"Are you feeling sick?" Adir asked the mont the car drove off, his voice laced with open concern.
Adam glanced at him briefly through the rearview mirror before shaking his head in silence.
"Then why do you look so bad?" Adir pressed, tilting his head. "Like soone made you eat dicine that tasted really, really awful."
Adam sighed, keeping his gaze fixed on the road ahead. "It’s nothing, kiddo. I just... don’t like making lanie wait."
Adir gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "But I already called her and told her my friend was hurt. She said it was okay if we dropped her off first. She even said she hoped that my friend would feel better soon."
Adam didn’t respond right away. He gave a brief shake of his head and muttered, "Miss lody is your teacher, not your friend."
"She said she can be anything. She said she’s our ’mother teacher,’ so she can be like a teacher, a mother, or a friend. I like her as a friend."
Adam didn’t argue. He drove on in silence, but his mind was far from the conversation.
He wasn’t thinking about Adir. Or even about lanie. His thoughts were stuck on that look.
Because he had seen that look before.
He’d played the field long enough to know when soone was intrigued and interested. When her eyes followed just a little too long. When her voice softened without reason. When her posture shifted, her attention held, her guard dropped-not from professionalism, not from politeness, but from sothing else entirely.
Infatuation.
lody had tried to hide it. Had kept her words light and her tone careful. But Adam wasn’t blind, and he wasn’t new to this ga. He could tell the difference from where she was hoping to get near him.
It was sothing else.
It wasn’t bold. It wasn’t brazen. But it was there-just under the surface. And it had unsettled him more than he cared to admit. Because it wasn’t coming from a stranger at a bar or a girl he’d never see again.
It was coming from Adir’s teacher. From a woman who looked so much like lanie, it was sotis hard not to do a double take. And the person who had actually made his lon jealous.
That was what made him uncomfortable.
Because for the first ti in a long ti... he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel about being looked at like that. He wanted to warn her to back off, but she had done nothing. He sighed. This was troubleso. Despite what he had told lanie about always making her jealous, he didn’t want sothing like that around their relationship. It was never healthy.
When they reached the store, lanie was already waiting outside, one hand on her hip, the other casually scrolling through her phone.
Before Adir could even reach for the door, Adam was out, walking over to her. lanie looked up as he approached, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," he murmured back.
Then, without hesitation, he leaned in and kissed her, almost desperate for it. Sohow, this entire interaction had made him extrely uncomfortable today. He could onlt breathe properly as she kissed him back before moving back with a grin," Adam! Soone might think we’ve been separated and are eting after over a year, with the way you are kissing ."
He grinned and cupped her face, smiling," Well, it does feel like years, my sweet lon."
lanie grinned and shook her head, moving to sit in the car as Adam held the door open for her.
The mont she settled into the seat, she turned slightly and inhaled again, subtly this ti. There was sothing unmistakable lingering in the cabin. A faint floral note—sweet, powdery, distinctly feminine.
Perfu.
Not hers.
Before she could turn the thought over too long, Adir leaned forward between the seats with a grin.
"How was your day?" he asked brightly, pressing a kiss to her cheek like he always did. "Did you have to wait long?"
lanie smiled back automatically, caught off guard by the sudden affection. "Not too long," she replied. "You boys took your ti, though."
Adir nodded solemnly. "We had a rescue mission. Miss lody was hurt, so we took her ho."
lanie’s brows lifted just slightly. "Hurt?"
"Twisted her leg. She was even limping."
lanie nodded and glanced at Adam whose face scread of irritation while Adir went on about how he had helped lody because she was his friend.
So, it was lody whose perfu she could sll. lanie felt a bit uncomfortable but then shook her head. The previous incident had been a misunderstanding so, there was no reason for her to hold onto that and be irritated.
She sat quietly for a mont longer, letting the hum of the car settle around them. The perfu still lingered faintly, but she didn’t bring it up again and made herself let it go.
Instead, she turned slightly toward Adir and said, "You know what? Since Miss lody got hurt, maybe next ti you should take her sothing tasty and nutritious. Sothing that helps her feel better fast."
Adir’s face lit up instantly at the idea, "Really? I can do that?"
"Of course," she said, smiling. "You care about her, don’t you?"
He nodded eagerly. "She’s my friend! And she helps with my spellings and tells funny stories."
"Then sothing healthy and yummy. I’ll help you pack it if you like."
Adir looked like he’d just been handed a mission from the President himself. "Can I give her mango juice? And the almond brittle chocolates?"
lanie laughed. "Perfect choice."
From the driver’s seat, Adam’s shoulders eased just slightly. He cast a sidelong glance at her, the tension in his jaw beginning to fade. He’d expected a biting comnt or so quiet brooding. But instead, she’d chosen kindness. And he laughed at himself. He’d been worried for nothing.
His lon was too smart for that.
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