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I try to remain unaffected and keep my facial expression neutral, but I can feel the corners of my lips tugging upward. There’s just something endearing about Drew speaking my love language. Which is, of course, sugar.

“Thank goodness. You know I can't survive without sweets.”

He laughs, and it fills the room in the most magnificent way.

“Do you need any help?”

He shoots me a quick smile, but continues prepping the food. “Naw, it’s almost ready.”

I sit on the bar stool across the counter from him and watch him work.

“Thanks for inviting us, we have nothing going on this weekend.” I place my elbows on the counter and rest my face in my hands. “Do you have any big plans over the weekend? I can always watch Penny if you have another date.” I really want to know if he’s still dating Mariah, but I don’t want to be too obvious.

“No plans, and no more dates.”

Now I’m even more curious. “You’re not going to see Mariah anymore?”

His eyes meet mine, and he holds my gaze for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders. “We’re better off as friends, so we decided not to get romantically involved.”

His gaze is burning into me, almost like he’s daring me to keep asking questions.

“Oh, why?” My voice cracks. “She seemed great,” I add quickly.

“She is great, just not the one for me.” He pauses and worries his bottom lip, as if he’s not sure whether he should say more. “I think she felt like something was going on between you and me, actually.”

I swallow hard. “Really?” I try to sound calm, but my voice is barely above a whisper.

He pins me with his hazel eyes again. “Really.” He clears his throat. “How about you? Any more dates with Mr. Vanderven?”

I’d laugh but Drew looks dead serious. “Um, no. My parents set up that date, I didn’t even know about it until right before he showed up. He made me drink cabernet.”

He relaxes his shoulders, like he’s relieved by my admission. He smiles at me, showing his beautiful white teeth. “You seem more like a moscato girl.”

“You’re correct.” I bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling like a dork.

There’s enough electricity flowing between the two of us at this moment to power the entire tri-state area. I open my mouth to respond, but the girls run into the dining room in a fit of giggles, pulling us out of our moment.

I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that we weren’t able to finish that conversation, but it’s probably for the best, anyway.

Drew and I make plates for the girls and our conversation is all but forgotten. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Drew stealing glances at me as he prepares a plate for Penny.

We all sit down at the table to enjoy the delicious meal Drew prepared. Thankfully, the girls are chatting and keeping us entertained, so we don’t have to carry the conversation. My brain is still reeling from the way he was looking at me earlier. I think I’ll probably have visions of those gorgeous hazel eyes with flecks of brown and green as I fall asleep tonight.

It’s Monday and I’m having issues with Peter Vanderven again. He seemed so sweet and shy when I first met him, but after three weeks with him, I can tell his father’s spoiled, entitled attitude has—unfortunately—rubbed off on him.

“Ms. Miller?” Elizabeth asks with her hand raised in the air.

“Yes, Elizabeth?” I respond with a smile. Elizabeth is a really sweet girl. “Do you need help on your quiz?”

“I don’t actually, but Peter might.” He sits at the desk next to hers and she shoots him a glare. “Since he keeps copying my answers.”

Peter’s jaw drops and he raises his hands to his chest like he’s offended at her words. Ugh, not this again. Peter doesn’t seem to want to do any of his own work. I stand from where I was sitting at my desk and walk over to look at Elizabeth and Peter’s work. After looking closely at both of them, it’s obvious Peter has copied everything she wrote word for word. At least he’s bad at cheating, so it’s easy to tell. I’m going to have to call his father and arrange a meeting. Bradley creeped me out the last time I saw him, so I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.

“Peter, please move to the front of the class.” I gesture toward the empty desk right next to mine.

“But I didn’t do anything!” He demands. “She’s lying!”

“Peter, we will talk about this after class. Please quietly obey my request so the other students can finish their quiz.”