Page 32 of Grimm

William stared at the pair of pink panties folded on top of his dresser. The maid had found them in the laundry room, mixed with a set of towels. She’d asked if he wanted her to throw them out, but he’d taken them from her without a response.

And now they lived on his dresser.

A reminder of what he’d had and thrown away.

He casually glanced at the screen when his phone rang. Decline.

A text came through a second later.

Her free period is at ten fifteen.

He deleted the message and shoved the phone back into his pocket. Tommy was too good at retrieving information. Especially intel he didn’t want.

So she had a free period.

So what?

That didn’t mean he needed to drive across town to her school. She’d had two months to reach out to him if she’d wanted him. He’d given her space; it was up to her to make the move.

His phone pinged again.

You dumped her. Your move.

“A mind reader too?” William growled at the phone and turned it off.

Another ten minutes of staring at the folded panties, and his mind was made up. He didn’t need to speak to her, he just needed to give her back what was hers. It was the gentlemanly thing to do.

Not that he’d spent one second doing anything gentlemanly like when she was with him.

Shoving the panties into his pocket, he hustled out of the house and jumped in his car. He had twenty-five minutes to get across town and reach her classroom. Five-minute conversation exchanging pleasantries, and then he’d leave her be. He’d make sure she was good, then he’d disappear into the sunset.

He shifted gears and took the turn off the highway onto the exit ramp near her school.

Just a few more minutes and he’d be right in front of her.

If she would see him.

He wouldn’t give her the choice.

No.

That’s how he’d made this fucking mess in the first place.

Okay, he wouldn’t give her the choice to see him, and if she told him to go, he would. No questions or force. He’d just leave.

Getting into the school took much less effort than he’d expected. He told the secretary in the office that he had to drop off a personal item for Daniella. A quick smile, and she had pointed him in the right direction. If that was the security her school offered, she needed to find a new place to teach.

William shook his head on the way down the hall. No. He wouldn’t march in her room and start demanding things. Even if teaching closer to his place would make more sense and be safer.

He arrived at her door, smirking to see it was the one with all the rainbows and clouds on its exterior. While the other doors had already started putting up fall decorations, she was still preparing for the sunshine.

The narrow window on the door gave him a peek into the room. His breath caught at the sight of her. She had her hair pulled up into a ponytail with small hoop earrings dangling from her ears. In a green V-neck sweater and a pair of leggings, every inch of her looked ready to eat.

He swallowed and drew a deep breath. He’d never had to apologize to a woman before. Not sincerely, anyway.

As she sat down at her desk, he pulled open the door and knocked on the doorframe to announce his presence.

She looked up from her computer, surprise blossoming across her features. Her eyes went wide.

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