Page 12 of Tattooed By Her Silver Fox

Shit. I sit back in my seat and punch at the steering wheel. “I’m sorry I put you in this situation, Vi. Getting you in trouble is the last thing I’d want to do. But, you have to admit, it’s a stupid rule.”

She turns to me. Her eyes hold pure steel in their depths. “But it’s the rule, and we can’t ignore that.”

“There are other schools to teach in,” I say before realizing the words are leaving my mouth.

She gives me a look. So, I follow up with, “And Bash won’t be here forever. Once the year is over, Robby is moving him to the school closer to their house.”

“That’s not really the point.” She’s seething at me. I’ve pissed her off, but I’m not sure how to fix this issue. “Would you give up your shop to marry me?”

“In a fucking heartbeat, Sweetness.” And I mean it. I can work anywhere as long as I know Vi is waiting for me at home.

“Really,” she tilts her head and studies me. “You’d be willing to give up your shop if that’s what it takes to have me?”

I reach for her hand and hold it to my chest. “I love my shop. It took me years to save up the money, and every day that I walk in the building knowing I own, it is a damn blessing. But I can build a shop from the ground up again. There will never be another woman like you for me.”

Her eyes are glowing with tears, and she wipes at her nose. I’ve struck a chord, but I can tell this isn’t easy for her. Vi is still young and still afraid of the unknown. I have to honor that fear and let her find her own way, even if it kills me to watch, knowing her way might not include me.

“We’ve moved really fast,” she starts, and I hear the heartbreak in her voice. “I think over the last few weeks, I’ve fallen in love with you, Fox.” She cups her palm around my cheek, and I lean into her. “I didn’t know I could feel this deeply about anyone. That’s the gift you’ve given me.”

I watch a single tear run down her cheek, and my breath catches. “Don’t say what you’re about to say. You’re upset and have every right to be. Sleep on it. Give me an answer tomorrow, or whenever you’re ready, but don’t make your decision tonight.”I reach the pad of my thumb to under her eyes and wipe away the tears. “Promise me that.”

Vi nods in agreement. She’s too choked up to speak, and it’s stabbing me in the heart not to be able to end this agony for Vi. She collects her school bag and is out of the jeep and headed for her door.

I want to follow. I could hold Vi and soothe the hurt and be her support, but Vi has to figure out what she wants on her own.

It’s a fucking sucker punch to the gut, but once she’s safely inside, I pull the jeep onto the road and make for home, hoping whatever she decides, I’m still a part of the outcome.

7

Vi

No one ever told me love could hurt this much. In three years of dating the same guy, I didn’t have this much pain when he broke it off with me and married six months later.

I can’t even sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see Fox’s face right before I left his jeep, and my stomach twists all over again.

I want him. There is no denying how badly I ache for him to be here to hold me. To kiss away the tears and take away the pain as only Fox can. I want to marry him. The only thing holding me back is the fear we’re rushing into things, and that uncertainty will be our downfall.

I barely make it through the day with the kid’s normal Friday crazy. Bash is especially excitable, and I give him an extra hug on the way out the door when he tells me his Papa Fox is taking him fishing over the weekend.

That means Fox will be away for at least part of the next two days. By the time I make it home, I’m too drained to do anything more than change into my jammies and crawl in bed to watch old black and white movies and cry.

Fox sends a text he’s thinking of me, and I respond with hoping he’s enjoying the fishing. Saturday is much of the same. More movies and too much ice cream. I have plans to prepare for the next week, but I can’t bring myself to even turn on my computer.

Once Sunday hits, I’ve had about as much of my selfish wallowing as I can stand. I hit the shower early, finish up my planning and meal prep of the week, and head over to Claire’s for dinner. She’s heard all about the incident with Fox in the hallways and swears it isn’t all over the school, but I know too wall how the teacher’s lounge works. By tomorrow I won’t be able to look into the face of any of my colleagues without seeing my indiscretion reflected in their eyes.

“How will I face everyone tomorrow,” I ask Claire over a glass of wine.

She smiles as she usually does and pats my leg. “With your head held high.”

I wish I had her gumption. “You wouldn’t even care if it were you. You’d walk in that office and tell everyone they could take you with Fox, or they could do without you.”

Claire laughs and presses a finger to her nose. I think I make her snort wine, which has my mood lightening a bit. “I’d be too afraid they’d hand me my notice before I even finished the sentence.” She stops laughing, and her eyes grow serious. “But you, Vi. The parents in your class would riot if they thought they’d lose you mid-year.”

“Not when they find out why.”

Claire slaps my leg again, the stands, and circles the couch. “Why not? I’d pay money to see the look on Ms. Garcia’s face when you walk in her office and tell her she can fire your ass, you’re not giving up your man. Double points if you take Fox in with you. Triple if you kiss in her office.”

“Somehow, I don’t think it would work that way.” Even if I wish it would.

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