Tiffany rose from the chair she had been curled up in reading. There was no rush home, and Aralyn was out with Cam. The hole in the wall bookstore was perfect for when she needed to get away from her family and friends. Sometimes it was hard to just be Tiffany, and not just another part of the Belden-Duke Clan. Sometimes she needed to get away, and she had discovered this place a while back.

Plus, Tony hung out here.

After the first meeting, it had become awkward running into him. He usually bolted when he saw her, after a quick hello, which left her feeling down. So she read through fashion and business books. She could find a lot of information online, but Tiffany enjoyed actually picking up the book. Especially the ones that chronicled fashion development and trends over the years.

Tucked into a hole in the wall, the used bookstore was on the other side of White Plains, away from where most of the family tended to be. Two floors of musty books, comfy old chairs and pleasant staff that rarely bothered her; it had become her escape since last year. They even served hot tea, which in the winter, was a blessing, after the cold walk from the tiny park lot.

She sensed someone settling into the chair next to her and she turned. Suddenly she was glad she was wearing a warm red sweater with the push up bra, giving her a more proportioned figure, and the jeans that made her look curvier.

“Mr. Roth?” she asked quietly.

His green eyes looked up, startled at being addressed. As usual, he looked weary and harassed, his arms loaded down with books. The glasses he sometimes wore were sliding down his nose.

“Uh, Miss Duke,” he stammered. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she smiled at the handsome teacher as her heart raced. Finally, she thought. Please don’t let him run off! “Need some help?”

“What? No, no, thank you, I’ve got it—” As if to prove him wrong, the books began to slide and Tiffany leapt up, quickly grabbing them.

“Thanks,” he smiled at her as he dropped into the chair. She returned to her seat next to him, and handed him the books.

“Shouldn’t you be out raising some hell with that cousin of yours?” he asked with an impish smile.

Tiffany felt herself blush. “Hiding from my family.”

“If I had all those cousins and such running around, I’d have the urge to hide sometimes too. I’m slowly making their acquaintance,” he said dryly. “The twins are going to be interesting, I hear all sorts of things about them.”

Tiffany laughed. “We’re a handful,” she admitted. “And watch out for the twins. Everything they do is for fun.”

“Where’s Aralyn?” he asked.

Tiffany felt her heart drop just a bit and tried to ignore the sting. As usual, it was Aralyn who had caught his eye, she thought with a touch of bitterness. He just had to ask about her. Her vivacious cousin always drew attention. Tiffany had never minded before, but Tony was hers, she thought.

“She’s out with Cam, her boyfriend.”

“Mr. Kent, the journalism student,” he commented. She nodded. “They look good together, very happy.”

“They are,” she said firmly, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

“I never see anyone with you though, Ms. Duke,” his eyes focused on her and she felt herself growing warm under his gaze.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” she said shyly. She wished he was interested in her. He was too old, she reminded herself. And her teacher. But still, to have someone she so admired return some of her affectionate thoughts…

“And why is that?” he asked.

“I just, um, don’t.” She felt so lame as she answered. Her thoughts went back to all the stolen looks he had given her, the way he lingered at her desk sometimes. Her heart ached at the thoughts. She didn’t dare hope he might be attracted to her.

“It must be hard, being in her shadow.” His eyes were intent on her. “Aralyn seems the type to take the spotlight.”

She laughed. “Sometimes. And she doesn’t do it on purpose. She’s always been the natural leader; she’s the oldest of all the cousins.”

“So why do you want to hide from your family?” He leaned forward just a bit and Tiffany wondered if it had always been so hot in this corner of the store. He had removed his glasses and she tried not to be distracted by the green eyes fixated on her.

“Just ’me’ time,” she said shyly. “Why are you here?”

“I’m working on my masters, in psychology,” he answered. “When I’m not grading papers or cracking the whip on all of you, I’m working towards that.”

“Really? Why psychology instead of literature?” she asked, noting the way the stubble accented his chin.

“Psychology pays way better,” he smiled. “It helps me get a better understanding of my students so I can stay one step ahead of the scheming buggers.”

Tiffany laughed. Her night had just drastically improved.

***

A couple hours later, Tiffany was dismayed to see the pouring snow. “The visibility!” she moaned. “We live on the other side of town!”

They had lost track of time, sitting in the corner, talking quietly, sipping tea, chuckling together, and having a good time. Finally, the cashier had come over to them to announce it was closing time.

Tony Roth frowned. “You shouldn’t drive in this.”

“I know,” she sighed. “And it’s a long trek home. That’s one reason I like this place. No one knows where it is and no one in my family knows about it. But I didn’t think the snow was supposed to start until morning!”

“You can’t drive in that,” he said. The flakes were coming down hard and large, and the street was already blanketed in a thick layer.

Tiffany winced as they watched the street rapidly filling with snow.

Tony thought fast. What occurred to him was borderline ludicrous but at the same time, made perfect sense. He could not in good conscience, send a student out in this snow, to drive home.

“Well,” Tony hesitated, “I realize it’s entirely inappropriate, but my apartment is a three minute walk. One reason I like this place,” he smiled. “You can’t stand here and freeze, and it’s too dangerous to drive. Why don’t you come with me back to my place, and wait it out?”

Tiffany inhaled sharply. It would be beyond inappropriate, she knew; she was his student. But he had a valid point. Besides, it wasn’t like he was interested in her; she was just a high school girl. And surely he had a girlfriend somewhere, though who would let him spend Friday night at a bookstore alone?

And part of her was thrilled, that he cared enough to make the offer. Maybe he just cared as she was his student, she thought, not necessarily because it was her. Surely he would make this offer to any student that was about to be stranded.

“Alright,” she conceded. Alone time with him, what she had been wishing for! Her heart sped up as she anticipated his apartment, what it would look like, the sense she would be able to get of him. She imagined his apartment would be wall to wall bookshelves, crammed with every sort of literature and reading he could get his hands on.

They cautiously made their way down the street, towards a gated community of cheerful looking apartments. The falling flakes coming down fast, and Tiffany was glad it was only a few minutes of a walk. Driving in this wouldn’t be fun. The few cars that were on the road were creeping along, slowly, everyone trying to avoid an accident. She was also suddenly very glad her house, and her school, were on the other side of the city. She knew her father would come get her but it could be a treacherous drive. No, she thought with reason and ignoring the little voice in the back of hier head, this was the best thing to do.

Tiffany’s foot almost slid on a slick patch, but he caught her by the arm, and then kept her arm tucked in his.

“Almost there,” he smiled.

She followed him silently, and soon they had reached his door. He fumbled with the lock and then they were inside, where it was warm and she shivered violently.

“Damn, you’re freezing,” he muttered, shutting the door. Without thinking he reached for her, rubbing his hands on hers arms through her jacket. “Let’s get you warm, huh? You want some coffee or tea?”

“Tea would be great,” she managed through frozen cheeks. “A little sugar, please.”

“Certainly. Take your coat off, I’ll turn on the fireplace,” he said, waving her towards the dark brown sofa in front of the fireplace. With the flip of a switch, it was roaring merrily and he went to the kitchen to make tea.

Impressionist artwork, she noted, lots of soft, muted earth tones. Color coordinated, expensive furnishings. No milk crate bookshelves or threadbare furniture to indicate a recent grad student.

Her heart sunk as she realized why everything was so neat and carefully matched. He was gay, she thought despairingly. All those looks he had been giving her had been imagined. No straight male would keep an apartment like this. She had plenty of male cousins and a brother, she knew how they were. Riley was meticulously neat and organized, and his siblings and cousins suspected he batted for his own team. The rest of the boys existed in varying degrees of slovenliness with their rooms and organizational habits.

“Alright, water’s on,” Tony returned with a cheerful smile. “Stand near the fire, and give me your jacket, so I can hang it to dry.”

Tiffany did so, feeling less tense. If he didn’t like women, there was no point in being nervous. Such a shame, she thought despairingly. It was just her luck that the first man to really draw her attention wasn’t attracted to women!

He draped it over the poker stand. “It warms up pretty quick, so just make yourself comfortable.”

She nodded. It felt so weird to be at her teacher’s home. Especially the hot teacher she had been fantasizing about for weeks. Not that anything would happen, she thought hastily. He was gay. But she was eighteen, she thought sadly. Eighteen and never been kissed. She had foolishly wanted it to be him, imaging the kiss of a romance novel that would set her ablaze as they gave into their passions. On some level she knew it didn’t really go like that, but her parents obviously still enjoyed each other, as did most of the adult couples in the Clan.

As she recalled her fantasties about him, Tiffany found herself blushing and was glad he wasn’t in the room at the moment.

Tiffany took a seat on the sofa, rubbing her hands together to thaw out. She could hear Tony in the kitchen, getting cups from the cabinet.

When he returned, he carried a mug of tea for her and a glass of wine for himself. She took the mug gingerly from him, and the awkwardness returned as he sat on the sofa as well.

Tony took a sip of wine. She shouldn’t be here, he thought. But he couldn’t leave her at the store waiting for the snow to stop. It had been sheer luck he had run into her, and he was delighted. He had been positive she had an older boyfriend, when subtle questions around school revealed she wasn’t dating anyone there. A beautiful young woman like her wasn’t single, it just wasn’t done. She was wealthy too, the granddaughter of one of the richest men in the country, if not the world. Beautiful, smart, rich, she was every man’s dream.

He tried not to stare at her in class. If he spotted her in the hallway, he looked away so he wouldn’t find his eyes on her hips. If her hair was down, so straight and shiny over her shoulders, he forced himself to look away. She had asked him a question one day before class, and he caught a whiff of a delicate, light scent. She wore a lot of green, clothes always tailored, simple jewelry. Elegantly beautiful, was how he thought of her. Classic and classy.

He tried not to think about the flawless skin and how soft it would feel against his hand. Or running his hands through the long flowing locks as he kissed the milky throat. He forced himself to think about nature channels at night, and not her slender body. She was literally, just eighteen a few weeks ago, no matter how much older she seemed. He had to keep telling himself that. She was his student, absolutely off limits.

“I’d offer you wine but that would be even more inappropriate,” he laughed. “Considering you’re not old enough.”

Tiffany smiled. “I’ve been drinking wine since I was a child. When we’re in Europe, Aralyn and I both drink too much wine,” she laughed.

“Have you been there a lot?” he asked eagerly. “I’ve always wanted to go but haven’t gotten around to it.”

Tiffany nodded. “Usually once a year in the summer for a few weeks, we hit various countries. Sometimes we go with our cousin Daisy’s company and help her with runway shows.”

“Runway shows?” he asked. “I shouldn’t be surprised you model.”

Tiffany blushed. “Not often. Daisy is always trying to recruit us but it’s not for me. Aralyn gets a kick out of it sometimes and our other cousins enjoy it periodically. I actually like the business side of it.”

“You like the number crunching?” he asked. She shook her head and he tried not to think about reaching over and touching her hair. The image of her walking towards him in skimpy lingerie was forced out of his head.

“No, I like the people aspect. Networking, meeting people, talking with the press, stuff like that. Daisy said I have job there if I decide I want one, but she really wants me to go to college and get some business background first. That and to squelch rumors of nepotism,” she rolled her eyes. “So I’ll probably end up doing that.”

“Fascinating,” he murmured, noting how her eyes were a bit browner today. The other day they have been very green in class. Maybe it was the warm, deep red sweater that clung to her.

She laughed. “It’s really not and you don’t have to be polite about it.”

“No, really, it is intriguing.”

“I guess it must be, you seem to know a lot about colors and design.”

“Hmm?” he realized his wine was almost gone. So much for pacing himself, he thought.

Tiffany waved one hand to indicate the apartment. “This is lovely. You must know a lot about design.”

Tony laughed. “My sister in an interior decorator. If it were up to me, it’d just be some books and a bed. She insisted on all this.”

Tiffany suddenly realized he probably wasn’t gay, and her heart leapt into her throat. She took a gulp of tea and choked as she swallowed wrong. Coughing, she gasped for air as he snatched the cup from her and put his hand on her back.

“Are you alright?” he demanded.

Tiffany nodded. “Wrong pipe,” she managed, cursing that she knew her face would be red by now. And damn, if his hand didn’t radiate heat on her back. He was rubbing her back, she realized, as she managed to return her breathing to normal.

“I’m all right,” she murmured.

“Good,” his blue eyes twinkled at her. “I’d hate to lose my star pupil to the wrong pipe.”

“Star pupil,” she laughed. “As if!”

“You are,” he said seriously. “I shouldn’t tell you that probably but your papers are fantastic. You have a real knack for grasping the deeper meaning of literature. Most of the students just skim the surface but you really get it. You and Mr. Kent.”

Tiffany blushed again under his intense gaze. “I like reading,” she admitted. “I really do.”

“That’s the best trait in a woman.” He realized what he said as they stared at each other.

“I wonder if the snow’s stopped,” she murmured, standing up nervously.

“Tiffany?” he stood as well, and they were within inches of each other.

She just stared at him, daring he would and hoping he wouldn’t. His hand touched her cheek ever timidly.

“I shouldn’t do this,” he murmured.

“You shouldn’t,” she whispered in agreement.

“And I want to,” he whispered back as he took the final step to become close enough.

“I want you to,” she answered, her voice barely audible.

His lips touched hers ever so lightly. Tiffany closed her eyes, inhaling his spicy cologne. She let him draw her into his arms, his lips pressing more firmly against hers. She felt his tongue probing gently and parted her lips for him, trying to remember what Aralyn had always described.

Heat shot through her, down to her toes as the kiss intensified and she started to respond.

Abruptly he pulled away, looking horrified.

Tiffany’s heart was pounding. “Was it that bad?” she whispered, humiliated.

He shook his head. “No. God no. I—I can’t kiss you, Tiffany. You’re my student!”

She bit her lip. “I’ve never been kissed before,” she blurted out.

He stared at her, the realization of that sinking in. “You’ve never been kissed?”

Tiffany shook her head. “No. Never.”

He took a physical step back, running his hand through his hair. “I must be losing my mind. Tiffany, I’m so sorry. I can’t do this. We can’t do this. I knew I shouldn’t have invited you over but I couldn’t leave you there. This is crazy!”

Tiffany turned away so he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

“I shouldn’t have let you kiss me,” she said stiffly. “I think I’d better go.”

“You can’t,” he stepped in front of her. “It’s still snowing.”

She glanced out the window. There was no way she’d make it on foot back to the bookstore and be able to drive through this.

“Please, Tiffany, stay. For safety’s sake. If something happened to you on the road, I’d never forgive myself.”

“I’d better call my parents,” she murmured.

After she had told them she was staying at a friend’s house to wait out the storm, she turned to him awkwardly. Even with the SUV, her parents didn’t want her on the road; the snow was coming down too heavily. She conveniently left out the fact she was at her teacher’s house. Her single, male, attractive teacher who had just kissed her.

“Well, I guess I’m stuck,” she said.

He nodded. “Look, why don’t you take my bed? I’ll sleep on the couch.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not kicking you out of your bed.”

She steadfastly refused until he agreed to let her sleep on the couch. It was near midnight by the time they turned in, but neither slept. Both lay awake, wishing, and wanting the other, and cursing the circumstances that kept them apart.

***

She woke early, jumped up and looked outside. The sun was peeking up and the plows were out on the street, plowing, salting and dumping a brine mixture to de-ice the roads. Scribbling a hurried ‘thank you’ she left it on the coffee table, bundled up, and bolted out the door.

Carefully, she made her way back to where she had left her car. Every other minute she glanced over her shoulder, to make sure he wasn’t following. It was slow going before she reached the car, and wiped off the snow from the driver’s door. Starting the engine, she got the long scraper from the back and brushed off the snow and scraped the ice as the engine warmed. She wanted to be far away from here before Tony woke up.

Tony. She couldn’t think of him as Mr. Roth anymore. He had kissed her. Touched her face. He had wanted her. Did want her, she thought with a smile. She hadn’t imagined all those looks.

Trembling, she got into the car as it finished defrosting and leaned her head against the headrest. Her instinct was to go to Aralyn’s, tell her cousin everything, but she knew she couldn’t. Aralyn would be horrified, insist she not pursue him. She might even want to tell Honey and Luke. Tiffany was eighteen, but she was still a high school student and Luke Duke would hit the roof at the idea of his daughter involved with a teacher. Aralyn already thought she had a crush on a married man and that was bad enough, but better than the truth.

No, she thought as she pulled out of the store’s parking lot. This had to remain a secret. Her and Tony’s secret.

Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!

Author’s Notes
- A huge yee-haa to the fabulous Donna, for editing this!
- It's hard being a teenage girl who sometimes gets lost in the crowd of a big family. I hope you stick with us as she heads down a dangerous path!
- Word Count, 3,512