Page 18 of My Pucking Valentine

SIXTEEN

CLARA

OHMIGOD.

I love you, too. I think I’ve dreamed of that simple sentence for months. I didn’t even know I needed it so much but I do. Him inside of me, those eyes focused on mine and his soft gaze.

It’s perfection.

Eventually, he slips from my body and rolls onto his back. Immediately, he gathers me in his arms, holding me against the side of his body. I place my palm against his chest to push up slightly and look into his eyes.

“What do you want to talk about?” I ask.

I don’t want to ask him. I’m happy living in denial, but at the same time, I need to know. Is he going to be dating someone else in public? Is he going to lose his job? What is actually happening tomorrow?

“I didn’t lose my job. So far, my contract is still in good standing.”

Letting out a breath, I watch him, waiting for the rest of it. I don’t know what he’s going to say, what he’s going to do, but the fact that he’s not telling me immediately, that he’s dancing around, it makes me think that he has something he needs to say that I’m not going to want to hear.

“Luke?” I ask.

He clears his throat, his eyes never leaving mine. “They wanted me to date someone else. To pretend that this wasn’t anything, so, hopefully, it would be swept under the rug and forgotten.”

“But?”

“I told them that didn’t work for me.”

Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times and wait for him to finish before I ask any more questions because I have a million of those right now. He cups my cheek and slides his thumb across my bottom lip.

“What happens now?” I ask, though my voice only comes out in a whisper.

Smiling, he shakes his head. “The plan, for now, is to go on some podcasts and talk about it. Together.”

“I can’t,” I say.

Immediately, I react without even thinking about the words. I just know that there is no way I can talk about any of this publicly. They’re going to talk about the video. They’re going to talk about the fact that I’m a teacher. And they’re going to try and make us seem wrong.

I even struggle with the way I feel about Luke toeing the line between right and wrong. Other people really don’t get it.

“Clara,” Luke rasps. “We have done nothing wrong, and I refuse to feel bad about being with the woman I love.”

My heart swells so much that I half expect it to explode out of my chest and burst around us. He loves me. I can’t believe he’s saying it out loud. He loves me. My whole body breaks out into goose bumps. He pulls me a little closer to his body, likely thinking that I’m cold. But I’m not. I’m just that overwhelmed.

“What if the world doesn’t believe us, Luke? What if it affects your team?”

He can’t hide the instant fear that fills him from my question. I can tell he’s worried about that, too, but he’s trying not to let that fear in or at least show it to me. Because every time it surfaces, it’s gone in almost an instant.

I open my mouth then snap it closed. I’m not sure what to say at this point. I just don’t think that his plan is going to work. It seems like it’s a shot from the hip. Live in denial and just fake it until you make it.

“I don’t think it’s going to work,” I whisper.

He runs his fingers through my hair, his eyes searching mine as he does, and then he grins. “It’s going to work.”

He sounds so confident. I want it to be true. I want it all to be true, but inwardly, I’m not so sure it will be. I’m afraid this is going to blow up in our faces—explode, really. I believe it will. I don’t see how either of us can come out of this unscathed.

“I hope so,” I whisper.

“Just rest, baby.”

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