Chapter 23
“Istill can’t believe Kolter pulled a stunt like that,” April exclaimed to Daniela the next day after class. “What a creep.”
“Right? I was so pissed,” Daniela huffed, biting into her turkey burger.
They were having lunch in the brilliantly hued gardens of the courtyard outside the Law Classroom Building. Around them, students laughed, compared study notes and shared horror stories about being cold-called to recite tough cases.
“I’ve been in shock ever since you texted me from the restaurant last night.” April shook her head, sipping her green tea smoothie. “What the hell was he even thinking?”
“He was thinking about getting laid,” Daniela grumbled. “He probably figured if he took me out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, I’d feel obliged to repay his kindness by sleeping with him.”
“Ew. Asshole.”
“One hundred percent.” Daniela chewed and swallowed another bite of her burger. “Is it crazy that I sort of felt sorry for him?”
April snorted. “You’re better than me. He deserved a kick in the balls.”
“Oh, I was definitely tempted,” Daniela said, chuckling. “I didn’t want to cause a scene, though. Like I said, it was a nice restaurant.”
“You should’ve stayed and ordered the most expensive appetizers and entrées on the menu—two of each. Oh, and the most expensive bottle of wine,” April added with spiteful glee. “That would’ve served his ass right.”
“Doubtful,” Daniela said wryly. “He’s a trust fund baby who receives a sizeable monthly allowance. Blowing six hundred bucks on dinner wouldn’t have fazed him.”
“Shit. You’re probably right.” April stuffed a forkful of salad into her mouth, glancing around the courtyard. “He missed class today. I wonder if he’s avoiding you.”
Daniela snorted. “That would suggest a level of self-awareness he obviously doesn’t possess.
” She dragged a French fry through a puddle of ketchup on her plate and took a hungry bite.
After an entire weekend of not being able to keep food down, she was still playing catch-up days later.
Having sex with Caleb had also ramped up her appetite.
The man was a beast. A bona fide sex god.
When they got to her house last night, he’d ordered her a bunch of food from an upscale steakhouse.
She’d laughingly protested, insisting it was too much, but he overrode her objections.
He wanted her to have leftovers so she wouldn’t have to cook, freeing up her time to complete her reading assignments.
His thoughtful generosity made her swoon.
Then he’d rolled up his shirtsleeves, settled her on his lap, and fed her bites of succulent prime rib and creamy truffle risotto, groaning every time she slowly licked the tines of the fork.
It was some of the best foreplay she’d ever had.
“…so glad you’re feeling better,” April was saying. “We haven’t had a chance to catch up this week, but I was really worried when I didn’t see you in class on Monday, and when you didn’t answer your phone.”
“Sorry about that,” Daniela said, picking up her burger. “I got your messages, but I was too out of it to call you back.”
“No worries. Oh, hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, who was that man with the deep, sexy voice who answered your phone on Sunday? He sounded absolutely gorgeous.”
Daniela chuckled. “That was my brother Noah. And, yes, he is gorgeous, if I do say so myself.”
April grinned. “How old is he? And is he married?”
“He’s thirty-five, and still very much single.” One corner of Daniela’s mouth lifted in a wry smile. “If ever there were a consummate bachelor, Noah would be it.”
“Commitment-shy, huh?”
“No, just very picky.”
April issued a long, plaintive sigh. “The good ones usually are. Speaking of gorgeous, elusive bachelors, guess who else missed you in class on Monday?”
Daniela’s heart tripped. Feigning a bland tone, she asked, “Who?”
April glanced around the busy courtyard as if checking for eavesdroppers, then leaned close to whisper with barely suppressed delight, “Professor Thorne!”
Daniela allowed just the right amount of surprised curiosity to enter her voice. “Really? What makes you say that?”
“He stopped me after class that day to ask where you were, and he seemed genuinely concerned.” A mischievous twinkle lit April’s dark eyes. “I wanted to test his reaction, so I told him when I called you, a man answered your phone and said you were sleeping.”
Daniela paused, burger halfway to her mouth. “You didn’t.”
“I did,” April crowed, grinning as she speared a cherry tomato with her fork and popped it in her mouth. “Without batting an eye, he told me to tell you that you ‘might want to rethink the wisdom’ of skipping his class this early in the semester.”
Daniela arched a brow. “Is that what he said?”
“Yup. But you know what? I got the distinct impression he was more bothered by a man answering your phone, than you missing class.”
This drew a low, husky laugh from Daniela.
Hadn’t she detected a note of relief in Caleb’s voice when he learned that Noah—her brother—had visited her on Sunday?
He’d assumed from his conversation with April that the man who answered Daniela’s phone was her boyfriend, and he’d gotten jealous and decided to pay her a personal visit.
She wondered what he would have done if her “lover” had answered the door when he showed up.
Now that she’d experienced his fiercely possessive side, the possibilities were both thrilling and terrifying.
April watched her with an amused look. “I take it by the little smile on your face that you don’t exactly mind the idea of making our hot law professor jealous.” Her eyes widened suddenly, as if an idea had just occurred to her. “Oh my God, Daniela. Do you think he’s into you?”
Daniela shook her head quickly. “Of course not.” The last thing she wanted was to start a rumor about Caleb crossing the line with one of his students.
Even if Shara was right about his shady track record, Daniela didn’t want to be responsible for jeopardizing his job or ruining his reputation at the university.
She would do everything in her power to protect him, and that meant keeping their affair as discreet as possible.
Funny how she hadn’t given his past indiscretions a second thought when he was touching her, kissing her, burying himself deep inside her.
She’d pushed Shara’s malicious words to the back of her mind, but now they resurfaced to taunt her: There’s always that one who sneaks beneath the radar, the one he simply can’t resist. I guess you’ve drawn the winning lottery ticket this semester….
Suddenly, the half-eaten burger she’d ingested turned into a lump of grease in her stomach.
Was Shara right? Was Daniela nothing more than the flavor of the semester? Had she now become another notch on Caleb’s bedpost, as she’d feared?
Why do you care? an inner voice demanded. You’re not here to win Caleb Thorne’s heart. Only his trust.
“You’re probably right,” April was saying around a mouthful of salad. “He doesn’t seem like the type to mess around with his students. Plus he was literally just on a date with Professor Adler on Friday night. So there’s that.”
Daniela flinched as a needle of jealousy stabbed her in the heart.
“I think he’s amazing,” April continued, blissfully oblivious. “After you left to go check out the other exhibits, he bought four of my photographs. Four. Wasn’t that incredibly sweet of him?”
“Very,” Daniela murmured.
“He even offered to buy one for Professor Adler, but she wasn’t interested. Guess she wasn’t as impressed with my work as you guys were.”
“Forget her,” Daniela grumbled dismissively. “She has no taste, anyway.”
April grinned, appreciating the loyal sentiment. “She might not know photography, but she sure as hell has excellent taste in men.” April leaned forward to whisper, “Do you think Professor Thorne talks dirty in bed? God, can you even imagine him pulling your hair and calling you good—”
“Girl, are you okay?” Daniela interrupted, one brow raised. “Do I need to throw a bucket of cold water on you?”
April laughed, clapping her hand over her mouth like a naughty child. “Oh my God. I just realized something. I think I’m lowkey in love with our professor. I mean, I was already madly in lust, but then he complimented my work and showed his support by buying those photos—”
“So talk about his big heart, not his big dick.”
April choked back a giggle and gulped down her smoothie, dark eyes dancing over the rim of the cup.
Daniela watched her, lips twitching with amused empathy. Caleb’s magnetic aura was undefeated.
April set her empty cup down and grinned at Daniela. “Don’t tell our study group about my little crush, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Daniela chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
You wouldn’t believe the secrets I’m keeping from you.
On the way home, she found her thoughts wandering back to last night’s encounter with Hoyt Philbin.
Caleb’s hostile reaction to the mayor, and his cryptic warning to her, had been gnawing at her conscience, starting almost from the moment Caleb kissed her at the door at two a.m. and headed back to his own place.
Once the postcoital glow wore off, and she stopped dwelling on his apparent aversion to sleepovers, her mind had drifted back in Hoyt Philbin’s direction.
Her lizard brain was warning her to look beneath the surface, to dig deeper into the man Caleb so clearly despised.
When she got home, she poured herself a glass of cucumber water and carried it into the living room, where she sat on the sofa and started googling the former mayor.
There were hundreds of pictures of him with his wife, speaking at charity events, attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies, visiting the families of police violence victims. He was beloved by the community, a real man of the people and champion of the underdog.
But there must be something there. Something she and her brothers were missing.
No matter how popular the mayor was, no matter how upstanding and benevolent he seemed, no one was perfect. Everyone had shades of gray.
Including her.
Layers, Caleb’s words whispered through her mind. So many layers. Too many, maybe.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ding of her phone. It was a text from Kennedi.
Hey! Did you have dinner at the Gilded Spoon last night?
Surprised, Daniela stared at the screen before cautiously replying.
I was there, yes. Why?
Omg! Adele was there too, and she says she saw you leave with Caleb Thorne!!!
Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit.
Daniela stalled for time.
What’s Adele doing in town?
Working. So is it true???
Daniela chewed her lip, riffling through a mental catalog of possible answers.
Why would I be leaving a restaurant with my professor? Sorry, but your friend’s mistaken.
Are you sure? Adele swears it was you. She had just arrived with some coworkers when she saw you and Caleb. Before she could walk over and say hello, you guys left in his Lambo! HIS LAMBO, DANIELA!!!
Daniela winced. She hated lying to her cousin, but she had no other choice. There were only three people who could connect the real her to Caleb Thorne. If others found out, word would spread like wildfire, doubling the chances of her cover being blown. She couldn’t take that risk.
Feeling like the world’s biggest liar, she responded to Kennedi.
You should know it wasn’t me. As much as I love supercars, don’t you think I would’ve told you if I went home last night in a freaking Lambo??? Hell, I would’ve blasted pics all over IG!!!
She held her breath as three dots danced on the screen for endless seconds. Finally Kennedi’s message popped up.
Lmao. Good point.
Daniela breathed a sigh of relief.
Remember that time Kenny rented a Mustang to take us to the beach? We rode with the top down, the wind blowing through our hair and you squealing in my ear. That Mustang was all you talked about for weeks!
Daniela grinned at the memory.
I was in love with that car!
You sure were lol. Maybe when the semester’s over, you can sweet-talk your way into Caleb Thorne’s Lambo.
Daniela’s chest squeezed. She would be long gone from Caleb’s life before the semester ended. He just didn’t know it yet.
Kennedi sent another text.
I’m off to a meeting. Have a good weekend.
You too. Kiss Mom for me.
Will do
Sighing, Daniela exited out of the messaging app and pulled up the city’s website to access Hoyt Philbin’s cached campaign finance reports.
She might not find a smoking gun, but researching his donors was as good a place to start as any.