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He leaned back enough to brush the wet hair from her face. “When have I ever looked at you with hatred?”

“You haven’t yet. But you will. I can’t cut Kyle off like he doesn’t exist. Even if I did, you’d never forget what he did to you. Every time you look in the mirror, or get one of your headaches, you’ll remember. Eventually you’ll hate me.”

“Sweetheart, I could never hate you.” But the way his gaze shifted away meant he wasn’t sure. “It’s wet out here. Let’s get you inside. You just got over the flu. This can’t be good for you. Come on.” He shrugged out of his soaked coat and draped it over her shoulders. It held his warmth and his scent, and it settled her instantly. He kept his arm around her as he steered her back toward the hotel.

But she couldn’t sweep their problems under the rug. “I think it’s best we stop whatever this is. It’ll never work between us. We knew that from the beginning, but somehow along the way I forgot. There’s nothing but pain here if we continue. I’m starting to fall for you, Oliver.”

He stopped so abruptly, she almost tripped. She tried not to miss the anchoring weight of his arm.

His mouth dropped open and he moved it around like a caught fish.

Well. Enough said.

Don’t let him see your pain. Game face, Yarrow. “Okay.” A breath. Another. “Let’s head back. We’ll talk to Brendan tomorrow, figure something out.”

When she turned in the direction of their hotel, he fell in beside her, but he didn’t reach for her.

The rain eased to a drizzle. Addison stepped around a puddle and noticed, a few seconds too late, that Oliver wasn’t next to her anymore. He’d stopped on the wet pavement, focused on something across the road.

She followed the direction of his gaze. Trinity College. The place where he never got to teach.

“Oliver? You okay?”

His pale skin looked almost translucent. “Let’s go across the street for a little bit.”

She looked between him and the university. “Umm… is that a good idea?”

“Probably not.” He flashed her a lopsided smile. “But that’s never stopped either one of us before.”

Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, Trinity College had remained one of the world’s great universities. Its alumni included renowned novelists, Nobel Prize recipients, and inventors of world-changing innovations. Its library was home to the Book of Kells, one of the finest illuminated manuscripts ever produced. And Oliver looked like he was walking into a prison.

She wondered what he saw when he looked at the stone walls and green spaces. A future that had been robbed from him? The reason he’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Tentatively, she slipped her hand through his. She knew he didn’t want comfort but needed it.

The brackets around his mouth tightened as they stepped onto the campus grounds.

“We don’t have to be here… we can leave any time,” she reminded him.

But as they walked, his expression changed, his face soft as he absorbed the centuries-old buildings that framed the courtyard. “Teaching here had once been a dream of mine. The accident happened the night before my first class.”

“You can still live that dream, Oliver.”

“Who wants a teacher who has days when he’s half-awake?”

“Have you seen the average college faculty? Everyone is half-awake. To be frank, so are the students.”

A corner of his mouth lifted. “They deserve a good teacher.”

“You’re a great teacher. Now, where’s the art history department?”

Oliver took her to the Arts Building. The utilitarian structure screamed the 1970s, a stark contrast to the stone buildings surrounding it.

“That window up there? That was supposed to be my office for the summer.”

How badly she wanted to wrap her arms around him, to offer comfort. Instead, she cleared her throat. “Want to go inside?”

“Maybe.” He didn’t budge. “Another time. Not quite yet.” When he looked at her, doubt shadowed his features. But there was something else. Anticipation. “Addy, I think I’m going to do it. Apply to be a visiting scholar here.”

A dizzying combination of joy and pride burst in her chest. Addison hugged him before bringing her lips to his. “They’ll be lucky to have you.”