“Everything went really well. They want to come in to take a tour of the warehouse and meet with you,” I told Dean over the Bluetooth in my car while I was driving.

“Good job, Vivienne. Well done. When did you set the meeting up for?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be there to make introductions, then I have to take off for the Hernandez farm. I promised I’d visit and they want to go over a few things with me.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you later.” He disconnected.

It was turning into a hot, humid day. I had the AC on full blast, but it wasn’t helping much. I still felt sticky and sweaty. I took a quick peek in the mirror to make sure my makeup hadn’t melted off when I spotted his car—Jason driving two lanes over. I attempted to wave and get his attention, but he wasn’t looking.

He put his signal on to turn right. For some reason, I decided to follow him. A move I would later regret with all my heart.

We traveled down a residential area before he turned into an elementary school parking lot. What the heck was he doing at a school? Like a crazy stalker, I parked on the street, far enough away so he wouldn’t see me. Out he got, carrying a bag with him that looked fairly full. Watching in shock, he sauntered around to the front doors of the school. What was going on?

I stayed in my car until I couldn’t stand it anymore. Curiosity got the best of me. Sneaking into the school was easier than I thought it would be. A mom and her kid were leaving, so I took advantage of the situation, holding the door open for them. He looked around ten years old, ice pack to his head, shoelaces undone. All I could hear his mom say in passing was, “Why can’t you be more careful and watch where you’re going?” Hmm. I smiled, as they passed by. No matter how much I wanted to tie the poor lad’s shoelaces, I refrained.

Barely.

Slowly, I looked around for any signs of Jason, trying my best to be quiet, scared that security would find me and throw me out. The office was empty as I tiptoed through.

Every school memory came flooding back with force as the familiar wall of “school smell” hit me. That special mix of gym socks, antiseptic, body odor, and old bananas. I didn’t know how teachers could stand it.

Careful not to touch anything, I rounded the corner and stopped dead. There was Jason talking to a pretty young redhead. She was flipping her hair over her shoulder in the age old body language, which meant bend me over. The anger I felt in my stomach grew until it exploded when she touched his arm, then reached up and hugged him. What. The. Hell.

He hugged her back, smiling down at her. She was one of those annoyingly tiny, pert women who was full of energy and giggles. I could hear her musical laughter from here. It made me want to rip her face off.

They were still embracing, so I decided it would be best if I left before I did something stupid. I should never have come in here. Quickly turning around, I slunk away, careful not to let my heels click on the floor.

I had no idea how I got back to my car, but that was where I was right now—sitting in the stifling heat. If I could recall how to put the AC on, I would. My mind was swimming with a thousand images of Jason and the perky teacher. God, that sounded like a bad porno.

Was he playing me? Me? After everything we discussed about lies and making a baby, was he really seeing a slutty teacher behind my back? I couldn’t think of any other reason for them to be groping each other in the hallway. What if someone walked by?

My chest tightened, bile rising in my throat. Finally, my brain kicked in long enough to help me turn on the AC because oxygen was fairly important. The cool air did nothing to help my breathing, though. The heat didn’t cause the tightness in my chest.

I sat there for a while, unable to think, let alone drive. My legs were numb. It required extreme effort to place my shaking hands on the wheel. Eventually, the happy couple wandered out of the school with her shamelessly attached to his arm, bouncing beside him, giggling up at him like he was some kind of rock star. He did nothing to stop her attentions whatsoever.

Once they got to his car, she handed him a small package, hugging him again, which he not only allowed, but joined in on. If I could have gotten up to stand on my trembling legs, I would have walked up to them—and what? What was the proper protocol for watching your boyfriend hug a perky teacher? How did you react? Hair pulling and bitch-slapping came to mind.

The hug lasted too long to be just a simple thank you hug. My stomach churned. If they started kissing right here, out in the open, I didn’t know what I’d do. Luckily, Perky Teacher finally let go of my man. He jumped into his car, waving to her as he drove away.

At this point, I was driven by pure instinct. Before I knew it, my car was in drive, following him at a distance. Stalking him. We drove to a main drag where there were plenty of shops. I lagged back, scared he would see me. He pulled into a parking lot of a strip mall, but instead of going into the restaurant that he parked in front of, he went into the liquor store right beside it.

The entire time I’d known him, he barely had a sip of alcohol. Why was he going in there? I watched as a family of four marched into the eatery. A surge of jealousy ran through me like never before. The little boy must be close to Audrey’s twins’ age, the girl quite a bit younger. Her teeny pigtails bounced as her daddy carried her. That was what I wanted. A family. How come I’d tried so hard to achieve it, only to continue dating idiots who didn’t want what I did?

Current idiot came walking out of the liquor store carrying a bottle of something, then dashed straight into the restaurant. I had half a mind to burst in there. Problem was, I’d need my whole mind when I dealt with him, so I decided to wait on my ambush.

Five minutes later, he emerged carrying two huge bags of food, the liquor bottle under his arm. He hopped into his car, then backed out. At this point, I didn’t even question whether or not to follow him. I just did it. I tried my best to quell the anger that bubbled up by concentrating on driving.

We drove out of the shops, back into a residential area. It took some time, but eventually we ended up near the outskirts of town close to the trailer park. Damn, he was leaving town. Just as I decided to turn around, he signaled like he was going to turn into the trailer park. Huh? Why in the world would he be going there? With food and wine?

Oh shit. It couldn’t be. Another perky teacher perhaps?

He turned first onto the gravel road, huge dust clouds following him. I held back because it wasn’t exactly a high traffic area. I didn’t want him to notice me. Second street in, he hung a left. Spotting his car from where I pulled over on the side of the gravel road, I waited.

This was beyond stalking. I knew it. I crossed all kinds of lines here. Hell if I could control myself.