Page 30 of My Forbidden Professor

Daniel stares at me and his mouth curves into a wide grin. “Deal. You pay me and Steph Smith will never see me again.”

Chapter Thirteen

Steph

The drive through Vermont from the university carried us through winding roads and the breathtaking landscapes of lush forests and rolling hills. I cracked my window to let in the fresh, crisp air tinged with pine and wildflowers. We stopped at a quaint New England town with its white-steepled church and historic buildings for lunch before continuing past the occasional farm with red barns and golden fields. The drive became not just a physical distance, but a sensory experience to be savored.

And savor it I did.

After a rushed week of getting a good chunk of our dissertation written, work from other subjects and stealing away with Jacob any chance I could, I need the rest. One good thing about the week was Daniel’s absence. I didn’t even see him in class. I hadn’t realized how stressed I was until Jacob picked me up and we left the university grounds behind us. I was still tense the first two hours of the drive, but now, three hours later as Jacob pulls to a stop outside the Airbnb he’s hired, tension bleeds right out of me.

I step out of Jacob’s car and look around. The air is so fresh compared to the city. I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. When I open them, I take in the small, immaculate cottage in front of me. Creamy white with dark shutters and a red door, it looks like something out of an ad for a vacation destination.

Jacob unloads our bags from his Subaru, before a gleaming sparkle captures my attention. “There’s a lake, Jacob! Right at the back of the house.”

He places the bags on the ground and watches me, his lips curving into a smile that only makes his handsome face even more devastatingly attractive.

“You chose this on purpose.”

I circle around the car and make my way to the little gate at the end of a slate path that leads to a pier that juts out into the water. Two Adriatic chairs are positioned on the pier to look out over the lake.

The breeze ruffles the surface of the water, making it sparkle in the sunlight. The glossy surface reflects the blue sky, fluffy white clouds and green trees lining the shore on the opposite bank. It’s a fairytale.

I open the gate and step onto the path. Jacob comes behind me, the bags still set neatly beside his car. I can barely bite back all the joy that wants to spill over and turn into thrilled laughter. “This is amazing!”

“I’m glad. Let’s check it out, shall we?” His smile washes over me again, and damn if it doesn’t knock me flat-footed, sinking its claws deep around my heart and squeezing so hard I lose my breath.

I can’t believe I have this man all to myself for four whole days. This beautiful little house by the lake is going to give us the perfect weekend.

Jacob takes my hand as I step onto the wooden planks of the pier and leads me to the end. He moves the chairs close, angling them toward each other. I sit and gaze at the lake, stretched before me in a mirror-like expanse. A gentle breeze picks up and ruffles through my hair as though the world itself is aligning with contentment.

Jacob sits and I chuckle as the timbers creak under his weight and he shoots me a faux wary look. I like seeing him relaxed and joking. I like this unbuttoned side of him. He thumbs the back of my hand in gentle strokes as he looks out over the water.

“It’s so beautiful here,” I say.

A soft smile plays on his mouth, “We have the whole area to ourselves. I hope you’re not worried. There’s no one about for miles.”

Wind rustles the leaves and stirs the scents of nature around me. “I don’t think you know how good that sounds,” I say.

“You like it here.” A statement. Not a question. I turn to see Jacob’s expression locked on me. Seeing me.

I relax back in the chair. “Believe me. It’s nice not to hear traffic. Even when you’re twenty stories high. I’ve never been to the country. Not like this.”

“You’ve never been on vacation?” he asks.

“Oh, I’ve been on vacation. But Mom loves the city and the beach. Hawaii was always her favorite. I’d stay with Dad, especially during summer when I was on school break, but he’s always worked hard. I fit in with his schedule more than anything. One year, he taught me to frame a house. He always settled for the more educational vacations.” I chuckle, remembering the sprawling mansion he managed to build. That was back when Blue Sky was going from strength to strength. When he was more hands-on and before he hired someone to manage building crews. Years ago.

“You can frame a house?” Jacob says.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. I spent more time on the beach where he was doing the build than hammering nails,” I say. “An eight-year-old really shouldn’t be on a building site. Or constructing a house for a client.”

“Your dad expected you to work when you were eight?” Jacob sits up in his chair.

I can’t help the smile play on my mouth. “Get that picture out of your head. It wasn’t like that. Dad is a good guy. I pleaded to go on site with him and he relented. I thought I wanted to learn the family business and he finally agreed to take me.”

It was either that or stay in the condo with the sitter. I didn’t have any friends to stay with and Mom, being her typical self, was busy with her career. I don’t say any of that to Jacob though. He doesn’t need to know about the abject loneliness of my childhood.

“Is that what you want now? To take over his business one day?” Jacob asks.

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