Page 32 of Bachelor

I nearly choked on the bite of sandwich I’d just taken.

“What?”

“What kind of women does he date?” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“H-How would I know that?”

She shrugged, looking suddenly bored. “I bet he only dates those crunchy granola types that only wear organic, recycled fabric. Such a shame we wouldn’t go for women like us. He’s really missing out.”

My mouth dropped open before I could stop myself. Cassandra was seriously out of her mind. “Uhm, Ms. Martins, this conversation is wildly inappropriate—”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t be bothering you with my dating life.” She laughed, and I felt my stomach begin to twist. “It’s just that you’re single, and so am I, and we’re about to spend a weekend away at a ski lodge where, who knows, anything could happen.” She stood, wiggling her fingers at me. “Well, I’ll see you later.”

I gaped after her as she walked away. I looked down at my uneaten sandwich. I wasn’t even remotely hungry anymore. I had the odd sense that Cassandra was up to something, and it had to do with Rhys.

Surely he wasn’t into her like she was him, but still... I didn’t like the feeling I got when she brought him up.

I sat there for another half hour organizing the binder that held all my materials for Rhys’s classes. I gave up on eating lunch, my stomach in tight knots, and gathered my things with the intention of going to his office.

And not because I wanted to see him, or ask him if he had a thing with Cassandra or knew about her not-so-secret obsession with him. I had to drop off some papers I graded for him to put into the system. That was all.

At least, I told myself that as I walked into Hollis Hall and toward his office.

I knocked once, then twice, and I heard him gruffly say, “Come in.”

“It’s just me,” I breathed, nudging the door shut behind me.

He was bent over his desk examining a very large, very old book. He looked up as I entered, his hair all ruffled and out of sorts. I loved his hair like that.

I shook the sudden feelings of longing away and cleared my throat, dropping the stack of papers on his desk.

“You got these graded that quickly?”

“It’s not that hard. It’s just reading.” I shrugged and sat on the armrest of one of the chairs in front of his desk. I crossed my arms over my chest and met his eyes.

He held my stare, the ghost of a smile brushing over his lips.

“Why do you look so amused?” I said with a bite to my voice.

“You enjoy this, don’t you?”

“Enjoy what? Grading your papers?”

“Teaching.”

I sighed and broke from his gaze and looked absently at the bookshelves that lined the far wall. “It’s easy.”

“You’re one of the only people I know who thinks so.”

“Are you saying I should be a professor?”

“I think you already are and just haven’t realized it yet.”

Something warm blossomed in my chest at his words. I wasn’t used to praise like this from anyone. Growing up, it had always been about my looks, and my manners, and my status in society. Not my intellect or ambition.

I pursed my lips and gave him a small, half-hearted smile. “Thanks, I guess.”

His brow furrowed as he leaned his hip against his desk, mimicking my stance with his arms crossed over his chest. “What’s wrong with you today?”

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