Page 87 of Pretty Relentless

“Tell me,” she insists, lifting her chin.

“They accused you of being a real problem, first with the underaged drinking photo and now by sneaking around with one of your student’s dads.”

She closes her eyes, but I briefly saw the moment my words hit their mark. The devastation was clear, and I’m certain it’s something I’ll never forget. “I know this isn’t ideal,” I start, but she cuts me off.

“Not ideal? This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen, Gavin. People are talking about me sleeping with a student’s father. They’ll assume—”

“That’s right, they’ll assume. They’ll assume because they have no idea how much you really mean to me, and I assure you, my feelings for you have absolutely nothing to do with you being my daughter’s teacher.” I take her other hand and bring it to my lips, brushing them against her knuckles. “Listen, Ava, I know this sucks. It sucks huge hairy balls, but maybe this is a blessing.”

Her eyes widen in shock. “A blessing? Everyone thinking you’re sleeping with me to get your daughter a better grade is a blessing?”

“We don’t know that’s what they’re thinking,” I argue.

“Of course they do! I’m the teacher who had to face the school board because an underaged photo of myself drinking was posted online. I’m sure they’ll find all sorts of reasons why our relationship isn’t appropriate, which is why I wanted to keep it quiet. I couldn’t risk the public scrutiny.”

“I know that, and I respected your position. It’s not our fault we were outed on some stupid website, where nosy assholes get to post whatever they want without caring who they hurt.”

Her eyes fill with tears, and when the first one slides unchecked down her cheek, it feels as if someone reaches into my chest and rips out my heart. “What am I going to do now?” she whispers to herself.

“We’re going to get through this, together.”

Ava shakes her head, as if not wanting to hear my words. “I need to think,” she blurts out, suddenly standing up and taking a step back.

Holding on to her hand, I say, “Listen, I know this is a big deal for you. I get it, really. But we can’t let them win by tearing us apart, Ava. Whoever did this is trying to drive a wedge between us and hurt your reputation. If we show them they can’t break us, we win.”

A few more tears slide down her cheeks. “I appreciate your confidence, but I don’t quite share it. If the school board catches wind of this, I could lose my job.”

“There’s no clause saying you can’t date a student’s father.”

“No, but I’m already being watched like a hawk, Gavin. Can’t you see that? This gives the board and the superintendent an opportunity to fire me for negative press.”

“They can’t fire you for dating,” I argue, starting to get upset now too.

“No, they can’t, but they can fire me because of my reputation.”

“You’re an amazing teacher, Ava. They’d be stupid to let you go just for dating me.”

“Welcome to living and working in a small town,” she counters sadly. She takes a deep breath before adding, “I’m going to go home. I need to do some thinking, and I’ll probably need to talk to the superintendent tomorrow.”

Standing up, I take her in my arms and breathe her in. “I don’t want you to go.”

She curls her hands into my chest, holding my sweatshirt tightly. “I don’t want to go, but I need to.”

Sighing, I pull back, meeting her sad gaze. “I need you to know I’m fighting for you, for us. When you go through something hard, you go through it with me by your side. We may not have been ready to go public, but now that it’s happened for us, I refuse to let you face the firing squad on your own. I’ll be right beside you, Ava, because that’s what you do when you love

A whimper breaks from her lips as she throws her arms around my shoulders and holds on tight. I squeeze a little harder than I should, desperately needing to feel her body against my own.

When she pulls back, she sniffles and gives me a dejected look. “Thank you. Give me a little time to process this and deal with whatever fallout I’ll have at work.”

“I’m not kidding, Ava. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right by your side through all of this.”

Her small smile, while sad, tells me how grateful she is. She may not understand what it truly means to have someone in her corner like this, but she’s about to find out. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll fight every single one of the bastards who try to hurt her.

Watch me.

She steps forward and goes up on her tiptoes, her hands pressed to my chest. I swipe my mouth against hers, savoring the feel of her and refusing to rush this kiss. I need her to know—tofeel—exactly how much I love her.

When she pulls away, the normal heat I’d see reflecting in those brown eyes is void. Instead, those orbs are full of fear and concern, two things I hate to see. I guide her to the mudroom and watch as she slips her shoes back on. Grabbing her coat, I hold it open for her and watch as she shivers at the slightest contact of my hand against her arm.

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