Chapter 1
Evangelyn sat at the back, watching Mr. Miles as he spoke. His voice was deep and commanding. It filled the room, but her mind was elsewhere. She shouldn’t be feeling this way. It was wrong, wasn’t it? Now, every time he walked into the room, her heart raced like it always did whenever she saw him.
“Miss Wheeler, do you have a question?” Mr. Miles’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, his sharp blue eyes locking with hers.
She blinked, heat rising to her cheeks. “Uh, no, sorry. I—”
“See me after class.” His words were calm, but there was something in his gaze that made her stomach flip.
The rest of the lecture passed in a blur. She barely heard a word as she scribbled mindlessly in her notebook. Her pulse quickened as the other students left the room. Soon, it was just the two of them.
Mr. Miles approached her desk, and she pretended to rummage her bag. “You seem distracted lately.”
Her throat tightened. “I’m sorry, I just...”
“I don’t want apologies.” He leaned his back against the desk, arms crossed. “I want to know what’s going on. It feels like you’re not here. Are you okay?”
Her heart pounded as she met his eyes. She could lie, and say it was nothing, but her words died in her throat as she looked into his eyes. She was drowning in those blue eyes. “It’s just...nothing really.”
His expression didn’t change. “I see.” He studied her for a moment. “Is it about school, or...” his eyes narrowed a bit, “personal matters?”
Evangelyn shifted uncomfortably, clutching the strap of her bag. “Personal, I guess.”
“Problems with boys?”
Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected that, so she laughed it off. Not boys, a man. “No, not exactly.” It was...you. She wanted to shout at him.
He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue, but she couldn’t. She quickly looked away, pretending to fix the strap on her bag.
“Kid,” he said softly, “if there’s anything you need to talk about, anything at all, my door is always open.”
She hated that when he called her kid.“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” She stood quickly, desperate to escape his presence. She was afraid he would see it in her eyes.
“Don’t overthink it,” he added as she reached the door. “Just take care of yourself, okay?”
And she hated that he was also nice.
