Page 36 of Off Limits Daddies
We stay tangled together for a long moment, both breathing hard. Finally, I lower her gently to the ground and we straighten our clothes in awkward silence.
"That was..." Mia trails off, her cheeks flushed.
"Yeah." I adjust my glasses, which somehow stayed on through everything. "It was."
She laughs and the sound eases some of the tension. "We should probably get back before someone notices we're both gone."
"Probably." But I pull her close for one more kiss, soft and lingering. "I meant what I said, Mia. This means something to me."
"It means something to me too," she admits quietly. "That's what scares me."
We drive back separately. I head to my classroom—might as well get those quizzes graded—while Mia disappears toward the English wing. My body still hums with satisfaction, but my mind is already spinning with complications.
The afternoon assembly about upcoming school events—the reason school was only half a day today—feels interminable. I sit with the other teachers in the auditorium while Principal Lewis drones on about the fall fundraiser and parent-teacher conferences. My eyes keep drifting to where Mia sits three rows ahead, her dark hair catching the overhead lights.
I lean forward slightly, my eyes narrowing. Is that a piece of bark in her hair? A smile splits across my face and I lean back, only to realize I'm not the only one watching her.
Jack Lewis stands at the podium, ostensibly addressing the entire faculty, but his gaze keeps returning to Mia with anintensity that makes my look at him a little closer. It's not the professional attention of a principal monitoring his staff. It's something darker, more possessive.
Then I notice Blake Morgan sitting across the aisle. The football coach's eyes are also fixed on Mia, his expression thoughtful and hungry. He shifts in his seat, and I watch his gaze travel down her body, lingering on her legs crossed at the ankle.
I'm not the only man interested in Mia Wilson.
As if sensing my attention, Blake's eyes flick to mine. We stare at each other for a long moment, recognition passing between us. Then his gaze shifts to Jack at the podium, and I follow his line of sight.
Jack has stopped talking mid-sentence, his attention caught by the silent exchange between Blake and me. His jaw tightens and his hazel eyes narrow as he looks from Blake to me, then to Mia, who remains oblivious to the tension crackling through the auditorium.
The three of us lock eyes across the crowded room. Blake's expression is challenging. Jack's is territorial. And I feel my own possessiveness rising to match theirs.
This isn't just attraction. This is competition.
The assembly ends and teachers file out, chattering about the upcoming events. I stay seated, my mind racing. The way Jack looked at Mia wasn't casual interest. The way Blake watched her wasn't innocent appreciation. They both want her.
And based on the flush in Mia's cheeks when she glanced at Jack, based on the way she smiled at something Blake said inthe hallway this morning, I have the sinking suspicion that their interest isn't one-sided.
I think about the secrets Mia carries, the way she deflects personal questions, the guilt that shadows her eyes. I think about her returning to Riverside after ten years away, about her father's illness, about the complicated situation she mentioned but won't explain.
I have the unsettling feeling that there's more to their looks at Mia than just desire. What kind of mess have I stumbled into?
15
MIA
I wake to the sensation of my mattress bouncing violently beneath me. My eyes snap open to find Rory and Corey jumping on my bed with the kind of manic energy only nine-year-olds possess at seven in the morning.
"Mom! Mom! Can we go explore?" Rory shouts, his hazel eyes bright with excitement. Those eyes. Jack's eyes. Every time I look at them, I see the man who fathered them staring back at me.
"Please?" Corey adds, slightly more subdued but equally eager. "You promised we could see the town."
I sit up, running my hands through my tangled hair. "Okay, okay. But first, breakfast. And we need to get you enrolled at school."
Both boys groan in unison, but they climb off the bed and race toward the kitchen. I follow more slowly, trying to wake up. I'll need a cup of coffee, or four, to get moving today.
The morning passes in a blur of paperwork and administrative tasks at Riverside Elementary. The school secretary is friendly but curious, asking pointed questions about where we moved from and why I chose to return to Riverside after so long. I deflect with practiced ease, keeping my answers vague and my smile firmly in place.
"And their father?" the secretary asks, her pen poised over the emergency contact form. "Should we list him as well?"
My throat tightens. "It's just me. I'm a single mother."
