I stared at him; the look on his face told me he wasn’t lying. In fact, this was probably the most real he’d been with me so far. “The college has a counsellor, you know. If you ever want to talk to someone.” I thought it was a good idea. Maybe he’d even be more comfortable telling the counsellor about his reading and writing.

His head whipped up. “Why can’t I talk to you?”

“Of course you can talk to me, but I’m not a counsellor, Stu. I can lend an ear, but I’m not qualified to give advice.”

“And ear’s all I need.”

“Okay, then. Do you mind if I eat lunch while we talk? I’m starved.”

“Go ahead.”

He watched as I went to grab the food container from my bag and I thought it’d be rude to not offer him anything, so I asked, “Do you want to share with me?”

A small smile graced his lips as he shrugged. “Sure.”

I sat down next to him again and placed the food on the table, dividing it up between us as I spoke. “So, you’ll need to apologise to Harold. But you have to promise you won’t act out in class again. The college has strict rules, Stu, and the dean expects compliance. I’ll make an allowance this once but I won’t be able to do it again, otherwise people will become suspicious.”

Stu got a flirtatious glint in his eye, his voice lowering as he teased me. “Will they think we’re fucking after hours, Miss Anderson?”

I narrowed my gaze, trying to ignore how my belly fluttered in response to his use of the F word. I wasn’t a prude, but Mark and I had never fucked as such. We had always made love. I swallowed and tried to keep my voice steady.

“Don’t be a smart-arse, or I’ll take back the olive branch I just extended.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “My bad. I’ll keep this smart-arse locked up tight.”

My lips twitched but I just about managed to keep my smile at bay. “See that you do.”

Stu grinned, and his eyes traced my features. “You run a tight ship, huh?”

I picked up one of the sandwiches and took a bite. Taking my time to chew and swallow, I finally replied, “That’s right, so you should consider following my rules from now on.”

The rest of my thoughts I left unspoken. The thing was, I had a feeling if I didn’t run a tight ship with Stu Cross, it was possible I’d find myself falling overboard very quickly.

Six

Outside the college at the end of the day, I saw Stu approach the same car as before, the one with the tinted windows. White Room by Cream was blasting from the stereo and this time the driver was standing outside drinking a bottle of Lucozade. He was tall, with pale skin, brown hair, and startlingly blue eyes. Looking more closely, I recognised him from Stu’s Facebook pictures. He was one of the brothers, and I had to admit he was even better looking in real life.

I was just a few feet behind Stu as he took the guy’s hand and they did one of those very street handshake/shoulder bump greetings. Keeping my head down, I pretended to be typing on my phone as I passed.

“Andrea, hey!” Stu called.

When I acted like I hadn’t heard him he only spoke louder. “Miss Anderson. Come over here a minute, would ya?”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t far enough away to pretend I hadn’t heard him a second time, so I looked up and plastered a smile on my face. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Stu. In fact, despite all the many reasons why I shouldn’t, I probably liked him a little too much. It was just that the more I allowed myself to get to know him, the more problematic our relationship became.

The effect he had on me was unexpected, and in an odd way it felt like I was being unfaithful to Mark just by having these . . . feelings.

Hey, I never claimed to be a rational human being.

“Hi, sorry, I uh, didn’t see you there,” I said, rubbing my hand down the front of my coat as I glanced between the two men. Stu wore a smirk that told me he knew I’d been ignoring him, but he didn’t look offended.

“I wanted you to meet my brother, Trevor. Trev, this is my teacher, Andrea.”

Trevor had the sort of blue eyes that constantly shone with mischief, forever concocting plans and schemes.

“It’s Miss Anderson, actually. Nice to meet you, Trevor,” I said, holding out my hand.

“You, too,” he replied, shaking with me before glancing at Stu. “She likes to keep things professional, eh?”

“She thinks she does. She’ll learn,” said Stu, but I didn’t really get what he meant.

“Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Stu. And again, it was nice to meet you, Trevor.”

I immediately started walking but Stu’s voice stopped me. “Wait a sec. You need a lift?”

Trying to hide my grimace, I turned back. It was just my luck that the day Stu offered me a lift home was also the day I’d decided to take the tube to work instead of driving.

“Oh no, that’s quite all right, but thanks for the offer,” I replied and saw his eyes scanning the lot.

“Can’t see your motor anywhere,” he said, taking a step closer to me.

“Yeah, I got the tube this morning.”

He was already pressing his hand to the small of my back and guiding me over to Trevor’s car before I had the chance to protest. “Well then, I won’t take no for an answer. We’ll have you home in half the time.”

“Honestly, Stu, I don’t think . . .”

He pressed his fingers deeper into me, the action stealing my words. Why did he always have to smell so good? “Listen, you did me a solid today. Let me return the favour.”

I was momentarily consumed by his dark eyes as he continued to manoeuvre me. Before I knew it I was sliding into the back of the car with him.

Um, why wasn’t he getting in the front?

Trevor echoed my sentiment as he cocked a brow at his brother. “What am I, your bloody chauffeur?”

Stu just ignored him, scooting right in next to me. Everything felt too close as both men slammed the doors shut and Trevor pulled out of his parking spot. Stu’s thigh rested against mine, which there was absolutely no need for. Sure, he was a big guy, but he wasn’t that big. Trevor eyed me through the overhead mirror.

“So, where to?”

I swallowed thickly, my heart fluttering at the idea of handing over my address. It felt like all of Alfie’s paranoia was suddenly my own.