Mia looked on, her gaze pinned on Christian. Her mind lingered on the bare line of his chest visible beneath the open collar. For a second, everything around her dulled. Her thoughts wandered to what that chest would feel like beneath her palm again, and the clean scent that probably clung to his skin.
Then his voice broke through her thoughts—clear, deep, and professional.
“Ma’am, we’re forty minutes away from the school. We need to get going if you don’t want to be late on your first day.”
The word struck her. Ma’am?
She blinked, stunned. Christian hadn’t called her that since the day she insisted he stop. That word used to feel stiff, impersonal. Why now? She hadn’t changed. She was still Mia.
Or had she changed overnight? She glanced down at herself, then back at him.
She opened
