Page 13 of Apparently, I’m Trouble

He added fuel to the fire with his soft but deep, “Thank you,” and sweat prickled my skin. Well damn.

Almost as if he could sense the shift in me, Theo nodded once, awkwardly, then brushed by without another word.

Right. Well then. That was it, wasn’t it?

I took a breath and smoothed my hands down my dress, then went to collect my things. Day one was done, and I had a new book to find.

I looked down at my stack of paperbacks, glad I didn’t drop fifteen dollars on an extra copy for Kira, when–hang on. I had four books when this class started. Now there were five.

Son of a bitch.

This had to be it. The final copy of Misplaced that was sold out from under me at Wrinkled Pages. Theo bought it for his daughter, for the new class she was starting on Monday.

After all the time I spent trying to find it… now he didn’t want her to read it. This whole thing was starting to feel like some kind of mean prank. Like the universe had it in for me.

I stared at the book and grumbled, “Am I meant to be constantly fucked over by this man?”

God, I hoped not. I didn’t want to see Theo Hudson in my school again.

Chapter 6

Theo

CHIROPRACTIC CARE

My final client left, rolling his shoulders as he went. Diving back into my practice was a relief, and today, I needed it. Work stole my focus, and for those few hours, it felt good to forget.

But now that I was alone, that wasn’t the case.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d said this morning.

I lost my mind the second I saw Mia in that classroom, and it stunned me as much as it surprised Kira. That wasn’t how I did things.

I was careful. I was measured. I thought things through. That was who I was, and after Tash and I had Kira, I couldn’t afford to do or be anything else.

But fuck, that woman brought it out of me.

She was so hard to talk to. So hard to look at. And that mouth–I was going to spend days replaying every word that came out of it.

Earlier today, she left me in that hallway picturing her locked away in a bathroom stall, touching herself with the same slender fingers she’d waved in my face, and I had to stand outside, waiting for my blood to pump north again.

She made me feel like I’d lost control.

And as if all of this wasn’t confusing enough, when I finally made it in, I sat behind my daughter in that classroom and watched Mia transform. I’d never known what people meant when they said someone had a glow to them, but now I did.

Mia was magnetic. Her humor was sharp, her delivery was engaging. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, and neither could the students.

I was wrong about her.

The thought sank in as my door opened and Kira stormed in, tossing her backpack to the ground. She was pissed, and after this morning, I couldn’t blame her.

“Seriously, Dad? You really spoke to my teacher like that?”

I rolled my chair back. “I know. I can’t believe it either. I acted like an ass.”

“She didn’t deserve that.”

“You’re right. She didn’t.”