Megs paused with her fingers on the door handle, and her heart rate kicked up another notch. “Starving.”
“I know a great burger place not far from here.”
She looked over her shoulder. “Is that where you take all your students?” Gideon’s eyes widened, and Megs laughed out loud. “I’m kidding. I’ll drop your class in the car.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Then I’ll wait.”
Six
Gideon shiftedgears and headed south, checking the rearview mirror to make sure Megs was still following him in her Civic. The sun had already dropped below the horizon, and the city was alive. Downtown Shelburne on a Friday night was lively and bustling, especially at Sammy’s. The burger joint was severely underrated on review sites, but the line stretching out the front doors and into the parking lot was proof that the locals knew its value.
He’d asked Megs out after only meeting her twice.As Gideon turned and pulled into a parking spot, he couldn't help but think back to his last date—if you could even call it that. He’d taken Elaine, a fellow professor at Champlain Community, out for coffee one afternoon. There had been plenty of conversation. She’d filled him in on a grant proposal she was working on for the biology lab and they’d speculated on departmental politics. It was nice. Comfortable.
Nothing like the way he felt speaking to Megs.Or the way he felt when Megs spoke.He’d nearly forgotten to stop the recording, he’d been so enraptured by her performance. He’d given the audition materials a cursory glance when Matt texted him and knew it was a typical romance novel. Lots of longing. Insatiable desire. But when Megs read it . . .
He parked and turned off the car. Gideon’s heart stuttered as Megs stepped out of hers. What was it about her? It wasn’t just that she was objectively attractive. Though, she certainly was that. There was a wildness about her. An unpredictability. Like she was in the exact moment he was but experiencing it on a different vibration.
He opened the door and stood as she approached.
“Am I going to catch Hep A eating here?” Megs nodded at the worn-down sign.
Gideon laughed. “This is still Vermont, you know that, right?”
“I was beginning to wonder.”
Gideon locked his car and strode toward the line at the door. “Sammy’s is an institution.”
Megs trailed behind him. “For professors on a budget?”
“You’re going to owe Sammy and me an apology after you try the food and fall in love.”
Megs scoffed. “I don’t fall in love that easily.”
Gideon smirked as they took their place in line. “Is that a challenge?”
Was he flirting?The corner of her mouth curled as they shuffled forward, waiting to enter the small dining room. It was true, Sammy’s wasn’t much to look at. Old diner-style booths with pictures on the wall that were most likely last dusted in the eighties. It didn’t inspire confidence.
“So, Professor Adams—”
“Please don’t call me that.”
Megs batted her eyelashes. “But Professor—” Gideon groaned, and Megs laughed out loud. “Okay, fine. I won’t torture you, but it does have a certain ring to it.” Gideon raised an eyebrow, and she grinned. “Doesn’t every girl have a secret fantasy that their favorite teacher will fall for them?”
Gideon snorted. “I hope not.”
“Oh, c’mon, you must have adorable young adults lined up at your office for extra recording hours.” Gideon’s cheeks reddened, and Meg’s grinned. “You do, don’t you?”
“They’re ambitious, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh. Fascinated by the . . . course material.” Megs swept her curls from her face, and he held his breath. Her eyes danced. “Champlain should’ve forced you to get a bit older before hiring you. Or insisted you teach something less sexy. Like accounting.”
Gideon coughed a laugh. “Trust me, what I teach is anything but sexy. Lots of boring dials and settings.” He held the door as they followed the line into the building. “And how old do you think I am?”
“Barely thirty.”
“I turn thirty in January.”
Megs beamed at him and tapped her head. “See, I don’t need college.”
