Page 32 of Reluctant Chemistry

“Um…maybe not dinner, but I could call past after work. Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Luka took hold of her arm and turned her slightly to face him. “Yeah, so you said in your text,” he whispered. “The first text you send me, and it’s ‘we need to talk.’ Are you sure everything’s okay?”

CeCe glanced over to see Miss Libby watching them from the reception desk and swallowed hard. “I really should get back to work. We’ll talk later.”

His jaw tight, he stepped back, the hurt evident on his face. As they stood in awkward silence, she longed to blurt out, “You’re my teacher.” But now was neither the time nor the place.

“Okay.” Luka handed her the book he’d been holding, then turned and walked across the floor and out through the main door without once looking back. She wanted to follow him. To explain. But instead, she stood with the book in her hand and the words stored on the tip of her tongue, awaiting a more convenient time.

As CeCe pushed the cart toward the back storeroom, Miss Libby waved her over with an enthusiastic hand. She knew CeCe and Luka were seeing each other and had appointed herself as a surrogate agony aunt. “Trouble in paradise?”

Hoping to see him still outside, CeCe glanced toward the door, but he’d gone. “I think we’ve struck our first hiccup.”

“Don’t worry. Hiccups pass. Just don’t let them choke you.”

CeCe couldn’t help but smile. “I won’t.”

“He’s special, that one. But how old is he?”

“Twenty-six.”

Miss Libby raised a brow. “So, eight years between you. That can be a stretch at your age, child. Just take things slowly, won’t you?”

“He’s leaving at Easter, so…”

“I see. Does that worry you?”

With Luka now her chemistry teacher, CeCe had more to worry about than Easter. Her hand went to her neck to scratch an itch in the very place he liked to caress her. “A bit, but it’s just a fling.”

“So that’s what you’re telling yourself?” The older woman chuckled. “People say if you’re meant to be together, you’ll find a way. But sometimes, life’s not that kind, and we let the good ones slip away while holding on tight to the dregs.” She shrugged. “But you know what?”

“What?”

Miss Libby stood, lifted the cardigan off the back of her chair, and draped it over her shoulders. “The older I get, the more I realize I know sweet Fanny Adams about life, especially when it comes to men.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The older woman picked up her handbag. “And with that little pearl of wisdom, I shall bid you farewell.”

* * *

As he drove home along Coronation Drive, Luka replayed their conversation in his head. CeCe had never given him the cold shoulder before, but that’s what their exchange had felt like. A swift brush-off.

Standing in the shower later, he thought of the American couple who’d gone for a ‘stroll’ in the national park and failed to return. He’d been at work since five that morning, and he’d still be there now if Brad hadn’t insisted he take the evening off. But he was confident they’d find them.

After his shower, he lay on his bed, still wrapped in a towel. The next thing he knew, CeCe stood at his bedside, urging him to wake up.

Confused and unsure of his surroundings for a moment, Luka lifted his head from the pillow and smiled. “Hey. What time is it?”

“Almost six. Sorry, I should have let you sleep.”

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, and as he sat up, the towel slipped from his waist. “Shit. I was miles away.” He stood and pulled on his boxers, then a pair of clean jeans from the pile of laundry in the basket. “Sorry about the mess.”

CeCe studied the room. “No problem.”

Ignoring the resistance in her body language, Luka stepped forward, cupped her face, and bent down for a kiss. “Hi.”

Her response less than enthusiastic, she frowned and stepped back.

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