“And you think Tia might be the reason?” Aiyana couldn’t help going right back to that. She liked Tia, thought she might be perfect for Seth. But she didn’t want to get her hopes up too high, not without sufficient reason, and it seemed as though Gavin could provide that reason. He was certainly acting as though he’d seen or heard something.

“I do.”

“Why? Did he say something to you about her?”

“Not specifically. But—” he started to laugh “—let’s just say it was pretty...apparent.”

Aiyana grabbed his arm but lowered her voice. “Are you hinting that he might be sleeping with her?”

Gavin’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t say that.”

It was Aiyana’s turn to start laughing. “You didn’t have to.”

Some of the teachers started wandering in. Gavin shot her a disgruntled look to let her know he wasn’t pleased she’d gotten so much out of him and left. He had a lot to do around campus, and he was so good to step up and get it done.

For the next forty minutes, Aiyana was too preoccupied to be able to concentrate on anything besides the events they were planning at the school. But after the meeting ended, and she was sitting alone in the room, she felt lighter than air as she texted Gavin.

Thank you, son.

For what? came his response.

For Aiyana, there simply couldn’t be a better Christmas present than Seth finding love and happiness again. For giving me hope, she wrote back.

He didn’t ask her to clarify. It’d been almost an hour since they’d spoken about Seth and Tia, but he understood, because all he sent back was a winking emoji.

“Lunch is ready,” Seth heard Tia call as soon as he stepped out of the shower.

After he pulled on some jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, he went into the kitchen to find that she’d made avocado toast, squeezed some of the oranges from the pile he’d picked and put on some coffee. He was still hungry, despite the cereal he’d eaten when Gavin came over, and the toast was exceptionally good the way she made it, with pesto as a base and hot pepper flakes on top. It was such a simple thing, this breakfast after a night of great sex, and yet it was so fulfilling. Somehow, he’d forgotten how gratifying it was to share a meal with someone he enjoyed.

Or maybe he hadn’t forgotten. He’d just thought he’d never enjoy anyone as much Shiloh.