Just One Year(41)

“Who am I going to study with?” he asked. “Who am I going to taunt?”

My breathing quickened. “I’m sure you’ll find someone.”

“It won’t be the same,” he whispered.

“There’s no chance you could stay, right? Even just another year?”

I immediately wanted to slap myself for asking.

He blew out a long breath. “I don’t think so. I haven’t inquired, but the exchange program is only supposed to be for a year. But even if they did let me stay, I’d feel a bit guilty leaving my mother. The situation with my dad is not good. I promised her I’d be back.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. That was dumb to even ask.”

“No, it wasn’t. It’s crossed my mind many times.” His tone was insistent. “And it’s not that I don’t want to. I’d give anything to stay.”

Taking the necklace he’d given me into my hands, I asked, “Will you put this on me?”

He smiled. “Of course.”

I lifted my hair and turned my back to him. The warmth of his hands as he put on the necklace made my body tingle with an excitement I tried hard not to feel.

I turned to him and rubbed my fingers over the charm.

“It looks nice on you,” he said.

“Thank you again.”

“Thank you again for my s’mores maker. Don’t be surprised if I bring it down to study session.”

“Oh gosh. What have I started?”

We were both laughing when Maura peeked her head into my halfway open door. For some reason, I jumped at the sight of her—as if she’d caught us doing something wrong. It definitely felt like we were hiding from everyone down here.

“Oh, there you are.” She paused. “We…have some presents for both of you to open upstairs.”

Caleb nodded. “Sorry, Maura. We just came down here to exchange our gifts.” He headed toward the stairs and left without saying another word.

Maura’s eyes lingered on mine, a mix of suspicion and amusement in their depths. She might have been the only one in this house that was truly onto my feelings for Caleb.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN




* * *



CALEB



The month that followed Christmas flew by. Things were busier than ever. I’d taken on extra hours waiting tables at the restaurant, and the new semester was kicking my arse.

As a result, I was certain the rest of my time here was going to evaporate before I knew it. There was still so much I wanted to do and see in Boston, I hardly knew what to do with myself. I couldn’t bear to think about it.

But the thought of leaving the Carrolls made me even more anxious. I wasn’t ready for this reprieve from real life to end. It was truly amazing to be looked at with kindness and respect instead of resentment.

But what messed with my head the most were my feelings for Teagan, which had been evolving in a slow burn I couldn’t figure out how to extinguish. Since breaking up with Veronica, I hadn’t dated anyone else. I’d vowed not to make the same mistake again—leading someone on, only to have to break the news that it couldn’t go anywhere because I was leaving.

Between work and school, any free time I had was spent studying with Teagan or occasionally hanging out with Archie, whose company I could enjoy now that he wasn’t living under our roof. He’d started dating Angela, the girl he was living with in Dorchester. He, too, was spending a lot of time wondering what would happen when his time in the States ran out. But Archie had more freedom than I did to potentially relocate. He was finished with school and didn’t have a mother dependent on him for her mental well-being.

I’d given Teagan no inkling that my feelings for her had crossed the line beyond friendship, but that didn’t stop me from thinking about her when I lay down in bed at night or while I was in the shower. It didn’t stop me from wanting her. Basically, anytime I had a moment to breathe, my mind wandered to forbidden thoughts of Teagan, and what it would be like to have her just once.

***

My little problem became impossible to ignore one night when Teagan skipped dinner. That wasn’t all that unusual. She wasn’t always at the family meals, and neither was I. But on this particular evening, the reason behind her absence caught my attention.

“Teagan’s on a date,” Shelley announced.

I stopped chewing my chicken and perhaps a bit too urgently, asked, “How do you know?”

“I saw her getting ready to go out. She wouldn’t tell me where she was going, so I got suspicious. I looked out the window and saw her get into a car with some guy.”

Some guy?

“Interesting,” Maura said.

“Yeah, interesting,” I muttered.

Lorne sighed. “Well, Teagan doesn’t have to tell us everything. I just hope she’s not getting into cars with the wrong people.”

Maura gave me a slightly sympathetic look. I suspected she’d picked up on my feelings for her stepdaughter some time ago.

To my knowledge, Teagan hadn’t been on a date the entire time I’d known her, aside from the bowling night with Archie—if that even counted. It shouldn’t have surprised me that she’d gone out. You know, the whole coming out of her shell thing and all. That had certainly backfired, hadn’t it? Anyway, I needed to get over it.