Chapter 20

“Oh, no,” she said, sensing his thoughts. “I’m not laughing at you, just a comment my friend made…it’s a long story. Anyway, I would never laugh at what you just confessed. Indeed, Vince, it’s absolutely thrilling to know how you felt—how you stillfeel about me.”

Relief washed over his face, and he hugged her close. “So was that all you wanted to confess? That you were ‘Hot for Teacher,’ as the old Van Halen song goes?”

“Yes…well, no. You have no idea just how much you meant to me, do you? As a teacher, you inspired me in ways you never knew, and as a man…well, you’ve inspired me in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.”

Drawing a deep breath, Paige confessed everything. How she’d remembered his lessons, his encouraging words, and continued writing after she graduated high school. And how after her historical novels met with lackluster enthusiasm from her agent, she had penned the first Confessionsbook with him as her chief inspiration.