Page 35 of An Unexpected Turn
“No rush. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No thanks,” I said, my eyes glued to where the sleeve of her shirt drooped lower as I stepped inside.
Her lips stretched into a tiny smile. “How did Mike handle suspension today?”
“Okay, I suppose.” I leaned against the edge of her sink. “I let him do what he wanted for the day once his schoolwork was done. Was today a mess for you?”
She shrugged.
“The boys he got into it with are a problem. The football team, in general, is becoming an issue, in part because of their coach.” She shook her head with a heavy sigh. “I had the cafeteria monitors written up for not reporting Mike’s complaints, and I’m hoping our principal is going to deal with the team as a whole, but I’m personally going to keep an eye on all of this.”
“Thank you. You’ve looked after Mike from day one, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.” I dropped my gaze to the floor. “I wish he would have told me.”
“Unfortunately, kids expect this to happen when they shouldn’t. Saying boys will be boys is bullshit. I have a bullying workshop I’d planned for later in the semester, and I think I’m going to bump it up to now. It’s a good time for a reminder.”
I returned her tired smile.
“You’re pretty amazing at what you do, in case no one over there has told you yet.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I tend to care too much, which keeps me up at night sometimes.”
“I’m sorry you’re losing sleep over it, but clueless fathers like me are very grateful.”
“You’re anything but clueless. You’re incredible.” Her gaze found mine as the air crackled between us. She was closing that safe distance we always tried to keep between us, holding my gaze and breaking our unspoken rule of not getting too close or looking too long.
I jerked back on instinct, but as the sink was behind me, there was nowhere to go. I could leave the drywall here and send one of the guys to come back and install it.
Too bad my feet were rooted to her floor and I couldn’t go anywhere.
“I don’t know about that, butyou’repretty fucking incredible,” I rasped, barely blinking as our gazes stayed locked.
“Incredible. Right.” She let out a sad laugh. “All I do is run and hide instead of taking what I want.”
“What do you want?” I asked, both dreading and hoping for the answer that was about to change everything.
Her throat worked before she sucked in a long breath.
“You.” Her breathless whisper knocked the wind out of me.
“Peyton, you ...” I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly parched. “You can’t say that.”
Peyton inched toward me, every centimeter lost between us kicking up my heartbeat. This was exactly what I’d been working to avoid, yet I kept gravitating toward her at the same time.
A groan rose from my throat as I exhaled.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come here today,” I said, more to myself than to her.
“Why?” Her voice fell to a low whisper.
My heart hammered in my ears as she eased closer.
“Because I’m hanging on by a thread here, sweetheart.”
“So, maybe we should both let go.”
I caught her hand when it skimmed down my cheek.
“You’re all I think about, no matter how much I’ve tried to stop.” My own voice dipped to a husky rasp as I nuzzled her palm instead of peeling it away as I should have. “But do you really think it’s that simple?”
