The week before Thanksgiving—and days after her first seduction lesson—Heath sent Jubilee a text saying that he had to go out of town that weekend. A teacher training in Seattle, he wrote. Super boring. I’d rather stay in town with you.That last line made her heart flutter. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that night, or how amazing Heath had been. And they hadn’t officially had sex yet! She had a feeling when they got to the actual sex, she might not survive it.I wish you had stayed here, then, she replied after she arrived home from The Rise and Shine that Friday night. What am I supposed to do tonight? Netflix and chill by myself?Don’t you have twenty siblings you can hang out with? :)Jubilee laughed. No, thanks. I see them enough as it is.Besides, she thought, the last thing she needed was for one of her nosy older brothers to see how happy and distracted she was and put two and two together. Especially Harrison. He was still suspicious

Hearing footsteps behind him, Heath whirled, only to see the last person he expected to come for him at Fair Haven Elementary. Harrison Thornton stalked toward him, his expression stormy, and Heath was only surprised he didn’t get a punch in the jaw from Harrison right then.“What’s going on with you and my sister?” Harrison demanded. He wore a shirt and slacks under his coat, so he must’ve come straight from work at his private practice.Heath looked up at the sky: gray and gloomy, and apparently there was a chance of snow in the forecast. Just what he needed, although it reflected his own mood.“Hello to you, too. Did you want to get a drink after work?” Heath crossed his arms. Although they were in the school parking lot, there were enough people around to keep Harrison from decking him.Hopefully.“I don’t drink with men who hurt my sisters. Either tell me what’s going on between you and Jubilee, or I’ll make you tell me.”Heath rolled his eyes. Harrison had been a good frien

Jubilee smiled as Heath gave her more pancakes on her plate the following morning. They’d both woken up starving, and although Heath had been tempted to go a second round, their rumbling stomachs had been so distracting that he determined they needed breakfast before any more sex.It didn’t help his self-control one bit to see Jubilee wearing his shirt and nothing else, her hair still mussed from his running his fingers through it. She was flushed and happy, and she kept giving him looks from under her lashes.Heath decided he’d cook them breakfast, mostly to give himself something to do that didn’t involve pouncing on Jubilee. She’s probably sore. Give her a break, his mind said, but his mind had very little influence over his libido at this point.His gaze was far away as he flipped pancakes and scrambled eggs for them both. Last night had been…mind-altering. When he’d told Jubilee that the sex had been the best he’d ever had, he’d meant it. And now that he’d been the one to

Jubilee stared straight ahead as she sat in the driver’s side of her car, Heath silent in the passenger seat. She’d initially thought they could talk at her apartment, but the thought of going there, where Heath had first touched her and shaken her world, seemed unbearable right then.Jubilee shivered despite the heater going full blast. She’d tried to get the water out of her hair, but then it had seemed so pointless in the grand scheme of things.Heath had lied to her. When she’d asked him if something was going on, he’d lied to her face without flinching.So she waited, hoping he had an explanation she could understand, if not swallow so they could move on.“I should’ve told you everything a long time ago,” Heath admitted. He sighed. “I didn’t know how to tell you, Jubilee. And I didn’t want to lay that burden on you.”She flinched, but she said nothing. She knew well enough that one of the best ways to get people to talk was to wait. The words inevitably spilled out in an atte

Jubilee shivered as her car very slowly heated up. After a lot of persuasion (or, in Jubilee’s mind, nagging), she’d agreed to go to her parents’ place for dinner. Lisa had told her she wanted to talk, which Jubilee knew really meant listening to Lisa lecture her about whatever she’d decided Jubilee had done wrong.She’d never understand why Lisa was so set on keeping Jubilee from living her own life. She’d always be grateful for everything Lisa had sacrificed for Jubilee during her treatments, but when would Lisa finally realize that she had to let go?Jubilee had found an apartment in Seattle and had begun packing up her things for her move. Although it was tinged with sadness and loss, it also provided a distraction from thinking about Heath every hour of every day. Last night, though, she’d read her infamous list for the thousandth time before taking a lighter and burning it until it was nothing but ashes.At least she wouldn’t be stuck in Fair Haven, running into Heath all the