She pulled against his hold, stopping him. “Yours wasn’t?”He sighed again. “Nothing big. Just have some family I’d rather not visit, y’know?”
Ember nodded. “I don’t really, but sure, I can see how that might happen.”
“Let’s just say, it is amazing to see you again.” Wrapping those strong arms around her, he pulled her close enough to kiss.
They were still amid milling students, so despite her toes curling in her boots, she pulled away before it deepened.
“Hey, I know it’s still morning, but can I steal you sometime?” Connor asked taking her hand again and leading her toward the quad.
“Depends what you’re stealing me from, I guess.” She stepped around a slushy puddle and her dream returned. She had to blink away the memory of a long skirt and buttoned shoes. Even knowing her friends were experiencing the same, she had trouble accepting the woman was actually her ancestor.
Connor’s voice broke the spell. “Nothing crucial. Just hoped that maybe, for lunch, we could go to my place.”
Butterflies appeared in her stomach, but the fluttering quickly led to the bottom dropping out. In the dorm, the same tower where she’d met Duncan, where he’d…
“Um, maybe? Is there somewhere else we could eat?” She looked to the building in the distance, worried it would fall on her, crush her.
Connor growled low in his throat. “He hurt you there. If he weren’t on his way out, I’d rip that guy apart.” He punched a fist into a palm and Ember started at the force of it. “Listen, we don’t have to go to my room, but I want to take you inside, just the lobby. You can’t let him rule you forever.”
Taking a deep breath, she settled her nerves. He was right. Duncan had made her miserable more than long enough. “Yeah. I have another class in an hour.”
“I have a little less, but let’s grab a coffee and head that way.”
Ember needed his firm hand wrapped around hers to lead her from the coffee shop to the dorm. Hesitating on the threshold, Connor opened the door for her, kissing her temple. “You’ve got this.”
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