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“Your nails? At least you didn’t almost bust your ass,” Carrie said.

“Hey, I’m not going to tell either of you to watch your mouths again.” Carla’s brow arched as she threw daggers at both Carrie and Samantha with a glare.

Carrie put her hands up in surrender. “This is the way I talk—don’t hold it against me, Ms. Jones.”

“Oh, is it? You won’t mind if I ask your parents for clarification, will you?”

“Why are you always trying to bring my parents into this? If anything, you should have mercy on me. I did good today.” She boasted with a smile and a lift of her chin. “If it hadn’t been for Sicily, I probably would’ve gone home on a stretcher.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Sicily said.

“Um, did I not slip and fall on spilled paint?”

“Something like that.”

“Because you caught my arms on the way down. Why did you, anyway?”

Sicily’s brown nose wrinkled, and her mouth twisted. “You’re asking why I stopped you from falling?”

“Yeah.”

“Because you would’ve hurt yourself, and I was standing right there.”

“But I’ve been on the opposite end of jokes about you. You could’ve let me hit my ass, then threw a punchline or two at me.”

Sicily shrugged and shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I saw you falling. I knew you would hurt yourself. I stepped in to help. Same as Mr. Rose when Ms. Jones fell.”

“Oh, I would’ve love to be caught like Ms. Jones and especially by Mr. Rose.”

The students snickered.

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Carla chimed.

“I don’t know. I’m going to be eighteen soon, Mr. Rose. Are you and Ms. Jones dating? If not, I’d love for you to take me out on a date.”

Carla had to stop herself from rolling her neck and going into a full-on rant, remembering that Carrie was her student.

“As a matter of fact, Ms. Magnolia, I don’t date students or young women who could be my daughter.” Jacob eased closer to Carla. “And it’s been on my mind to ask Ms. Jones if she’ll be my girlfriend.”

“Oooooh!” some of the boys yelled. The others laughed, and some of the girls looked on with huge smiles on their faces.

Carla’s mouth dropped. “Mr. Rose, are you serious?” He contained her in the depth of his gaze.

“I am.” He reached for her hand and stroked her fingers just a little. “So, will you be my girlfriend, Ms. Jones?”

Rosy blushes colored Carla’s cheeks, and she stepped into his shadow, her head falling into his chest again. “Yes.”

“What? I can’t hear you?”

“Yeah, Ms. Jones, we can’t hear you either,” Omega said.

Laughter echoed around the room. Carla pursed her lips and lifted her head, meeting Jacob’s gaze straight on. “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

“Oooooh!”

Jacob dropped a kiss on her forehead and embraced her in a tight squeeze before releasing her.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, yada, yada, yada,” Jared said, smiling.