I smiled at my phone, as I formed a response.
Julian:Not random. Essential. The entire team has been talking about how your perspective shifted the whole shoot. You should be proud.
Vivienne:I'm mostly proud that I didn't trip over any expensive equipment or accidentally ruin anything
Julian:You improved everything you touched. How are the papers coming?
Vivienne:Slowly but surely. I'm discovering that seventeen-year-olds have very strong opinions about the working conditions in 19th-century textile mills. Some of these essays are actually brilliant.
I found myself grinning like an idiot again. Even exhausted from grading, she was passionate about her students' insights, genuinely excited about their engagement with history.
Julian:I'd love to read some of them sometime. If your students wouldn't mind.
Vivienne:Really? You want to read high school history essays?
Julian:I want to understand what makes you light up the way you did just now when you texted about them.
There was a longer pause before her response came.
Vivienne:You might be the first person outside of education who's ever asked me that. Most people can’t wait to change the subject when I mention my work.
Julian:Their loss. Your passion for teaching is one of the things that drew me to you from the beginning.
Vivienne:One of the things? What were the others? ??
I leaned back in my chair, considering how to answer that. The truth was complicated—her intelligence, yes, but also her curves, her genuine reactions, the way she'd handled those drunk idiots at the bar with quiet dignity. The way she'd stood up for Delaney today without making it about herself.
Julian:Your intelligence. Your kindness. The way you see things others miss. The way you move through the world like you belong wherever you choose to be.
Julian:Also, you're breathtakingly beautiful.
Vivienne:Julian Thorne, are you trying to make me swoon while I'm grading papers about factory conditions?
Julian:Is it working?
Vivienne:Maybe a little ?? But I really do need to focus on these essays if I want to have any chance of enjoying Monday evening.
Julian:Monday evening. I've been thinking about that.
Julian:Are you nervous about the ride?
Vivienne:Terrified and excited in equal measure. Should I be more terrified?
I considered the question seriously. Riding could be dangerous, especially for someone inexperienced. But I'd been riding for over a decade, had never had an accident, and I'd be more careful with Vivienne on the bike.
Julian:I'll take good care of you. I promise. Safety gear, easy route, nothing too adventurous for your first time.
Vivienne:I trust you.
Those three little words hit me harder than they should have. When was the last time someone had said that to me and meant it completely? Most people in my world trusted my business acumen, my creative vision, my ability to make them money or advance their careers. But personal trust, the kind that meant putting yourself in someone's hands, that was rarer than diamonds.
Julian:That means more than you know.
Vivienne:I should probably get back to these papers. But Julian?
Julian:Yes?
Vivienne:I'm really looking forward to Monday.
