The door opened wider, and Sebastian strode in, his emerald eyes finding mine as soon as he stepped into view.
Gregory mouthed “he wants me” as he stopped at the edge of my desk. “And this is a fine example of one of our classrooms. Ms. Briarlane teaches biology, with a particular interest in botany, and also sits on our scholarship board.”
“I believe we’ve met.” Sebastian offered his hand, and I took it in a daze.
“Hi.”
Gregory looked back and forth between us and cleared his throat. “You two know each other?”
“Yes. I, um, I mean, this is Sebastian Lindstrom, Link’s boss.”
Recognition fired in Gregory’s eyes. “The one you danced with?”
Sebastian smiled and gripped my hand a little tighter. “You’ve been talking about me?”
I wanted to crawl under my desk and stay there until the last bell rang. “No, not really.” I glared hate fire at Gregory.
“It’s all right.” Sebastian’s gaze flickered to my lips. “I found it to be quite memorable too.”
His scent, the same sophisticated mix of sandalwood and leather from the gala, ignited the memory of what it felt like to be in his arms. My heart stutter-stepped forward, then took off as if it were running a race.
“Whew.” Gregory fanned himself with his hand. “We need to see about getting the heat fixed in here. It’s on overdrive.”
I pulled my hand from Sebastian’s as a knowing look played across his face. Did he realize how off balance he threw me with just a few words?
“You won me over with your little speech about helping the less fortunate students via scholarships. I intend to donate to the need-based fund, and the headmistress insisted I come for a visit.” He ran his hand down the smooth front of his charcoal-gray suit coat. “And Gregory has been kind enough to give me the tour.”
“My pleasure.” Gregory smiled up at him, clearly smitten.
“That’s very generous of you.” My tongue began to cooperate, barely. “We appreciate any funds we can get.”
“So this is your domain?” Sebastian walked to the window, the afternoon sunlight flowing around him and casting his tall shadow far along the floor. “And these plants are yours?” He inspected the row of sprouts in the window.
Gregory made a “go on” motion with his hands, mischief in his eyes. “Sell it,” he hissed.
I followed Sebastian and pointed to the first row of green shoots. “These are a hybrid tomato species that my students worked on. They’re a particularly special variety created right here in my lab.”
“What’s special about them?”
“The hybrid is between an heirloom variety known for its sweet taste and a modern variety known for bigger fruits and stronger vines. I gave my students the choice of having sweeter tomatoes that ran smaller, bigger but not as sweet, or medium-sized tomatoes crossed with another type of tomato known for insect and fungus resistance.”
He stroked his index finger down one of the bright green leaves and held my gaze. “So they chose the sweeter version?”
My voice tried to die in my throat, but I continued despite his direct stare. “They did. And based on some creative hybridization, they chose traits for sweetness and hardiness. I was surprised by what they came up with.” I smiled. “And pleased. The proof will be in the tomatoes these plants produce in our small greenhouse.”
“They sound like smart kids.”
If I could have puffed my chest out with pride without looking like a peacock, I would have. “They are. Once I get back from my trip over Christmas break, we’ll transfer them to individual plantings and record each step of their progress.”
A shadow passed across his eyes. “Your trip?”
“Oh, I got accepted on an expedition to the Amazon.” Even more pride seeped into my voice, along with a touch of excitement. “I’ll be leaving right when school lets out for the holiday.”
“Sounds exciting.” He smiled and, for some reason, a shiver shot down my spine. “I imagine you’ll learn a lot on your trip, though I hope you’ll be safe while you’re out there.”
“I will. I’ve spoken to the lead scientist, Dr. Williams, a couple of times by phone, and he seems competent to lead the group, though he’s not as into the botanical aspects as I would have expected.” In fact, he’d shied away from talking about the specifics of the expedition, but that was likely because he had spotty cell service and could only talk for a few minutes at a time.
“Perhaps he’s leaving those areas up to you?”
I shrugged. “I hope he gives me plenty of latitude to follow my instincts.”
“Just be safe.” One corner of his lips quirked. “Keep an eye out for predators.”
“I will. There will be security for us at our camp site and in the forest, according to Dr. Williams.”
“I’m glad.” He tucked my hair behind my ear in a too-familiar motion. “Wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” His fingers paused at the sensitive spot right below my ear.