She bites her lip, and I’ve had about all I can take without kissing her, when, speak of the devil, the door swings openand Holloway steps inside. We jump apart, but he raises a brow, continuing to the coffee pot. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that.”
“Sorry, Mr. Holloway,” Iris says, covering her mouth to hide her smile.
“Uh huh.” When he turns around, his gaze lands on me over the rim of his mug. “Some of us are trying to maintain a professional environment here, Coach Wesley.”
“C’mon, man. It’s not like I was—”
“Just don’t do it again.”
Iris is still smiling when Holloway turns around. “You think this is funny? You were all up on me, butsomehowit’s all my fault.”
“Aw, don’t pout.”
“I’m not pouting,” I grumble, only making her laugh harder.
With lunch winding down, students start pouring back into Iris’s classroom.
And I know I gotta get back to Alex for his physical therapy, but man, I miss her already. “I don’t wanna go,” I complain, even though she’s been trying to kick me out for the last five minutes.
“Lunch is almost over anyway. You’ll be okay.”
“Debatable,” I counter, reaching up and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but her reaction isn’t the normal one. She goes stiff, her eyes drifting around me to the room.
I can feel the curious stares on us, too, but I don’t care.
Let them look.
“I don’t care who sees us,” I say in a low voice that only she can hear. “Hell, I want ‘em too. I’m proud.” She narrows her eyes like she always does when I say sappy shit like that, butthe blush on her cheeks gives her away.
I tilt my head down to plant a brief kiss to her lips. “Gonna miss you.”
I’m almost out the door when I remember Layla’s parting words. “Wait. What did Layla mean earlier when she saidgood luck tonight?
Iris bites her lip, looking up at me through her lashes. “I’m having dinner with my parents tonight. My mom reached out after she heard I was back in town and… yeah.”
“Wait. Back in town? Your parents livehere? InRosehill?”
She nods, looking toward the art on the wall and then back at me. “Yeah. I grew up here.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Well, shit. I didn’t know that.”
“It’s complicated.” She looks so damn small when she says that, I can’t even think about it anymore. Instead, I reach out to comfort her, my thumb brushing her cheek. “You gonna be okay?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure how they’ll react to seeing me like this.” She gestures to herself. “If they’ll accept me.
My jaw clenches. The idea of anyone not accepting Iris, especially her parents… “You don’t gotta go if you’re not ready.”
“I know,” she nods. “But I should give them a chance. Anika seems to think so anyway.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“Really?”
I shrug, like it ain’t a big deal. “No pressure, but I should probably meet your parents atsomepoint.”
The tension in her body eases, and her lips spread into a relieved smile as she leans forward to kiss my cheek. “Thank you, Nate.”
And that’s right about when a high-pitched squeal explodes behind us.“Oh. My. God. Are you guys back together?!”
