Page 33 of Oops, My Professor Got Me Pregnant!

“Inviting you?” Nico gave an uncharacteristic snort. “We wouldn’t have come without you. You encouraged me to get outside more, and this is directly because of that. So, you’re the one we have to thank for this gorgeous day.”

Lauren blushed. “Well, you’re the one I have to thank for all the gorgeous days I’ve been having since I got to Paris.”

“Days and nights.” Nico winked, and Lauren blushed.

“Yes, and nights. I know we’re taking things slow, but I want you to know that I love spending time with you and Louis. It’s been wonderful.”

“We love spending time with you, too.” Nico gave Lauren a quick kiss on the cheek, then, when he saw that Louis was thoroughly distracted by a particularly fascinating stick, he tilted her face and kissed her more deeply. “To be continued,” he said when he pulled away.

Warmth and anticipation flooded Lauren. Somehow, Nico became more attractive to her with each day they spent together. She’d felt a strong physical pull from the very beginning, which had only grown, but seeing Nico as a professor and a father only increased her attraction.

“What’s for lunch?” Louis came bounding back over the stream. Nico introduced the options, and Louis grabbed an apple and a piece of bread before continuing his forest exploration. Lauren smiled after him.

“It seems like we’re going to have to entertain ourselves,” she pointed out.

“Don’t worry, I brought a whole stack of papers to grade.” At Lauren’s scowl, Nico laughed. “I did, but that doesn’t mean I have to do them right now.”

“No, we probably should. I brought some tests with me, too. This is the part of being a professor that I’m not loving.”

“The constant grading?”

“Yeah.” Lauren wrinkled her nose. “I like the students, and the teaching is getting easier. But the grading never gets more fun. And the spelling is atrocious.”

“Even the spelling in French is atrocious. And I don’t just mean yours.”

“Hey!”

“I am your professor.” Nico wiggled his eyebrows. “We’ll see what grade you get.”

“Conflict of interest!” Lauren whacked Nico gently on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry.” Nico grinned. “I’m actually having another professor grade your assignments, just to be safe.”

“How professional.” Lauren was actually impressed. She hadn’t considered that Nico might have taken steps to protect them from any sense of foul play, but she liked that he had. It made her feel cared-for.

“Is there more food?” Louis was back, a splatter of mud on one of his legs, looking flushed and happy.

“Of course. Would you like another piece of bread?”

“Sure.” Louis accepted the bread and flopped down onto the picnic blanket, signaling an end to the adult conversation. They spent the rest of the afternoon eating and enjoying each other’s company and the beautiful view. Louis went exploring a few more times, returning each time with a little more mud and grass stuck to him.

“It’s good that clothes can be washed,” Nico mused as Louis picked his way towards them across the meadow, a stick as tall as him grasped in his hand. “And faces.”

“True. But the memories will never be washed away.”

Nico looked at Lauren and they both burst into laughter.

“That was the cheesiest thing ever,” Nico said when he regained his breath. “You’re adorable. You should become a poet!”

“Not with a line like that!” Lauren giggled. “’Though the clothes will one day be clean; the memories will stay, if you know what I mean.’”

“That’s even worse!”

“I know!”

By the time they arrived back in central Paris that evening, all three of them were in good moods. The day out in the fresh country air, with no bear or snake sightings, had done them all good. Nico gave Lauren a long kiss outside her door before she went in, both of them ignoring Louis’s boos.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come back to my place?” Nico asked, Lauren’s hands clasped in his. She hesitated. It had been a long day, her shoes were muddy, and she had papers to grade. But really, there was no question.

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