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“Uh…” Kate didn’t know how else to say it other than to blurt it out. “Did you… Did something happen? I’m back at college today, and he’s not.”
She could hear the smile in Hollis’s voice. “I told you I would take care of it.”
“But…” Kate closed her eyes, falling back against the wall. She couldn’t help imagining that Hollis had blackmailed him right back, and she worried about the potential consequences.
“It’s nothing illegal, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m not a ganster.” She laughed softly. “I’ll tell you about it in person.”
“Tonight? Come by my place?”
“Sure.”
They said goodbye, and Kate needed another minute before she went back inside, her heart pounding in her chest as she dared to hope that the worst of all this was finally behind them.
34
“Champagne?” Kate asked when she opened the door and saw Hollis standing there with a bottle in her hand.
“Why not?” she asked with a smile. “We’re celebrating.”
“Come in,” Kate said as her lips slid into a smile. She led them into the kitchen and brought two glasses over.
Kate leaned in, kissing her for the first time in two weeks, and Hollis melted into her. Her heart fluttered as Kate’s soft lips met hers.
When Hollis pulled away, she looked into Kate’s eyes, a mixture of relief and desire mirrored back at her. She picked up the bottle and popped it open, catching the cork before it could do any damage and poured out two glasses.
“How are we able to celebrate?” Kate asked as Hollis handed her a glass. “The suspense is killing me.”
Hollis smiled. “First of all.” She swallowed. “I mean it when I said we’re celebrating.” She lifted her glass. “To fresh starts.”
Kate returned her smile as she looked away, recognizing the words she’d said to Hollis that first weekend. “To fresh starts,” she said as she met Hollis’s gaze.
Hollis took a sip, savoring the crisp, refreshing taste of the champagne, but she couldn’t keep Kate waiting any longer. “Will we sit down?”
They went into the living room and sat down, and Hollis took another drink before leaving her glass on the coffee table and reaching for Kate’s hand.
“I asked the private investigator I hired to send me everything he had. All the photos. And I asked him to identify the women in those photos. Then I asked him to follow him again. So then I had even more photos, more names,” Hollis said with a sigh. “I sent them all to the head of the psychology department saying that with a little digging it shouldn’t be hard to see just how brazen Professor Clarke has been over the years when it comes to following the rules set out by your college. There’s a very clear no dating policy between students and teachers, and it’s been in place for years. I sent it from a new email address I just set up. Nothing to do with me. And I didn’t hear back until yesterday. That he was being put on mandatory leave pending a full investigation.”
Kate let out a breath. She left her glass on the coffee table, her eyes fluttering closed. “I don’t believe it,” she said, barely above a whisper.
“He’s not coming back, Kate. Not with all the proof I gave them, and like I told them, if they need to, I’m sure they can go back and find more. What a fucking idiot,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m moved on from feeling betrayed to being absolutely sickened. And I’m so glad that it’s come to this. He shouldn’t be teaching.”
Kate blinked back tears. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this relieved. This happy.”
“There’s more good news,” Hollis said with a smile, her heart beating faster.
Kate looked at her in disbelief. “Tell me.”
“I spoke to my lawyer today.” Hollis was the one blinking back tears now. “It’s official. As of this morning, I’m no longer married.”
Kate simply stared at her before pulling her into a hug. Hollis breathed in the familiar citrus scent of her shampoo, hardly believing that she was finally free.
Hollis lifted her hand to Kate’s cheek, guiding their lips together. Hollis kissed her slowly, and it wasn’t long before Kate pushed her back against the couch, climbing onto her lap and straddling her.
Kate ran her fingertips along Hollis’s jaw. “I’m so happy for you,” she murmured before leaning in and kissing her.
Hollis sighed into the kiss, and when Kate’s tongue danced with her own, she could feel it everywhere. The last two weeks had felt like months, and she couldn’t wait to get her hands on Kate again.
Kate’s hands were on the buttons of her blouse as she blindly worked them open, seemingly unwilling to break their kiss to do it properly.
