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I push a little harder. “Tanner… let me go.”
He relents, releasing me, and I take a step back. “This is my fault,” I murmur.
“No, it’s not. She threatened me the other day when I told her she couldn’t stop me from telling Nash about us. I didn’t take her seriously, but it seems I should have done.”
“Maybe. But I knew something like this would happen. That’s why I have to leave.”
I try to duck around him, to get back to packing, but he dodges one way, and then the other, so I’m forced to stay where I am, and then step back.
“What do you mean?” he says. “You don’t have to leave at all.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“Because not everything your ex-wife said about me was wrong.” His face pales a little more, and seeing the hurt and confusion in his eyes, I stumble backwards, hitting the wall behind me and sliding down it, incapable of standing for a moment longer.
“What are you saying, Zara?”
“I’m telling you I’ve been fired… although it wasn’t for negligence. I’d never neglect a child in my care. You have to believe that.”
“I do. But if that’s the case, why the hell have you been fired?”
“Because someone complained to Miss Montgomery about us.”
He stands above me, then drops to his knees, tilting his head to one side. “Us?”
“Yes. Miss Montgomery doesn’t approve of us seeing each other. She said she didn’t want her teachers to become the subjects of gossip and asked if I’d be willing to stop seeing you. I said I wouldn’t, so she fired me.”
He leans back on his ankles, and stares at me, like he’s thinking. “If you weren’t willing to give me up, why are you leaving?”
“Because of Nash, of course. He’s your son. He’s your priority… and look what’s happened? Look at the outcome of me being here… with you. Sabrina obviously got me fired, and now she’s trying to take your son away from you. I c—can’t be responsible for that, Tanner. I can’t come between you and him.”
He kneels up again and shimmies closer, sitting right beside me, his back to the wall, his arm pressed against mine. “You won’t. You’re not the one causing the problem here. Sabrina is.” I stutter out a breath, struggling for control, but before I can say a word, Tanner lifts me into his arms, pulling me on to his lap and holding me close to him, our heads touching. “You can’t leave me, baby. I need you too much.”
“But how can I stay, knowing what she can do to you?”
“Stop panicking. She can’t do anything to me, as long as you’re here.”
“Yes, she can. She can take Nash from you.”
“She can try, but with you beside me, I can fight her. I can’t do that without you. C—Can’t you see?”
I lean back and stare into his tear-filled eyes. “You really mean that?” I say, struggling for control.
“Every fucking word.” He grabs the back of my neck, crushing his lips to mine, my heart overflowing with love for him. “Tell me you love me,” he whispers between frantic, desperate kisses.
“I love you.”
“Tell me you’re not leaving me.”
“I—I’m not leaving you.”
He kisses me again, harder and deeper, until eventually we both pull back, breathless.
“Don’t ever do anything like that again,” he says, sucking air into his lungs.
I lean in to him. “I’m sorry. You were right. I was panicking… and not thinking straight. It just seemed best for me to put some distance between us, so you could prioritize your relationship with Nash.”
