I swear, I think I see him blush when he drops his head to grab the container. “Instagram. I may have…stalked you a little bit to find out what you liked.”
Difficult.
This man is making it so hard in the best way that could have the worst consequences.
I love my kids, my job. I’ve worked so hard to become a teacher and gain respect amongst my peers. My parents were a little disappointed that I didn’t want to become someone who made more money, but the job is rewarding enough for me. I’m an only child, so their expectations were pretty high for me, but they’ve come to expect it.
“I should file a restraining order,” I tease as he pulls a perfect cupcake from its container before taking a large bite out of it. “Hey!”
Micah shrugs his massive shoulders underneath a white tee that sayspunk rock isn’t dead. “Bad girls don’t get cupcakes…” His blues slide slowly over to me with a heaved brow. “Or dick. Be nice to me.”
“A girl has to be careful,” I argue.
“I’ll take care of you,” he vouches without a second thought. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”
I wish that were fully true. I’d love for us to be able to have a relationship that was just as simple as that.
However, I have a big decision to make here, and I’m afraid to choose wrong because either way…I lose something or someone.
“You keep doing that.” I blink away my inner thoughts, not realizing I zoned out, and focus on him. “You’re thinking too much about this, Sienna. It’s not that big a deal. You can hide me until the school year is out.”
“I had a meeting with Principal Simpson.”
Micah stops chewing and stares at me like it was the last thing he was expecting. “And…”
“The moms complained that you chaperoned.”
He scowls. “Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately.” He rolls his eyes and continues chewing. “She reinforced the rules.”
Micah averts his gaze and looks at the crowd. “What rules?”
He knows which rules I’m referring to.
Or should I saytherule.
My response is clogged in my throat, reality looming and eating away at my resolve becausethis—us—we’re over before we started.
We have to be.
“Dating…parents.”
Blue eyes flick back over to me, and it’s written all over Micah’s face.
He knows.
He knows I won’t continue this based on what I’ve just disclosed. I also won’t drag him into a secret relationship because it’s not right. I’m not rebellious, but I follow the rules placed in front of me. Not only because it’s in my DNA but because it’s a career I’ve worked extremely hard at and take a lot of pride in.
“What does that mean?” he volleys back, studying my expression and daring me to say the words I’ve said before.
Except it’s hard.
I open my mouth, but I hesitate because I don’t want to do this. I hate being the one who has to put an end to something that could’ve been something great.
“It means my career could be ruined here, in Magnolia Ridge, if we continue.” He bobs his head and pushes his left cheek out with his tongue. “And it’s not fair to you.”
“How do you figure?”
