Eva.
I swallow hard as my cheeks heat, turning around to find quite a few students gawking at me. I rush to Natalya’s side.
“I can’t believe you are married to that God of a man,” she says, shaking her head.
I tilt my head. “Are you saying he’s out of my league?”
“No, God no. You are gorgeous, but he’s our fucking principal.”
Azira laughs. “Perhaps I’ll try to bag Luigi.”
All of us look at her like she’s insane.
“What? He’s hot.”
“Yeah, and fucking crazy,” Adrianna says, rolling her eyes. “No one would voluntarily get with that man. He’s a sadist.”
Azira’s cheeks redden, but she shrugs. “Doesn’t take away from how gorgeous he is, and now I know it’s possible…” she laughs. “I’m joking, though.”
“Right,” Natalya says. “It’s your funeral.”
I shake my head. “We’d best get to breakfast before everyone eats all the good food.”
Natalya hooks her arm with mine. “I can see now why you were so eager to spend winter break here, alone,” she stresses the last word, and I can’t help but smile.
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was too soon.” I shake my head. “I never expected we’d get married.”
“I do have a bone to pick with you.” Natalya pouts at me. “Why the fuck wasn’t I your maid of honor?”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Because no one was invited.”
As we enter the cafeteria, Jeanie Doyle steps into our path.
“What the fuck do you want now, Doyle?” Azira asks.
She holds her hands up. “I merely want to say fair play to Eva for bagging the hottest teacher in school.” She gives me a genuinely impressed look. “I underestimated you, Carmichael. Or should I say, Byrne?”
“Eva would do,” I deadpan.
“Fair enough.” She holds her hand out to me, and I regard it warily. I take it and shake, knowing if I show fear, it will boost her ego. “Congrats, Eva.” She winks and then walks away to sit back down with Anita and Kerry, the two girls who attacked me on my first night here.
Being stabbed was horrible, but in a way, I think they bought Oak and me together faster. The tension between us started from that night and only elevated from there.
“What was that all about?” Adrianna asks as we take our seats at our usual table.
“No idea,” I say.
“You’ve probably won the admiration or envy of every girl in the school,” Natalya says, glancing around at the looks we’re getting. “Practically every girl had a crush on the brooding, grumpy Principal Byrne, and you’ve put a ring on it.”
Adrianna laughs. “I still can’t quite believe it. I mean, it’s crazy, right?”
“Yeah,” I say, grinning. “Oak’s expecting a bit of fallout from parents when the words get out, though.”
Azira waves her hand. “Most of the parents won’t give a shit about the principal marrying a pupil. After all, he’s off the market. My dad wouldn’t even bat an eyelid hearing the news.”
“Mine either,” Adrianna agrees. “It’s not like this is a normal school.”
I relax at their reassurance, but Oak is sure some parents will kick up a storm. We’ll have to deal with it when it happens. For now, I’m going to enjoy being newlywed and ignore the haters.