Page 13 of Fall for You (Flirting with Forever 4)

I swallow, trying to get rid of the dry, cottonmouth sensation threatening to choke me. “She’s doing okay. We backtracked a bit and she has some work to do at home. She has the worksheets in her notebook.” I give him a tight smile. “I’m just going to address this head-on. This is pretty embarrassing for me, and I’m not sure how to handle talking to you.” I take a deep breath and blow it out sharply. “And I sure as hell don’t know how to take money from you.”

At that, one side of his mouth quirks up. “Well, the second part, at least, is easy. You’d take payment from any other student’s parents for service rendered, wouldn’t you?” He holds a check out to me and winks.

Oh goddamn, why does he have to grin at me like that? I feel the warmth spread through my body like a decadent chocolate fudge sauce, the kind Mom drizzles over one of her signature cakes. I glance down at my feet to hide from his penetrating, knowing gaze. This man has seen me stripped bare. He knows how I moan when he touches me just right. He knows how my legs go limp after I come.

I close my eyes for a brief pause before I look back at him and take the check. He’s still smiling, still has that cute little dimple in his chin, still has eyes that rove over me like they see every last inch of me. Okay. Get ahold of yourself, Quinn. “I would.” I point a finger at him. “But most parents would never agree to pay what your wife offered.”

He watches as my face falls. Yep, I said it. I brought up his wife. The woman he has a child with and lives with and makes love to at their home, in the bed they share. His wife. Heat hits my face and rolls through my body, even though it’s only about forty-five degrees outside. Internally, I’m so mortified, there’s no stopping what happens next. A faint buzzing sounds in my ears, which is the telltale sign I need to get my head down before I faint.

Could this be any more humiliating? At the same time I drop my bag to the asphalt, I put both hands on my knees and bend forward. Liam’s hand lands on my upper back, and his head appears right next to mine. “Are you okay?”

I try to breathe through it. I can’t believe I’m reacting this way. From my bent over position, I murmur, “Um, I just felt a little light-headed.”

“Can I get you anything? I have water in my car.”

I take in one cleansing breath after another, then shake my head as I stand up straight. “No. I’m okay. Look, I—”

“She’s my ex.”

I blink. My lips part, then snap closed. I blink again, staring into his dark brown eyes. “Oh.”

“We should probably talk, but now is not the right time.” He glances back inside his vehicle, where Olivia, who has put in earbuds, is clearly visible, bopping her head along to the music.

“I hope she missed that.”

“What?”

“Me freaking out.” I lift a hand to the side of my head, holding it. “Liam, she’s my student. I feel terrible. I didn’t realize …”

“How could we have known? We weren’t exactly dating.” He chuckles quietly.

I shoot him a tiny, sly grin. “That’s not what you’d call that?”

“No. Not at all. But I think we can at least talk about how to handle this.” His eyes roam over my face, and I swear he should be able see it written plainly—I don’t want whatever this is to be over. I want there to be an us.

But I don’t know if we can have that.

“Don’t you think we should, Quinn?”

As much as I want this, I can’t understand how it’s going to work. And then because I’m not fully focused, something I don’t really mean tumbles from my lips as I shrug. “What’s there to talk about? I’m her teacher. I don’t see how we get past that.”

I regret it the instant I say it, especially when I see disappointment in Liam’s eyes. “Right.” He drops his gaze to the asphalt. “Okay, well, I guess that’s it, then.” He turns and steps into his vehicle, the door shutting with a resounding slam.

Chapter 8

Quinn

After I watch Liam and Olivia depart, I drag myself over to my car, open the driver’s side door and plop down sideways onto the seat. I seriously wish I had kept my damn mouth shut. Groaning, I pull my phone out of my bag and shoot a quick text to the long-standing group chat I have with my friends.

Me: Can anyone meet me over at Shawn’s?

When I say Shawn’s, they know instantly something is up. I’d warned them I was doing the first tutoring session after school today.

Madison: I’m already here. I’m just upstairs in Shawn’s apartment.

Madison: Text me when you get here.

Zoey: I’m still in the office. I can come when I’m done here. Just dealing with an issue right now.

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