Page 135 of The Professor's Possession (Crystal River Billionaire Brothers)

And that’s when the tears start to flow.

“Luke just broke up with me,” she cries.

It takes me a moment to fully process what she’s saying.

Oh.

She continues to sob. I’ve never seen someone as outwardly confident as Ava be so vulnerable as this.

“Luke? Oh, Ava, I’m so sorry.”

“I came here to find you, that’s why I walked in. Luke found out about Dad’s debt situation and just...calledour relationship off. That was it. Over as quick as anything. Like as if everything we’vebeen, everything we’vedonetogether, count for nothing.”

“And what does your dad’s situation have anything to do with your relationship?” I ask her, still so perplexed. “Why would Luke care about your dad’s debts?”

Ava sighs. “He told me he can’t be pictured around with someone like me anymore. With my family. We’ve fallen from grace in Crystal River because of the debt. He doesn’t want to date a girl with aproblemfather. People will talk, and that’s big in a town like Crystal River.”

I hug my crying roommate.

“I am so sorry, Ava.”

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispers between sobs. “I just want this problem with Dad to go away.”

I hold her tighter.

“I’m here for you,” I say to my best friend.

“Why do I always pick the wrong men, Olivia?” she asks, more to the air than to me. “Why can’t I ever find the right man? The man that will protect me and treat me well and just be there for me and who won’t just leave me because of how he fears society will think of his reputation?”

I laugh. “Ava, that kind of man doesn’t exist.”

But I’m lying.

That kind of perfect man does exist. I’m thinking about the man that just walked out of the locker room door.

65

SPENCER

“Is that her?”Daisy asks me, lifting a finger to point at the girl walking toward us. Her other hand is tightly gripping mine.

“Yep,” I reply to my daughter. “That’s her.”

Olivia strolls toward us across the park, but this time it’s under much different circumstances to when I last saw her here by the playground.

Olivia messaged me this morning to meet her here. She wanted Daisy to come as well.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, to say the least. I did not expect any of this to happen, or for my life to turn out this way. I did not expect to find my dream girl.

Daisy giggles as Olivia waves at us.

I did not expect to gain custody of my daughter again.

Daisy lets go of my hand and sprints toward Olivia, giving her a big loving hug.

Now, this is perfect.

I did not expect any of this, but it’s better than my wildest dreams.

---