Page 8 of The Last Trip

Even without looking directly at him, I know who he is. Tyler Edmonson, a student taking my class this semester. My eyes flick up to meet his slowly, regrettably, and his face alights like a firework.

“I thought that was you! Hey, I had a question about the assignment from Tuesday. I emailed you, not sure if you got it?—”

I hold up a hand, cutting him off. “I’ll get back with you during office hours. As you can see, I’m on my personal time right now.”

Tyler’s eyes go wide, then dart from me to her and back. “Oh, shoot. Right. Sorry. Okay.” He holds his hands up, retreating and nearly running into a waiter. “Sorry about that.”

Once he’s gone, I turn my attention back to her slowly, waiting to see how she’ll react.

She leans back in her chair, studying me. “Who was that?”

I swallow. “A student.”

“Yourstudent?”

I blink, not responding. Trying to decidehowto respond.

“You lied to me.”

“No, I didn’t. You asked if I was a student, and I said I’m not, which is the truth. I’m not a student.”

“You should’ve told me you were a professor. You know I’m a student. I’m on a scholarship. If we get into trouble, I could lose everything.” She gathers her napkin, wadding it up and moving to stand.

“Wait! Wait!” I stand too, holding up my hands to stop her from leaving. “Please.”

When she hesitates, I go all in. “I would never let that happen, okay? I swear to you, I wouldn’t. I wasn’t trying to trick you. Will you just hear me out?”

She’s quiet for a long while, staring around, refusing to look me in the eye.

“You’re a student, but you aren’tmystudent. It’s not against the rules, and even if it were, no one will find out if that’s how you want it to be. I can take care of you, take care of this. I just need you to trust me.”

She looks back at me with the single longest pause I’ve ever been forced to wait through. Entire conversations must be happening inside her head, conversations I’m not privy to, though I wish I was. If she’d let me in, I could help her understand. Finally, she rolls her eyes, looking away. If I’m reading her correctly, I don’t think she’s angry anymore. “Couldn’t you lose your job?”

Relief floods me as I suck in a deep breath, a smile playing on my lips. “It’s possible. What if I said you’re worth the risk?”

CHAPTER NINE

HER — PRESENT DAY

“So, my love, what are you craving for dinner?” Cal asks, sneaking up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist to touch my stomach as we finish putting away the groceries. He’s always doing that—holding us both. His hands cradle my bump as he nuzzles into my neck.

“Hmm, I was thinking something easy tonight. We can just snack if you want.”

He turns me around to face him. “Absolutely not. I’m going to cook whatever your heart desires.”

I chuckle. “Oh, is that right?”

He nods, easing me toward him with that sly smile I love so much. “You asked for a vacation, and that’s what you’re going to get.”

“But it’s your vacation, too,” I remind him, pulling his hand to my lips and kissing his fingers. They’re long, lean, and soft as they brush my cheek. “You deserve to rest.”

His hand goes to my stomach again. “I will have plenty of time to rest once you and baby girl have been fed.” After pressing a kiss to my nose, he tugs on my hands, pulling me toward the couch. “Now, why don’t you sit down, get off your feet, and letme handle the rest of the evening?” He lifts my feet, placing them on the coffee table carefully.

“We still have to unpack,” I remind him, though I’m in no hurry to move, if I’m being honest. Now that I’m still, I’m more in tune with the dull throbbing in my lower back and the aching of my feet. Maybe Cal’s right. I have a tendency to overdo things and not listen to my body, though this pregnancy has tried to force me to change that.

“We can unpack later.” He holds my foot, running his thumb over the spot that aches the most, as if he can sense it. “Right now, all I want you to think about is relaxing.”

I close my eyes on command and drop my head back against the couch, thinking of nothing except the way his hands feel. A smile creeps onto my lips, and I hear him sigh as he moves to sit on the coffee table, switching from one foot to the other.

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