That’s not what we’re about.

I just adore her. Being around her. I love when she’s with me and miss her when she’s gone.

Our story started with a less than stellar meeting and an unexpected pregnancy. But now it’s just about us. Her and me. And isn’t that how it should be?

I stick out like a sore thumb in my suit and tie.

A fact nobody misses. Immediately students start to whisper as I pass.

“Oh my God, who is that?”

“Did Professor Lassiter hire a cover model to come talk to us? I hope he takes his shirt off. Or at least unbuttons it a little.”

“Bet he’s got his dick in that box.”

That last one makes me laugh. Julia looks up from her papers. She does a double take when she sees me, blue eyes going wide with delight.

“Grey?” she says, smiling. “What in the world are you doing here?”

I open the box.

“You said you were craving a pumpkin scone. Thought I’d bring some over for you and your students. This qualifies as brain food, right?”

“Everything qualifies as brain food!” someone calls out behind me.

Julia just looks at me. Digs her teeth into her bottom lip as she smiles at me with her eyes.

Gracious, this woman.

She does things to me.

Things I like but usually try to avoid when I’m standing in front of forty college students.

I’m not sure what the appropriate greeting here is. I don’t want to embarrass Julia or make her appear unprofessional.

So I just smile back and hold out the box.

“Hi. Take one.”

She gathers her hair in one hand to hold it back and leans toward the box. “Hi. This was very sweet of you.”

“I was thinking about how good these things are,” I say, watching as she lifts a scone from the box and brings it to her mouth. “I was also thinking that I’d love to see you in action. Teaching, I mean. Talking romance. Seemed like the perfect opportunity. Is it okay if I stay?”

“You can stay as long as you like,” another student says.

Julia tilts her head to glance over my shoulder. “All right, Priya, don’t make me assign extra reading this week.”

A tingle sneaks its way up my spine. I like it when Professor Lassiter lays down the law.

Maybe she’ll do it with me tonight.

“And of course you can stay,” Julia says, turning back to me. “You’re always welcome.”

“Always.”

“Priya.”

“All right, all right. I’ll stop.”

Julia grins. “Cool if I introduce you? Then you can pass those around and we’ll start class.”

She introduces me as her boyfriend, which makes me smile harder than it should. It just feels so good. Being a part of things again.

Participating fully in life for the first time in years.

I don’t have a ton of time to hang out. My phone vibrates like crazy in my pocket. But I manage to watch Julia teach for a solid half hour from a seat in the front row. The class and I munching on our scones while she lectures passionately—creatively—on how changing social norms have shaped romance and vice versa. She encourages her students to be active participants in the conversation, calling on people by name. I notice that, while the majority of her class is female, there are more than a handful of guys in the room.