Page 18 of Jagger
“Hi, Miss Walsh. I’m Rome, Abby’s husband, Ethan’s dad, and Jagger’s more handsome brother,” he teased with a wink as he introduced himself. Up close, I could see a few minor differences. His beard was a little thicker than the scruff that Jagger had, and when he smiled, I noticed his dimple was on the opposite cheek. He also had a small, faint, hairline scar bisecting one of his eyebrows.
“It’s…um…nice to meet you,” I said faintly. I felt like I’d been through a whirlwind of emotions in the past twenty-four hours. Hurt, anger, disappointment, humiliation, guilt, more hurt, more anger. Now, I felt the smallest spark of joy starting to seep its way into my veins.
I looked at Abby, who was smiling widely, obviously trying not to laugh. God, I felt like such a witch. I’d been so shocked yesterday, and I knew I had been rude to her, but at the time, I’d felt it was better than screaming that her husband was a lying, cheating pile of steaming dog crap.
I glanced around, noticing that there were only a few students left, and they were gathered over by Sarah, the other kindergarten teacher at the school. Because our kiddos were the youngest, we were tasked with making sure they all made it to the right parent or onto the right bus at the end of the day. Brad didn’t have a class for the last period, so he had dismissal duty with us every day.
“So, aren’t you going to introduce me?” I heard Brad ask. I could tell by his voice that he was loving this. He’d been ready to track Jagger down to kick his ass last night, but calmer heads - mainly Emma’s and Drew’s – had prevailed. Now that we knew Jagger wasn’t married, he was clearly back on Team Hottie McBiker.
I turned to look at him, shooting him a warning glare that hopefully no one else could see. He just raised his brows and grinned back at me, and I shuddered to think what was going to come out of his mouth.
“Uh, Brad Dolan, this is Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, Ethan’s parents,” I said, skipping over Jagger for now. I looked at Rome and his wife as I explained, “Mr. Dolan teaches Physical Education.”
Brad nudged me, and I glared at him over my shoulder. “And this is Jagger. He’s…Ethan’s uncle.”
Rome chuckled and Jagger almost glared at me, not at all happy with my lame description of who he was.
“Oh, I think he’s a lot more than Ethan’s uncle,” Brad murmured wickedly, before holding out his hand to Jagger. “Brad Dolan, Ethan’s gym teacher and her best friend,” he said, gesturing to me with his other hand.
Jagger narrowed his eyes at Brad as he shook his hand, then slid them over to look at me. I just gave him a small smile, wondering if this could possibly get any more awkward.
“Angel, could I speak with you?” Jagger said, making it sound more like a demand than a request. Yep, it could get more awkward.
Brad nudged me toward Jagger, not even trying to be subtle. “Why don’t I walk Ethan and his parents to their car?” He didn’t bother waiting for an answer as he turned and headed down the sidewalk toward the parking lot. Abby smothered a grin and followed him, taking Ethan’s hand. Rome smiled at me again and clapped Jagger on the back.
“Good luck, bro,” he said with a laugh, and sauntered off to follow his family.
“I have one thing I’d like to say to you before we begin, Angel,” Jagger said, and I nodded for him to continue. I was sure he was going to tell me off for the way I’d treated him, and I knew I would deserve it. He took my hands in his and turned me, so I was directly facing him.
“Hi, my name is Cole Morgan, but everyone calls me Jagger,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. I couldn’t help but laugh in relief. “And you are?” he prompted.
“I’m Molly Walsh. It’s nice to meet you, Cole.”
“Molly,” he repeated as a smile broke out on his face. “I like that. It suits you. I think Angel suits you even better though.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment, then we both started to talk at once. I held up my hand to stop him.
“Please, let me go first. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions and didn’t ask you for an explanation. I just felt so guilty and ashamed, thinking I’d unknowingly helped you cheat on your wife – your pregnant wife – that I just shut you out.”
“Hell, Angel, you have nothing to be sorry for. I hadn’t mentioned I was a twin, so what the hell else would you think after seeing someone who looks exactly like me – only not quite as handsome – with a wife and kid? Shit, I figure Rome’s just lucky you didn’t haul off and smack him in the middle of the parking lot. I’ve seen those killer reflexes of yours, remember?” he teased, squeezing my hands a little.
He started to pull me close, then thought better of it as he looked around at the few remaining kids and parents in the parking lot, then glanced at Brad and Sarah, who were making no pretense about doing anything other than staring at us. Brad still had a gleeful expression, and I knew I wouldn’t be living this down anytime soon. He’d probably already texted Drew and Emma. I groaned and rolled my eyes, and Jagger arched a brow at me.
“So, Brad’s your best friend, huh?” he asked. I noticed the disgruntled expression on his face but decided to ignore it.
“Yes. We met in college and have been friends ever since. I interviewed for the teaching position here a week after I graduated, and they mentioned that the Phys. Ed teacher had just turned in notice that she was moving out of state with her husband. I told Brad, and he called them for an interview before they even had the job opening posted. Most days, I’m glad to be working with him. Today, not so much,” I said, turning to give my bestie a pointed look. He just laughed and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. I saw him point it in our direction and not-so-subtly snap our picture, before frantically tapping at the screen. I groaned again and dropped my head.
“What’s wrong?” Jagger asked curiously, and I raised my head to look at him. I tipped my head toward Brad.
“See that? That’s Brad texting everyone we know to tell them about this. I’ll never live it down. I can just hear them now. We’ll be sitting around with our walkers in the nursing home, and Brad will say‘Remember that time Molly didn’t know that guy she dated was an identical twin, and thought he was married?’They’ll think it’s hilarious.”
Jagger got a funny look on his face for a second, before he chuckled. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll never live this down, either. My dad thinks I’m a fucking moron, and figures you deserve better than a guy who literally knew nothing about you and had no way to track you down. Abby is afraid I’m gonna fuck this up and Ethan will have to change schools, and Rome – well you saw him. He loves to give me shit, no matter the situation. This is a fucking gold mine of ammunition for him.”
I frowned at his comment about Ethan. “Why would Ethan need to change schools?”
Jagger shrugged. “Well, she figures I’ll piss you off so badly that it would be awkward for you around Ethan and them.”
I squeezed his hands, which were still holding mine. “I would never let our…situation effect my relationship with one of my students,” I assured him truthfully. “I will admit though, that I hated the thought of having to interact with his parents after yesterday,” I said with a rueful smile. That smile faded when I remembered how rude I’d been to Ethan’s mom when I’d spotted her husband in the parking lot. I’d literally just turned around and all but ran back into the building, without saying a word to her. “Oh God, your sister-in-law must think I’m a horrible person. I was so rude when I – “
