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All in all, he had to say he enjoyed being back at Hensley. The campus was still the same as it had always been, with the exception of the new security building near the gates and the large greenhouse behind the science buildings. The instant he’d driven onto it again, he’d let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Everything was so familiar, and he’d seen Hensley in his dreams for the past ten years.

If anyone really knew exactly how emotionally attached he was to his former college, they would’ve laughed and called him crazy. So he’d never really spoken of that love to anyone. Except Isabella Flynn. Of course, that was when they’d known each other inside out. Now, he didn’t really care what she did or didn’t remember about him.

And, Brian decided as he sank onto a plush sofa in his den, if he couldn’t be honest with himself, there were bound to be problems.

He hadn’t meant to see her again. At least, not so soon. He’d been taking a self-guided tour around the campus and, being led by curiosity, had walked into the biology building. He’d heard her voice before he’d seen her. And then, there she’d been.

To say he felt nothing upon seeing her again would be a complete lie. He’d felt a barrage of emotions.

All of them residual, he assured himself. He and Isabella Flynn had nothing more to say to each other, and it was obvious she was happy with her fellow bio professor. Lucas McCall seemed to suit her perfectly. A bio professor probably wouldn’t have been a good fit with a man who lived his life in the public eye, anyway.

Because, even having retired from the spotlight, he was still hounded by the press. They’d found his phone number before he’d had it changed and unlisted. The phone had rung constantly until he’d taken it off the hook. The day he’d moved into the Bakerfield manor, reporters and cameramen had crowded around the gates and tried to take pictures of him.

It never ended, he thought, fixing his tie and straightening the suit jacket he wore. He may have been thousands of miles away from the entertainment industry, but it had still followed him to the woods of Maine. He wondered if he’d ever really be free of it.

Glancing at the clock, he noted he had a few minutes before he was supposed to be at the nearby country club for the professors’ gala. He’d always heard about the gala that the college president traditionally held for all professors at the start of the school year, but he’d never expected to ever be in the position to attend.

“Professor Brian Littrell,” he muttered to himself as he found his keys and stepped onto the porch. The sounds of insects humming filled the night air, and he could smell the sweet scent of the roses growing over the porch railing. “Sounds weird, but I’d better get used to it.”

As he slid into his car and turned the key in the ignition, Brian’s gaze strayed back to his new home. The stately house had been a favorite landmark of his in the past and to find that it was on sale had been a dream come true.

“Home sweet home,” he murmured and, humming to himself, he drove down the curving driveway towards the main road.

***

It was pretty much the coolest thing to meet up with his old professors and find that they were proud of his accomplishments, Brian decided later that night. The instant he’d stepped into the ballroom of the club, his freshman English professor had caught him and talked his ear off about how thrilled she was that he had joined the faculty.

“I listened to your music,” the matronly Professor Elizabeth Harris confessed to him. She was almost the same as she’d been a decade earlier. Except for the streaks of gray in her dark hair. “I can’t say that I’m fond of this new pop music, but it was wonderful hearing your voice. I told everyone I met that I had been your professor. A little ‘I knew him when’ story,” she’d chuckled.

Other professors were nearly the same way, but Professor Fitzgerald out of the chemistry department had simply looked him over and nodded. Remembering that the man had always been rather distant from everyone, Brian had been surprised that he’d even merited a nod.

After dinner had been served and some of his—he supposed he should call them “colleagues” now—had taken to the dance floor with their spouses, Brian slipped out of the large glass doors and onto the terrace by the pools. He’d needed time to adjust, he thought. It was still such a shock to have his life change so completely. This time last year, he’d been performing for a stadium filled with forty thousand Brazilian fans. This year, he was still getting ready to perform—but in a different way.

His fellow professors had accepted him without hesitation, but he was still nervous. He wondered what his students would think of him. Some of them would probably take his class because they were fans, but he worried about what the dedicated music students would see in him. His training had been excellent, and he’d graduated with top honors from the department. And, yet, he worried that it wouldn’t be enough to impress those students who were sure to find him a fraud.

He hoped that they’d give him a chance before dismissing him as a popstar turned wannabe professor.

“You seem to be thinking deep thoughts.”

Her voice startled him out of his troubled imaginings. He’d reached the point where his imagination had his students making fun of him in class, pinning insulting signs to his back.

“I’m not,” Brian replied, remembering himself and bringing his mind back from a pretend future to the very real present.

Isabella merely watched him, one brow raised. Glowing from the light cast by a lantern above her head, he could see the skeptical look in her eyes. “Try lying to someone who can’t tell when you’re bluffing. I know you, Brian, and you’re worried about something. You’ve been all nerves since you walked in the door tonight.”

“You don’t know me,” he shot back, annoyed that she could still read him perfectly. “You don’t know who I am anymore. Just leave it alone.”

“It may have been ten years, and, while I’m just as annoyed to have you here as you are to have me here, we both know that you haven’t changed that much,” she replied.

He shrugged and turned away from her. More than anything, he wanted her to go back inside because he couldn’t be near her. After ten years of being apart, he was beginning to realize that he’d fooled himself into thinking she meant nothing to him. He still had feelings for her, though he wasn’t entirely sure what they were.

“Isabella, I’d really like to be alone,” he finally said after several moments’ silence. “Please.”

She found she wanted to reach out to him and find out what was bothering him, but she also knew he wouldn’t appreciate the gesture. “I came out here for fresh air. Don’t let my presence disturb you from your thinking.”

“I won’t.”

When he continued to study the aquamarine pool, his brow furrowed, she shook her head and moved a few feet away. Same old Brian, she mused. He’d never been one to share his innermost thoughts with anyone unless they tried to pry it out of him with a giant wrench. She’d once been really skilled at doing it, but, now, she found she’d rather not.

Okay, so maybe she was curious. Maybe she wanted to know what had the Prince of Pop nervous enough that he couldn’t be social. Because Brian had always been a busy little social bee in their college years. It was impossible that he’d changed so much that that was no longer the case.

“You’re still here.”

Now, his voice broke her train of thought. “It’s a free country,” she answered, noting the annoyance on his face. “Do you have a problem?”

“Isn’t your boyfriend going to miss your presence?”

“Why do you care about Lucas and me?” Intriguing, that.

He shrugged. “I don’t. I was just trying to find a way to get rid of you.”

“You already did that once.”

His hands gripped her wrists so quick that she barely had time to blink before she found furious blue eyes drilling holes into hers. “Damn you, Bella. I wasn’t the one that walked away. I wasn’t the one that decided whatever we had was over. I wasn’t the one that lied whenever I told you I loved you. So don’t tell me that I got rid of you.”

“You’re right,” she whispered. And, damn her, she couldn’t help the fact that her gaze fell to his lips for an instant before returning to his eyes. “I’m sorry, Brian. I didn’t mean to dredge up the past now. Whatever happened in the past is in the past. Right?”

Brian found that his anger deflated as quickly as it had appeared. He realized he didn’t want to dig up the past any more than she did. Loosening his grip on her arms, he managed a smile. “Right. I’m sorry for that. It’s just-” He let go of her and spun away to pace at the edge of the pool. “Coming back here has pulled out all of these memories, and it’s all hitting me at once. Everything about school, about us, about everything that happened here keeps popping up the longer I’m here. There are so many memories. And the craziest part?” He looked over his shoulder at her. “I’ve made thousands of unforgettable memories in the last decade, but the ones of Hensley are still my most precious. I didn’t realize exactly how much I loved it until I came back.”

“I’m glad you’re back,” she said quietly after a moment. “You’re going to be a terrific asset to the school. You always were.”

“You think so?”

The nerves were so apparent in his voice that she had to smile. “Absolutely. The professors all love you just like they did back in the day. And your students are going to be so lucky to have you teach them. And not because of what you’ve done, but because of who you are. You’re going to be a great professor.”

He blew out a long breath. “Thanks. Thanks for that. I’ve been scared that I’m in way over my head with this whole teaching position. It’s good to hear that someone thinks I’ll be fine.”

“President Turner and the administration obviously thought you were good enough because they hired you,” she pointed out.

“True.” Brian reached out and squeezed her hand. “Thank you. Really.” He paused for a moment before looking into her eyes, his expression serious. “I wasn’t sure how I’d feel when I saw you again. I didn’t know if I’d be angry or sad or…whatever.”

“How do you feel?”

“Good. I feel good seeing you again. Isabella.” His free hand cupped her cheek as he studied her. “I am so relieved I don’t hate you. I had worried that I would, and that would’ve been unbearable. I’d really like it if we could be friends again.”

Isabella managed a smile, though her heart fluttered at the look in his eyes. Friends, she reminded herself. “I’d like that, too. I always liked being your friend.”

“Me, too.” He glanced over at the entrance to the ballroom. “I guess we’d better get back inside, huh?”

She nodded. “Probably a good idea. Some of those professors still think you and I will get back together. This is probably fueling that gossip some more.”

“Probably.” He smiled at the thought of their old professors gossiping. Letting go of her hand, he moved towards the doors.

Isabella followed him, relieved that their second meeting hadn’t been as dramatic as their first. They were going to be okay, she thought. And that was always better than being enemies.

To say she was surprised when he stopped just steps from the door and turned to her with that oh-so-loveable grin was accurate enough.

When he stroked his fingers over her cheek and hugged her, whispering, “Thanks,” she was downright floored.

Damn the man, she thought when he’d left her standing, frozen, outside. She was afraid things weren’t going to be as okay as she’d hoped. Because just that one had made her heart flip-flop in her chest, and she’d discovered what she’d tried to hide from herself for over a decade.

Isabella Flynn was still in love with Brian Littrell.