Chapter 25

Hannah When I walk out of the mansion, the sun is dazzling, and I have to squint my eyes to see. I love the warm weather. Also, the view is enough to make it feel as hot as the scorching desert. Tobias is leaning against a silver BMW with his muscular, tanned arms crossed over his broad.

my chest. chest. There is an expensive watch on his arm, and I feel butterflies swarm inside. How can he look hotter than hell, even with casual clothes?

He is wearing a white t-shirt with a dog on it and a pair of beige chinos. Sunglasses are perched on his head, and his smile is broad. The brown hair on his head looks newly cut-it’s longer and fluffier in the middle and fades on the sides. Yum.

“Good morning,” Tobias’s eyes are set on mine, and his smile only grows the closer I Did you sleep well?”

“Well… someone just left me in bed without a word.”

get.

“I had to get the car ready,” Tobias’s smile is replaced with a grin. He looks mischievous and adds, “Are you ready to drive around town with me bossing you around today?”

My eyes land on the car behind him, and I blankly stare at it. “Are you sure I should be driving that?”

He raises his eyebrows and leans away from the car. “You don’t like the BMW? We could take the Tesla instead or the Lamborghini, but I figured you would be nervous driving an expensive car.”

my head. I laugh out loud. “And that car isn’t expensive?” I nod at the BMW and shake Simply looking at that car makes me nervous. It’s way too expensive for me to be driving around.”

Tobias laughs. “It’s the cheapest one I have,” his expression suddenly turns serious, and I watch him open the driver’s door. “Get in.”

I suddenly have cold feet. “Do I have a choice?”

“No,” he keeps the stern look, but amusement is dancing in his eyes now. “Today, I’m your teacher, not your fake husband, and I will call you Mrs. Darling this entire day.”

Okay, this is new. “Why will you call me Mrs. Darling?”

He finally smiles, but it’s scary and dark. “Because once we sit in this car, I want no acting. Just be yourself. This will be an important bonding time for us, Mrs. Darling.”

A shudder sweeps down my spine. Tobias is a hundred times scarier when using that boss. voice with me. Still, I try my hardest to smile to pretend I’m not freaked out. “If you say so…’

I get into the car and feel beyond nervous. Tobias is by my side, helping me with the seat. Once he sees how far away my feet are from the gas pedal and the brakes, he stifles a laugh.

I pout at him. “Don’t bully me…”

“I haven’t said anything.” He squats down to push on a button that takes me closer to the gas pedal.

“No, but you’re looking as if you want to laugh at me.”

He lifts his eyes while squatting, grinning while adjusting my seat. “And what does matter? You won’t take offense, will you?”

“No… I suppose not… I’m just embarrassed…”

Tobias chuckles. “Why?” He pokes my knee, grinning again. “Because you have short little. dachshund legs?”

I gasp. “Don’t call them dachshund legs!”

“But they are so short and cute.” Tobias teases and grips my leg, squeezing it with his fingers.

I pout at him, and he laughs. “Let’s get out of here, shall we? The short lady needs to learn. how to drive.”

My eyes narrow. “You’re infuriating…”

There is another chuckle, and then Tobias stands up. He closes the car door for me, and soon we are on the road.

Tobias is a surprisingly patient teacher and gently tells me what to do. I’m grateful for that. I’ve never driven a car before and had performance anxiety at first, but I’m calming down.

We are now calmly driving around a block, and Tobias’s eyes study my every move. It makes shivers run down my spine.

“What?” I ask.

“Will you be fine talking while you’re driving?”

“Sure.” Honestly, I’m not entirely sure if I can focus on driving while talking, but I don’t want. to sound like a worse driver than I am by admitting that.

Tobias is still studying me with his intense eyes. I can feel his gaze like a physical weight on my shoulder.

“I want to ask you a few personal questions then.”

For some reason, my heart is thudding. “Alright.”

“And in this car, I want you to be perfectly honest with me,” he briefly meets my eyes without even a hint of a smile. “Don’t be afraid of speaking the truth. What you say in the car stays in the car.”

Do I even have a choice when he looks at me with those intense, green eyes? Probably not. Uh, alright…”

“Do you pretend to like it when I kiss you?”

“Uh, no?” My knees grow weak two seconds in, and my heart always races. How could I pretend to like his kisses?

Still, Tobias doesn’t smile. In fact, his face remains ice-cold, and I shiver. Didn’t he like my answer? Have I screwed things up between us because I love his lips on mine?

“What about the sex? Do you fake your orgasms?”

I laugh because that’s silly. But when Tobias narrows his gaze, I avert my eyes and reply shyly. “No, I don’t fake it at all…”

Again, the is no emotion on Tobias’s face, and he shoots out the next question like rapid fire.” Are you acting like you’re attracted to me because you think it might please me?”1 This last question is the hardest one to answer. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel vulnerable to admit I find Tobias attractive even though it isn’t a secret.

It’s just that Tobias takes miles but only gives an inch. He expects me to be honest about how I feel about him, yet I have no clue how he feels about me. That’s what makes me feel vulnerable. Naked.

“Do you think I’m acting?” I ask in a low tone. I won’t deny that I find him attractive, not when he is putting me on the spot. Even though it’s scary, I want to lay my cards flat.

Tobias scratches his chin. “My ex-wife wants to get back together with me. She claims she never cheated on me.”

He stops talking, gauging my reaction.

I hold my breath, and my hands clutch the wheel. Even my gut is churning, warning me about something, and the tears are close. Tobias told me he was still in love with Sarah, so… I guess this is it? I mean, why would he pick his fake wife over her?

Sadness overwhelms me. I like my life with Tobias, but if he wishes to get rid of me to get back together with his ex-wife, I don’t want to get in the way of his happiness. I will find a way to get by it’s not a problem. My old job wasn’t that bad. I can earn money and get by, but that’s not the reason I’m miserable; it’s that I’m-

It’s that I’m in love with Tobias.

I almost choke on the emotion, and Tobias widens his eyes. “Hannah, slow down this is-”

I hit the brakes, and the engine dies. Since I was driving so slowly, we don’t fly out of our seats. But the car is standing still in the middle of the street, and it’s embarrassing.

My hands shake on the wheel. “I’m… I’m so sorry…”

“What happened?” Tobias asks.

“I can’t do anything right!” I almost yell with tears running down my eyes. I’m shaken and. emotional. “I’m lucky this was an industrial area, so I didn’t run over someone or something!”

“Hey, Hannah, calm down. No one is angry at you, and this is normal for beginner drivers,” Tobias says and reaches out to take my hand, squeezing it. I look at him, and his lips curl into a smile. “I’m sorry for talking while you were driving. Letting you multitask so soon definitely wasn’t a good idea.”

I pout at him. “How can you be so calm?”

“Nothing of danger happened?” Tobias seems confused. “And what kind of teacher would I be if I got angry at you for hitting the brakes? If anything, you’ve proven that you can react quickly. I told you to slow down, and you panicked and hit the brakes-that’s good.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” he smiles at me. “How about we switch positions, and I take us somewhere to eat breakfast?” he grimaces. “Though, I guess it will be more like lunch at this hour.”

I laugh through my tears. “That sounds good.”

“You’re crying?” Tobias asks in a teasing tone. “My, you are sensitive. It wasn’t anything wrong with what you did. You’re a new driver!”

I’m not crying about hitting the brakes, but I don’t feel like sharing that I’m crying because I fear Tobias might leave me.

“I guess…” I mumble and try to ignore the pain in my chest. It’s a constricting feeling of discomfort. “I’m sorry for crying…”

He breathes a laugh. “You’re so silly…” he opens the car door and looks me over one last time. His expression is kind. “Let’s trade places.”

Despite everything, I smile back. “Okay.”