AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But that didn’t sound right either. Deleting the words again, he typed a third time:
Was thinking about our last chat. How are you?
Staring at the screen, his fingers hovered over the send button a second too long. With a sigh, he deleted the message not wanting to seem too eager or desperate. He placed the phone facedown, telling himself that next week would be a better time.
15
Emma
Four days had passed since Luke had last texted her.
Four.
Emma glanced at the clock, half-expecting to hear from Luke. Why am I even waiting for a text?
While his image occasionally drifted into her mind, she quickly reminded herself it was just a fleeting crush. She reasoned that his outreach had only been out of concern for his son.
Pushing the thought aside, she resolved to move on, dismissing the short-lived infatuation.
Fortunately, the timing couldn’t have been better for Emma. She had just begun teaching summer classes at Hadley Cove High and had also been occupied with her tutoring sessions, leaving her little spare time to dwell on her thoughts.
One day after locking up her classroom, she was surprised to see Luke and Jeremiah exiting the front office. Luke, with a hefty stack of papers in hand, seemed to be discussing something with Jeremiah, who looked disinterested.
Emma had no choice but to head in their direction.
Approaching Luke, she straightened her posture and consciously relaxed her muscles. But as she drew nearer, her cheeks flushed. “Well, hello,” she said, maintaining her best poker face. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Luke smiled. “Hey there. What are you doing here?”
Emma’s heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. “Summer school.” She held up her ID badge. “I teach a couple of courses. And run tutoring sessions as well.”
“Ah, that’s right.” Recognition seemed to flicker in Luke’s eyes. “I think I remember you mentioning that,” he said. “Sorry I forgot.”
A rush of warmth coursed through Emma. “No worries,” she said, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. “How about you two? What brings you here today?”
Jeremiah rolled his eyes. “Registering for the fall semester.”
Luke interjected, “Yeah, we picked up the syllabi for his classes so he can start preparing.”
Jeremiah let out an exasperated sigh. “Keys?”
Luke retrieved a set of car keys from his pocket. “Take these with you as well.” He handed the stack of papers to Jeremiah, who snatched them and walked off.
Emma watched their exchange, then turned back to Luke.
“We met with Principal Kennedy yesterday,” he explained. “As long as he stays out of trouble, he’ll be able to start his senior year. I really hope it works out this time.”
As Luke spoke, Emma found herself getting lost in his ocean-blue eyes. She had told Lisa and her grandfather that there was nothing between her and Luke, but being in his presence made it difficult to remember that.
Emma nodded. “I promise I’ll pay extra attention to him. If he needs it, I can help with tutoring or extra credit too.”
“I’d appreciate that. I better go before Jeremiah takes off to Mexico,” Luke said with a laugh. “See you around.”
“Sure. Yeah. See you later,” Emma said, releasing a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
After her conversation with Luke, Emma continued down the hallway and saw Kara and Charlotte walking through the main doors. Charlotte appeared somewhat glum.
“Hey, y’all. What’s up?”
