Free Midnight Scent (Amour Toxique Book 1) by Dori Lavelle

up fighting. Now her texts are driving me nuts. I stopped reading them. Next thing she’ll start sending letters in the mail.”
    Chelsea’s eyes light up. “Oh! Speaking of mail.” She places the can on the windowsill, goes to her bag, and pulls out a large manila envelope. “I found this in the mailbox. It’s for you. Maybe it is from your mother.”
    I grab it quickly. “Thanks. It could be.”
    I wait until Chelsea is snoring into her pillow before I open it. Inside the envelope is a small note attached to what looks like a stack of forms, held together by a metal paperclip. My heart is in my throat as I read.
    Nothing would make me happier than seeing your pretty face. Fill out the forms and we can finally meet in person. I’ll let you know once the application is approved. For now, I’ll be here, waiting patiently for you.
    I put the note aside and study the forms. I had no idea you had to fill out paperwork to visit an inmate.
    During the past week, while waiting for him to respond, I tried to convince myself I should change my mind about visiting him. Right now, I’m back to needing to see him. So I fill out the forms. First thing in the morning, I mail them off to the address provided and prepare myself for the longest, most terrifying wait of my life.
    If I’m lucky, I’ll get to see him before his trial. Given my strained relationship with my mother, I can imagine I’ll be spending the holidays in Oaklow.

Chapter Thirteen
     
    I’m in the middle of answering a question on the decorative arts of Asia when my phone beeps loudly with a text. The visiting Chinese professor and author, Biming Liu, is listening intently when it sounds. Thank God it’s not a phone call.
    I force my attention away from my phone and finish my thought without further interruption. Then I sink into my seat and dig inside my backpack for the phone. I find it sandwiched between the pages of my Asian Design Principles textbook. I’m about to switch it off without reading the text, assuming it’s my mother. But the number isn’t in my contacts. While the professor is expanding on what I said, I click on the message and read it quickly.
    My heart expands so much I’m afraid it might burst inside my chest. Surely the whole room has to hear how hard it’s pounding. But they don’t seem to; they continue listening and making notes, while a few sleep discreetly.
    Sweet Ivy, your application to visit me has been approved. When can you come? I can’t wait to see you.
    Questions scramble for space inside my head. In particular, how did he manage to get hold of a cell phone in prison? Regardless, I relish the warmth spreading through my gut.
    His words, simple and straightforward as they may be, pull me in all over again, drugging my senses.
    I put my phone back in my bag. I’ll respond later. Now that it’s real, now that I have the opportunity to meet him in person, I need time to think, to brace myself.
    ***
    As soon as the last lecture of the day comes to an end, I head to the library to do some research for a presentation I’m scheduled to give in a week. I try to keep Judson at the back of my mind, but after half an hour, I quit and gather my things. On my way to Dunkin Hall I grab two sandwiches from a small deli close to campus. Since it’s already five, this will have to be dinner.
    I hate eating alone, but there’s no one to share a meal with. The only person I normally do that with anyway is Chelsea, but lately she spends most of her free time with Neil. A day after they broke up, they got back together. Apart from Chelsea, I still haven’t let many other people in; I have the feeling that if I do, they will see my deepest, darkest secrets immediately. Once they discover I’m in contact with the professor who put the university’s name in the same sentence as the word “murder,” I’m doomed. No, the fewer people I let in, the safer my secret will be.
    As I walk through the residential gardens, I pull out my