Hi baby. Went home for a nap, I was exhausted. Everything ok? I’m worried.

Whitman wasn’t a huge law school, but it felt as if it took Embry forever to make it through the halls. She reached the end of the hallway, and her classroom was the last on the left. As she went for the door handle, her phone chirped again. Luke’s words made her stomach drop.

I am so sorry, baby.

Embry pulled up short and stared at her phone. What? With shaky hands, she attempted to type a response. She had no idea what he was sorry about, but whatever it was, she couldn’t deal with it until after class. She’d call him as soon as she got out, and they’d figure it out then.

Sorry for what? You’re freaking me out. Late to class. I’ll call when I get out. xx

Embry took a deep breath, steeling herself and settling her nerves, and walked into the classroom.

As she entered the room, Embry breathed a sigh of relief. A man stood at the front of the classroom writing on the whiteboard, and she realized they must have a sub. Weird, why didn’t Coleman just cancel class? She was mesmerized by him. She liked the way the muscles in his back expanded and contracted under his white dress shirt, sleeves rolled halfway and exposing thick, tan forearms. He reminded her of Luke. Get a grip, Bree.

She was about to move toward her seat when the man turned to address the class. “I wasn’t supposed to start until next semester, but Professor Coleman had an emergency. Unfortunately, she won’t be back this semester. So I’ll be taking over from here on out.”

Embry was frozen to the spot. She heard the words, but they weren’t registering. Luke, her Luke, stood in front of the room, speaking to the class like … No, it couldn’t be. She focused in on the words written on the board behind him: Professor Lucas Brody.

The room swayed, and Embry felt light headed. Professor. The word ran through her head on a loop, assaulting her mind and ripping through her chest. She couldn’t focus, and her heart pounded so loud in her ears, she wondered if the entire class could hear it. No one had seen her yet. He hadn’t seen her yet. Embry backed toward the door, but her movement must have caught Luke’s eye. His beautiful blue irises locked onto hers, a million emotions playing across his face. She was paralyzed, too stunned to move. She blinked furiously, willing herself to see something different, but there was nothing different to see. Luke stood at the front of the class, his sad eyes still searching hers, and in that moment she felt as if her heart had leapt from her chest and fell to the floor.

He lied to me.

That thought snapped her out of it. As quickly as she had frozen, Embry sprang into action. With one last look at Luke, she pushed out of the classroom, walked back down the long hallway, and straight out to the parking lot. She sat in her car gripping the steering wheel for dear life, her bare legs sticking to the warm leather seat. Of course I wore a dress. She’d planned on teasing Luke with her lack of pants again.

Embry let out a choked sob, and the tears began to fall. It was too much. She couldn’t get her head around it. He had lied. A huge lie. A lie that could affect both of their futures. And for what? They may be falling for each other—or had been until that revelation—but he knew that she was a student. And he was a professor. Luke was a professor. Her professor. She sat there trying to make sense of everything as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

Embry put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. She drove until she found herself at the beach. She grabbed a blanket out of the trunk and walked toward the ocean. It had always been the one place she could find peace, but every step she took on the soft, white sand was a memory. Walking with Luke, laughing with Luke, kissing Luke. She shut out her thoughts and settled by the water, wrapping herself in the blanket.

Her phone chirped. As much as she’d wanted to leave the phone in the car, she couldn’t help but wonder if Luke would call. She looked down at the text: Jeremy. She sighed, disappointment ripping through her. As hurt as she was, she couldn’t help wishing for Luke. Right back to the same old patterns. How fucked up am I?

Her thoughts turned to Jack. He had ruined her. He’d done everything possible to break her down—and she was broken—but she wasn’t that girl anymore. Part of her wished Luke would comfort her, come running after her on his white horse with some crazy explanation. But there was no plausible explanation, and this wasn’t a fairy tale. He’d lied. For what reason, she didn’t know. Maybe he got off on fucking his students.

Oh my god! I fooled around with my professor. Embry cringed. She didn’t want to remember those moments with Luke as anything other than beautiful. But she’d have to sit in his class for almost two hours a day, three days a week. She knew what he looked like under his clothes, knew what he felt like, had traced the hills and valleys of his chest. She knew the sounds he made when he came, knew how he tasted.

She threw a rock into the calm water, watching it skip across the surface and leave ripples in its wake. She sat and stared, letting her thoughts drift away. The sound of waves lapping at the shore calmed her and lulled her into a haze. Embry’s phone rang, and Luke’s face popped up on the display. Her heart ached, and she rubbed at her chest. Stupid picture. She hit ignore and threw the phone into the sand. She’d have to speak to him at some point, but not when she was so raw. His betrayal was still too fresh.

Minutes passed, maybe hours. She had no idea how much longer she sat there staring at the ocean, but as she watched the sun kiss the horizon, she knew she had to pull herself together. She headed home, trying not to think about the empty apartment waiting for her. Luke had called a few more times, and each time, she sent him to voicemail.

She drove down the highway, with the windows down, wind blowing through her hair, trying to focus her thoughts on anything else but Luke. Her phone danced across the passenger seat again, and Embry rolled her eyes, wishing he’d stop calling. She grabbed the phone to shut it off but saw Morgan’s face on the display.

“Hello?”

“Bree! Where’ve you been? Everyone is talking about what happened to Coleman and the hot new professor who took her place! Were you in class today? Is he seriously gorgeous? I hear he’s, like, seriously gorgeous! Why didn’t you call me?”

“It’s Luke.” Embry could barely get the words out. She took a deep breath and fought off the tears threatening to fall. Just saying his name hurt.

“What about Luke? I’m talking about your hot new professor. Did you hear anything I just said?”

Exasperated, Embry replied, “Yes, Morgan, I heard what you said.”

“So what are you talking about?”

“My hot new professor,” Embry said slowly.

“Yes?”

“Is Luke.”

Morgan shrieked, and Embry held the phone away from her ear. “Embry? Embry! Are you there? Helloooooo?” Morgan called.

She brought the phone back to her ear. “I’m here, Morgan.”

“Are you okay? What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I just found out when I walked into class today.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That makes two of us,” Embry said flatly. She felt as if all of the life had been sucked out of her voice, along with the promise of what could have been between her and Luke.

“You’re not okay.” It wasn’t a question.