Page 296 of The Valentines Day Proposal

We split a piece of chocolate cake for dessert since I couldn’t get enough of it right now.

We were walking towards the car as I cursed how full I was and I looked across the street to see Liam leaving the used bookstore. He had a dark-haired girl with him, and they were looking at the cover of a book in his hand as they talked intimately and I pressed my lips together. “Is that her?” I asked as Ginger followed my gaze.

“Yeah, it is.” I took her in and noticed that she was probably a few years older than I was. She looked smart and not like some of the sorority girls that I saw staring at him in class, though she hopefully wasn’t a student. I was sure that he learned a lesson from us. She was still pretty, though. I hoped that she made him happy. “Tell him,” Ginger said as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

As if on cue, Liam turned his head to see me watching him as a frown crossed his face. I knew that he couldn’t see the beginnings of my baby bump and was relieved, but I hated the way he still made me feel inside.

Pregnancy hormones when you were single sucked. I was getting myself off more than ever and finding fascinating forms of porn on the internet. I missed Liam and wasn’t ready for another man to take his place, but eventually, I knew that it would happen. “I can’t. He needs to be happy, Gin.”

“He would be with you,” she assured me as I shook my head and forced a weak smile before he turned to keep walking. We got into the car and did some shopping as I played his face back through my mind. I was getting emotional in this pregnancy and thought about him far too much for my own good.

Ginger and I carried groceries into the apartment as she talked about a guy that she was interested in. I missed the days of just being a student and not worrying about much else, making me smile ruefully. I sure messed that all up, didn’t I?

We stayed up late watching movies and eating popcorn before I fell asleep on the couch. Ginger covered me with a blanket as usual and left me there, waking me up to the smell of coffee. I wasn’t drinking it, but she still did. I stuck to tea when I really needed it. This was a regular routine for us now since I couldn’t stay awake to save my life at night.

CHAPTER 19

Liam

I finished the semester never happier since I kept staring at Elena’s empty desk all the time. I’d been teaching this class for a long time but never gotten so attached to a student in my life. I longed for the future that I thought I planned with Elena but things changed, and I was with Nora now.

Nora was a new teacher at the campus, and we met over lunch one day. She was twenty-seven and kind, but more than that she was safe. I was missing Elena something awful and finally wanted someone in my life. We started dating slowly, and I was still a bit spooked, but she understood. We spent more time talking than anything else, though I’d given into sleeping with her a couple of months into the relationship. I claimed that an ex did a number on me but left the details vague. Nora was happy with anything that I had to offer, and it was casual thus far.

She hadn’t even met Marie.

I checked in with Ginger a couple of times when we crossed paths, and she told me that Elena was doing better. I knew that she was living with Ginger now, and happy that she gave up the studio. I could never put my finger on it, but there was something in Ginger’s eyes that told me she was hiding something. I even asked her before the semester ended, though she brushed me off.

I just decided to spend time with Nora and put the past behind me. It had been a few months now, and we were over, weren’t we? She was probably getting set to go back to school and working a lot like I knew her to do. Elena was a motivated girl, and she’d do just fine in life, even if it weren't spent with me. I swore to never date a student again after all the paranoia and pain that had been involved.

I grilled a lot outside when the weather allowed it, and Nora was great at helping in the kitchen. She was fixing a salad in the kitchen while I finished steaks in the cool Winter air, looking forward to the fire inside. It was a week after school ended for the semester and I was trying to be relaxed about it. I finished the meat and covered the grill before walking inside to find her tossing everything together. There were times that I wish I’d have picked a blonde so I wouldn’t be so reminded of Elena when I saw her. Nora was a sweet, beautiful girl and I knew that she cared for me a lot. “Hey. All done?”

“Yep. What do you have for me in here?” I asked as she smiled and carried a salad to the table.

“Salad and I also roasted some Brussel sprouts. I set the table, too.” Nora smiled at me as she walked forward to give me a soft kiss. “I like having you all to myself.”

“It is nice to have some

free time,” I agreed as I plated the steaks at the table to avoid the kiss. I hated that I did that since it came from such a good place in Nora’s heart. Not seeing anyone that could tell me about Elena was bothering me, and I thought to the trip we planned to California to hang out at the coast soon to try and distract myself. I looked over to see Nora bringing my beer and a glass of wine towards us and sat down as I looked over the other dishes.

“Here,” she handed me the beer and sat in the chair closest to me before taking a sip of wine. We both settled in, and I cut into my pink steak as she grimaced. “That’s disgusting, you know.”

“It’s flavor,” I teased her as she loaded her plate generously with salad and sprouts. Nora ate very clean and took good care of herself in the gym, something we did together. I enjoyed it, and she pushed me to the new activity since I ran here and there before that. I would always be a carnivore, and the extra miles on the treadmill were worth it.

Silence fell around us as we ate and I tried not to think about it. It was okay for a couple not to always want to talk, wasn’t it? We did plenty of that, and it was fine. I took a large swallow of my beer and washed down the meat. “Are you bored having time off?” Her voice was amused as I glanced into her light topaz eyes that were filled with warmth. It was warmth that I wasn’t ready for and I shrugged.

“I like keeping busy,” I replied, knowing damn well that we had time off to do whatever we wanted and money to travel. I was settling in with the idea of going to California for a bit, but a big trip seemed unthinkable to me. I wasn’t ready where I detected she clearly was. I wondered if this was unfair to do to Nora, reminding myself that Elena didn’t want me. I deserved someone nice in my life, and Nora fit the bill, even if I did miss another brunette at some of the most awkward of times. I worked through it, and she had no idea.

“Mom is having a brunch tomorrow. Come with me? She wants to meet you,” Nora told me as I imagined meeting her family for a terrifying moment.

“I told Brandon I’d hang out with him. There’s a game on, and it’s been a while,” I lied, having no plans. I might go watch the game at a bar now and make some of it the truth, and I watched her face fall for a moment. “Sorry. I didn’t know.” Did I? I didn’t remember her mentioning it, but my mind was fuzzy a lot these days.

“It’s fine. Next time,” Nora responded as I smiled and nodded, spearing some salad with her fork. “She did a number on you, didn’t she?”

“Huh?” I asked as I looked blankly at her.

“Ex,” Nora said quietly as I took a breath.

“It would seem so, which is why I told you about that in the first place. I didn’t want any misunderstandings, Nora.” My voice was gentle as I reminded her of this and she nodded with a small smile on her face.

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