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To keep writing, to finish my book, I need more of her.
All of her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
BRIAR
Saint de Haasalmost kissed me. I’m lucky no one else was still in the classroom or they could’ve reported us. If I get fired, I’m screwed. And I’m sure as hell not throwing away my career over a horny student. No matter how much I longed—for a brief, fleeting moment—to feel his lips on mine.
The brush of his thumb along my knuckles alone was enough to make my heart stop. Before I remembered he’s my student and entirely off-limits.
Mack texts me as I’m swiping on the last of my mascara.
Do you want me to be your wing ma’am? I can sit at a nearby table to keep an eye on him.
I snort. Mack would absolutely sit alone at a nearby table during my date with Austin if I asked her to.
I’ll be fine. But keep your phone on in case I need help moving a body.
Just remember our codeword.
I snap a photo for her in my full-length mirror and my phone buzzes with her response as I’m grabbing my purse.
You are SO getting laid tonight!
Mom calls when I’m rushing out the door. Allotting myself two hours to get ready still wasn’t enough to get me out the door on time. “Hey, sweetheart. Oh my gosh, you will not believe the dinner I had tonight. I need to give you the recipe?—”
“Hey, Mom. I can’t talk long. I’m on my way out.” I need to cut this conversation short now before she launches into a step-by-step guide about how she made her latest Pinterest recipe.
“Before you go, have you heard from your father yet?”
I stop dead on the sidewalk in front of my house. A woman pushing a stroller scowls as she skirts around me. “What? Why would I hear from him?”
I haven’t spoken to my father since the divorce was finalized and I fully plan on keeping it that way.
“Mutual friends of ours are getting married. Remarried, actually. They split, divorced for a few years, got back together again, called it quits again, got back together. It’s a whole thing?—”
I nearly snap at her to get to the point. I love her more than anyone in the world, but she somehow always finds the worst possible times to call. I won’t be surprised if Austin is balls-deep in me tonight and my mother decides that’s the best time to video chat.
“Anyway, your father may be invited too. So he might be in town in a few months, and if he is, I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”
My nose scrunches, and I shield my eyes against the descending sun as I hurry to the pub. If he has a single brain cellleft in that dense head of his, he’ll stay far away. “Are you still going to the wedding if he does?”
She scoffs. “Of course. I’m not letting his nasty ass get in the way of celebrating my friends on their special day.”
I snort. “Some special day. They’re blowing tens of thousands of dollars for a few hours that will pass in a blink, she’ll be so stressed she’ll throw up five times, and he’ll still be fantasizing about the bachelor party where he had five pairs of fake boobs in his face. Only to get divorced for the second time two months later.”
Mom gasps. “Briar! I hope you don’t actually feel that way about weddings. Your wedding will be beautiful! Marriage is a wonderful thing.”
How she can still believe that after the shitshow that was her marriage to my father is one of life’s greatest mysteries. I have exactly zero plans of ever getting married. “I really need to go, Mom. Can I call you tomorrow?”
“Oh, that’s right! I’m so sorry I’ve kept you! Where are you headed?”
I dodge a couple strolling hand in hand on the sidewalk and grit my teeth, knowing Mom is going to read way too much into this, planning my wedding by tomorrow and the nursery next week. “Actually, I’m...going on a date.”
Mom gasps before squealing in delight, and I hold back a sigh. Fucking Mack. This is all her fault. “Oh, honey! I’m so happy to hear that! How did you meet him? Is he handsome? Where are you going? You know where you two should go?—”
“I met him online.” I’m already regretting these heels. The pub Austin and I agreed to meet at is only two blocks away, but my flat feet have grown accustomed to my far comfier vans and slippers.
