Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,76

team do.”

Ava and I hug and it feels like a billion pounds have been knocked off my shoulders.

“So what’s going on between you and that dreamy boyfriend of yours?” Kiera asks, entering the classroom as Ava and I step away from each other.

“What do you mean?”

Don’t look at his classroom. Don’t look at his…

Oops. So much for that plan. I did a much better job not looking that way while I was talking to Ava about him.

Kiera tilts her head to the side as if trying to get a good read on me. “Usually, you two are inseparable. Today you were doing everything in your power to avoid him. Not to mention you remind me of an ant who’s been dropped in a bucket and desperately wants to climb out.”

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

She looks at Ava for confirmation.

Ava shifts on her feet, suddenly looking like that ant too. “I should probably get back to my class and double-check everything’s okay.” She can’t get out of the room fast enough, and I do my best not to laugh.

“I realized that we were rushing things and…” I say to Kiera, “and maybe dating a colleague isn’t a good idea.”

Sounds like a reasonable explanation.

Too bad Kiera doesn’t buy it. “This doesn’t have anything to do with your abandonment issues, does it?”

“I don’t have abandonment issues.” I pick up the picture book left on Anton’s desk and leaf through it. I’ve always loved this illustrator’s work. It’s similar to my style, but also very different.

“So you’re saying that after what happened with your fathers and ex-boyfriend, you’re not scared that the next guy will do the same thing? That’s why you’ve been avoiding dating until recently when you met Landon, isn’t it?”

The brush strokes look so real, you would never guess it was done on the computer.

“Chloe?”

I let out a hard breath and walk to the bookshelf in the reading corner.

“Like I said, I don’t have abandonment issues.” Not anymore, at least.

Now I have the-boogeyman-will-kill-any-man-I-love issues.

You know, the same issues every red-blooded American woman has.

Or not.

“Right. And the next thing you’re going to tell me is that your eyes are bloodshot due to allergies.”

“You never know. I could be allergic to…um…Christmas trees.”

Smooth, Chloe. I mentally roll my eyes.

“Well, that would really suck, given that you live for Christmas. But it’s not that, so spill it.”

Where’s Landon when you need him…even if I don’t actually want him around? Before Friday night’s big revelation, he was in my classroom as soon as the final bell rang.

I guess he finally got my hint that I don’t want to talk to him again. Ever.

But what did he expect would happen once the truth came out? If he lied about that, what else was he lying about?

“Chloe, you’re my best friend, and I love you, dearly. You know that.”

I smile at her. “I do know that.”

“As your best friend, it’s my duty to take you out tonight and stage an intervention.”

I laugh. “Sounds great, but I’m volunteering tonight, and afterward, I have to sew an army of pint-sized elf hats.” That’s one advantage of moving back to my apartment. I spent the last two days attempting to forget everything while busying myself with the hats.

And watching every Christmas kid’s show I could find on TV.

Because who needs Hallmark Christmas movies when you’ve got The Grinch and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

That’s right—holiday romance movies have officially been banned from my apartment.

“You’re not volunteering tomorrow night, right?” Kiera asks.

“Nope. But I’ll still be making elf hats.”

“Perfect. Then we have a date. You. Me. Lots of spiked eggnog. And Project Elf Hat.”

I grin, remembering exactly why I love her. “All right, you have yourself a date.”

After she leaves my classroom, I half expect Landon to enter, purely out of habit. He doesn’t. Instead, it’s Isabelle who walks in through the main doorway.

“Hi. Is there something you need? I’m about to leave.” I smile at her even though she’s just one more reminder of Landon.

She smiles back, sympathy in her eyes. Sympathy I can handle. Pity is another story.

And if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say she’s aware that my codename is now Black Widow. Except instead of being the one who kills men, they die by association, with me being the common denominator.

“I’m here to make sure you get to your car safely,” Isabelle says.

So, Landon’s old job.

“It’s not necessary,” I tell her. “I know the truth. All that was just a ruse so Landon could use