Page 36 of Bad Teacher

He ran his fingers down his face. A woman like her, who had been through hell and back, didn’t need him for shit. He’d been through hell too, but he still needed her in his life. Not having her in his was hell itself.

“Hey,” Alan said, raising his voice. “You’re not listening.”

Theo waved him off. “Sorry. I’ve been—”

Alan put his phone aside and sat in front of Theo. “You still haven’t called her?”

“I’ve texted.”

Alan rolled his eyes. “It’s not the same. Especially after you told her you love her. You need to follow through.”

Theo’s chin dropped to his chest, energy deserting him. “How can I see it through when I told her and she didn’t care?” Telling Alan about what had happened hadn’t been a smart idea. But three days prior, Alan had questioned his mood and why he drank wine in his office at one p.m. and didn’t want to talk to anyone. In a moment of weakness, Theo had confided in Alan.

“Did you tell her or did you make her believe it? Feel it in her bones?”

“I told her, which should have been enough.” Shit, if she told him she loved him and wanted to build a life with him, that would have been enough to give him a drug-like high.

“I bet you weren’t convincing.”

Convincing? Theo snorted. “I’m a man, not an actor.”

“If you want Violet, you better be more than just a man.”

He grabbed a pen from the drawer and clicked it a few times. “You’re lucky you’re good at what you do, otherwise you’d be gone.”

* * *

Theo glancedat the office in downtown Tulip. Ever since the previous day, Alan’s words rang in his ears like those annoying pop songs his daughter sang in the car. Maybe he hadn’t been convincing, and Violet needed to be sure. Of course. She had gone through a lot in life, and her approach not to do what was deemed right really meant not making mistakes. Not trying to please people.

He didn’t want her to please him—he wanted her to let him love her and give him a chance.

He crossed the street. When he small talked with Lara in Vegas, he’d learned she was a landscape architect. She owned a successful company that offered lavish landscaping to some of the best residences in the area. Finding her office address hadn’t been hard.

As one of her best friends, Lara must be able to help him.

Alan meant well, but he didn’t know Violet as well as Lara did.

He opened the door and marched into the space. Large pictures of beautiful backyards and gardens filled the walls.

“Can I help you?” a woman in her twenties with purple streaks in her black hair asked.

“I’m looking for Lara Nunes.”

“Oh, sure, she’s in her office. Who should I say—”

“Theo Brodeur. She knows me through Violet.”

“Sure.”

“Send him in.” He heard Lara’s voice from a room in the back.

The woman gestured for him to follow the hallway.

When he opened the door, he found Lara behind a desk that he swore was reclaimed furniture. Many awards for environmental causes decorated the walls. “Hi, Lara, thanks for seeing me.”

“Hey. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay. You?”

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