‘I hope you’ll stay,’ Moira said. ‘But only if it’s not a problem.’
It took a while to persuade the kids to go to bed, but once they were finally there, Clara and Sam said goodnight to Moira and Claire, and Clara followed Sam into his room, careful to close the door softly behind her. The sound of chatter from Mina and Alisha was still just audible.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she ran a hand over the soft cotton of the duvet as Sam pulled his t-shirt over his head. The sight of his toned back and the line of his waistband around his snatched waist made her brain short-circuit for a moment.
‘I hope this is ok,’ she whispered. ‘I really put my foot in it, didn’t I?’
Sam paused mid-motion, tossing his t-shirt onto the chair by the wardrobe. He turned to her, his smile wry and his blue eyes darker than usual.
‘I don’t even care.’ He stepped closer, his voice so deep and gravelly she almost melted on the spot. ‘I want you here.’
Her heart jumped. ‘Oh?’ She gave him a cheeky smile. ‘And why’s that?’
He crouched in front of her, his hands resting on her knees. ‘Because I miss you so much when you’re not here.’
Her breath hitched. She leaned forward slightly, their faces mere inches apart. ‘I assume we’re just planning on sleeping tonight… I mean, it’s a bit risky for anything else.’
‘We can do that, can’t we?’
‘Of course we can.’
They got into their nightclothes and climbed under the covers, staying carefully on separate sides of the bed.
‘But we can cuddle, can’t we?’ Clara raised her eyebrows.
‘Yeah. Cuddling is fine.’
She shuffled up to him and snuggled in, loving his arms around her. God, she’d missed this.
‘I never had a chance to talk to you properly about your birthday picnic,’ she said.
‘I loved the present you gave me.’
Smiling into his chest, she absorbed his heat. She’d bought him a new pair of binoculars after he’d told them in the staffroom that his had been broken in his last move. ‘I’m glad.’
‘You’re so good at listening and remembering. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
He’d already thanked her before, but the words still added to her overall sense of wellbeing.
‘I hope I didn’t act like a fool around Kerr. Not that I still like him like that or anything. But sometimes I feel awkward and I don’t know what to say.’
Sam stroked her hair. ‘You handled it perfectly. It was a pretty awkward situation. Maybe it was lucky that it was only Kerr who saw us. Can you imagine if it had been some pupils?’
She huffed out a little laugh. ‘Oh gosh, yes.’
Sam’s fingers were still gently tracing lines through her hair.
Drowsiness swept through her. Her heavy eyes closed. As Sam kissed her forehead, blissful sleep fell over her.
‘I love you.’
She heard the words from afar. In Sam’s voice. Perhaps they were real. Perhaps a dream. Clara couldn’t tell, but they made her feel joyfully alive and happy.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sam
