, everyone has a story. Some people just hide theirs better. Ryker Gray has spent years existing quietly in the background—tall, handsome, observant, and almost unnervingly calm. He knows everyone, but hardly anyone actually knows him. He isn’t interested in popularity, drama, or proving himself. Then the new semester puts him in the same class as Maddy Perez. Maddy has seen Ryker around school before, but something about finally sitting across the room from him makes her look twice. Then twice becomes constantly. Ryker is different from the boys she’s used to. He’s quiet where they’re loud, patient where they’re aggressive, and impossible to read. He doesn’t chase her attention. He barely seems interested in getting anyone’s. Which only makes Maddy want his more. Soon, her curiosity turns into something much harder to control. She starts finding excuses to be around him, thinking about him when she’s with Nate, and becoming increasingly jealous whenever another girl gets too close. And Cassie notices. Because Cassie is starting to look at Ryker, too. Meanwhile, Nate Jacobs realizes that his girlfriend’s attention is slowly drifting toward the one person at school he can’t intimidate, understand, or control. Ryker never intended to become part of their world. But at Westview, nobody gets to stay uninvolved forever. Maddy wants him. Cassie wants him. Nate hates him. And Ryker? He’s just trying to figure out why the girl who has everything keeps looking at him like she wants something she can’t have.