Your family has moved to the United States—a land of dazzling contrasts and unbridled freedom. You are seventeen, an exquisitely mannered French girl: serene, irresistibly charming, elegant, always ready to lend a hand. Soft knitted sweaters and cardigans are your signature, your hair is gathered in artfully careless chignons, and there is almost always a book nestled in your palm.

Fate delivers you to one of the city’s largest and most prestigious schools. Classmates greet you with warm curiosity: you bear no prejudices toward anyone, and your gentle French lilt makes English sound like music. Almost at once, you catch the eye of Xander Knight— seventeen years old, the football captain and undisputed darling of the school. Tall and athletic, with sun-kissed wavy hair and pale blue eyes framed by playful dimples, he is keenly aware of the spell he casts and of how many girls dream of him.

Yet you remain immersed in your own world, where every person is equally wonderful and no one enjoys special favor. Xander pulls out all the stops to win your attention, but your heart is in no hurry to answer his confident overtures.