Page 83 of Marked By Moonlight

Only more, she silently added, thinking about the turn her life had taken. She had had enough adventure in the past few weeks to last a lifetime. She paused, fingers closing around a heavy brass apple paperweight a student had given her years ago. But to say she regretted it all would mean she regretted meeting Gideon. And that, she couldn’t claim.

“Ah.” Cyril nodded, looking somewhat relieved. “I should have known to take what I heard with a grain of salt, considering the source.”

“The faculty lounge,” Claire guessed.

He nodded. “You’re coming back in the fall, then?”

She hesitated, unsure how to answer that. She settled for the truth. “I don’t know.”

“Oh.” His shoulders slumped in disappointment. His reaction seemed out of place. For God’s sake, they’d only had one date. And if he liked her so much, why had he switched his attention to Jill Tanners?

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I hate to lose you.”

She looked up sharply from the box she organized. Why did he sound like he meant more than professionally?

“Miss Morgan!”

Nina. Just in time. His intent stare was beginning to creep her out. What had ever inspired her to go out with Cyril in the first place? On their date, he had seemed as bored as she was. Yet she knew the reason. She had agreed to go out with him because she felt she should, because it had been years since anyone had asked.

Cyril frowned as Nina hugged her.

“I was hoping you’d be here.” Nina, all teenage bubbliness and smiles.

“What are you still doing here?” Claire asked. “Yesterday was the last day of school. Shouldn’t you be out having fun?”

Nina motioned to the bulging backpack slung over her shoulder. “I still had to clear out my dance locker.”

Claire nodded.

Nina’s gaze roamed over the boxes surrounding Claire’s desk. “You’re not coming back?”

“No.” Claire shook her head, then quickly amended, “I mean, I don’t know yet.” She finished placing the last of her curriculum binders into a box.

Cyril lightly coughed, reminding her of his presence. He shot an annoyed glance at Nina, clearly wanting Claire to get rid of her.

He must have gotten the clue that Claire wasn’t going to chase the girl off, because he finally announced, “I guess I’ll be going. Enjoy your summer.” He hovered in the doorway for a moment, hands deep in his pockets, almost as though expecting her to stop him.

“You, too,” Claire replied with a light wave of her hand.

As he left, Nina plunged back into chatter. “So you are coming back, right?”

Claire hefted one box into her arms. “Maybe.”

Nina motioned to the boxes. “You’re carrying these to your car? I’ll help.”

They took the ramp downstairs rather than risk missing their footing on the steps. Nina chatted happily at her side about her summer plans as they stepped outside, the afternoon air pungent with the smell of baked asphalt and rotting vegetation.

“I’m going to lifeguard at my neighborhood pool. Can you believe they’re going to pay me to get a tan?”

“I think you actually have to do more than tan while you’re on duty,” Claire said in amusement as she set the box on the trunk of the car and unlocked the door.

“Yeah, I gotta stop little kids from dunking each other.” Nina shrugged. “No biggie.”

“And don’t forget you have to whistle every half hour for adult swim time,” Claire teased as she picked the box back up.

Nina laughed. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Claire set the box into the backseat, shoving it to the far end to make room for the others to come. She pulled her head from the car’s interior, a flip comment about lifeguarding twisting into a gasp as agony exploded in the back of her head.

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