Page 157 of Can't Text This

Her words hit the center of my chest and it knocks the breath out of me.

“How can you even say that?”

“Because I love you, you dumbass.”

I rear back at her words. My perfect, girl-next-door, goody-two-shoes Monty…she just cussed.

And it sounded as absolutely ridiculous as I thought it would.

Laughing, I push my forehead against hers again.

“Yeah?”

“Yes—so much.”

“Good, because I love you too.”

I seal my lips to hers again, and this time I don’t stop.

Epilogue

Monty

One year later

“Miss Andrews,can I have another donut?”

“Call her Monty, dude. How many times have we told you?”

Xavier smiles sheepishly from his perch at the counter. “Sorry. Monty, can I have another donut?”

“May you,” I correct him.

“Yes, I may.” He grabs the last donut sitting inside the box and takes a huge bite of it. He pats his stomach. “Hits the spot.”

We did it.

We made it through the school year without letting Xavier know we’re dating.

There was a lengthy discussion about whether or not we should tell him, especially since there was no longer any chance of a conflict with him moving to second grade, but we decided it’d be best to keep things under wraps. He did start the year as my student, after all, and it only felt right.

The afternoon school let out, we went for ice cream, all three of us together for the first time.

It was the best afternoon I’d had in a long while.

“Once you’re done with your donut, can you go grab Thumbelina?”

Xavier sits up, mouth twisted in confusion. “What for? It’s not time for her to be out yet.”

Robbie lifts a brow at his kid. “First, because I said so. Second, because I said so. And third, in case you were wondering if there was one, be—”

“Because you said so,” his son interrupts. “Yeah, yeah. I get it.”

I try hard not to laugh, and I find myself doing that a lot lately.

Xavier might favor Holly in looks, but he isallRobbie in personality, right down to the sarcasm.

He finishes off his donut, hops down from the stool, and then snaps his fingers. “I remember!”

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