Page 887 of One More Kiss

Chapter8

Lu returned to Max,still in his classroom, where he’d cancelled the remainder of the day’s classes. She passed to him the message from Clyde. Max simply nodded. The firm set of his jaw did not hide the sadness in his eyes.

He had a message of his own for her. “You shouldn’t be near me right now. I can’t even imagine what people are saying.”

“I haven’t heard anything. And don’t tell me what to do. I think you understand how I’ll react to such a thing.”

“Still, Lu. Your reputation. You can salvage it. No one knows we’re involved. Aside from Clyde, and Dorie, and I assume Betty, after what she witnessed last week.”

Lu’s entire body warmed at the memory of Max standing behind her, describing in detail what he’d done to himself while thinking about her…

“No. Don’t do this. You need me. Let’s work on what you’re going to say…”

“No!”

She jumped back from him, his roar unsettling.

“I’m sorry, please forgive me. I want to protect you from this ugliness. I—I need a day to figure this out on my own. You get to your afternoon classes, and I’ll call you. I promise.” He tugged her to him, his lips hot on her forehead, her cheek, her mouth. He forced her lips open with his tongue, claiming her as his own, no matter what anyone else might say.

She was his, and she would do whatever she needed to do, even heed his wishes, to keep him by her side.

The next afternoon, Lu returned from lunch to find an envelope on her desk addressed to her. The faint scent of spice and outdoors clung to the paper. Max. She tore open the envelope and devoured the contents.

Miss Danvers,

Urgent news. Please meet me off-campus at the Headwaters Diner on Broadway at 6:00 o’clock this evening.

Yours always,

M

Lu clutched the paper to her chest as though it was her most prized possession. She had one more class to teach this afternoon, and then she could go home to prepare for this meeting.

She found herself too preoccupied to teach, and finally she dismissed at four o’clock before dashing out the door as she shouted over her shoulder, “Betty, can you please close up the class?”

Her assistant may have responded, but Lu did not hear her as she was already down the hall. After she arrived home, she bathed quickly, not washing her hair; it would take too long to dry and she would never make it on time.

She didn’t want Max thinking she’d stood him up.

After her bath, she quickly applied face powder, some mascara, and her bright red lipstick, dressing quickly afterward.

Lu should have been stressed out about her revelations to Max, the implications for their relationship, and Max’s impending hearing the next day. But still, she was happy simply because she would get to be with him for a short time this evening. But what news did he have? Urgent meaning good, or urgent meaning bad? She’d soon find out.

She stepped out the front door and was greeted by an overcast sky, so she reached inside and pulled an umbrella from a stand in the foyer.

She hadn’t been happier since…well, forever, if she was honest. Her childhood was pleasant enough, but so much of it had been spent caring for her family home and her younger siblings, that she missed out on most things children got to do.

Probably one reason she rebelled as a teenager. With freedom came a shunning of the responsibility she’d been burdened with for so long, and with that came the trouble in which she found herself.

In the years since, she’d re-assumed the mantle of safety, stepping outside that cocoon a few times, and only when she was on vacation at the beach, alone, away from the prying eyes of the school community. Every few years she craved a man’s touch, but took precautions with her reputation. That was hardly the case over the last few days.

But as the days wore on, she cared less about her reputation, and more about the man who’d dare to steal her heart.

Lu strode to the diner on Broadway, and as she approached, her breath caught in her throat.

Max looked so handsome leaning against the exterior wall of the restaurant, the brick contrasting with his dark coat and denim jeans. Lu had never been so attracted to him.

He pushed off the wall, and his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he whispered, “I was afraid you wouldn’t show.”

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