Page 8 of An Unexpected Turn
“Ah yes. Aunt Maya says you guys are attached at the hip.”
Which was why I shouldn’t have been so fixated on the way his full lips spread into a smile or how his T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders.
“Have a good night, Peyton. I mean, Ms. Miller.” My name rolling off his tongue still triggered that wave of goose bumps down my neck. My stomach fluttered when he turned his head one more time before climbing into his truck.
I needed to get a grip and stop my mind from playing tricks on me.
My focus needed to be on myself and the job I had to do, and mooning over the parent of one of my students, no matter if I’d mooned over him before, was inappropriate and unacceptable. The fact that he was my uncle’s best friend made giving him more than a first look just plain wrong, no matter how enticing he was to the eyes.
If I was going to make a better life for myself here, I needed to heed all the lines I wasn’t supposed to cross, and Jake Russo was the definition of off-limits.
FOUR
JAKE
“This is stupid. I see all the same kids at school,” Mikey grumbled, hands stuffed into his pockets, as we made our way into the park.
“Yeah, but maybe you’ll get more of a chance to talk to them today. We don’t have to stay long. Just try.”
Trywas a constant plea with my son. Try to forgive the mother who dumped him with his father. Try to like a brand-new school and make new friends.
But try was all either of us could do.
“Mike! I’m so glad you made it.”
We whipped our heads around, and I spotted Peyton jogging over to us. She wore a simple tank top and jeans, tempting my eyes to sweep along all the curves I wasn’t supposed to notice on my best friend’s favorite niece. After she’d told me who she was that afternoon, I drove home in an uneasy silence, but my son was too busy rambling on about the robotics program to notice.
The memory of the kid I’d met so long ago contrasted with the woman she was now. The shock might have worn away, but when she’d met my eyes for a moment before turning her attention back to my son, an attraction had pulsed between us along with guilt turning my stomach.
“Turns out, the robotics club is here and having an unofficial meeting next to the ball field,” Peyton told my son in a loud whisper. “I told Mrs. Lopez I’d keep an eye out for you and send you over when you arrived.” She folded her arms, pushing up the swells of her breasts enough to create a slight strain against her neckline—right where I shouldn’t have been looking.
“Yeah?” The light in my son’s eyes caught me right in the chest when he looked back at me, a little more hope in his gaze than I was used to seeing. I’d almost forgotten the guilt over gawking at his guidance counselor, thanks to the rush of happy relief flooding my veins.
“Go,” I said, giving his shoulder a playful shove. “This is what you came for. I’ll get some food and a place to sit. You can find me whenever you’re done.”
It had been so long since I’d seen a real smile on my son’s face, I’d almost forgotten what it looked like.
“Thanks, Ms. Miller,” Mikey said before jogging over.
“Yes. Thank you, Ms. Miller,” I said with a deep sigh. “I was praying he’d start meeting kids and not be so miserable, and the robotics program has been all he can talk about the past couple of days.”
A smile crept across her lips. I couldn’t look at her eyes, her body, and now I was mesmerized by the graze of her teeth across her bottom lip when she lifted her head. I needed to get a plate of food so I’d have something else to focus on.
“The new people in town have to look out for one another. Right, Mr. Russo?” She shrugged.
“Ugh, please.” I cringed. “You know me, and Mr. Russo was my father. Please don’t make me feel old like my son likes to do and call me Jake.”
She laughed, a gorgeous smile spreading her mouth.
“Okay,Jake. As I said, new people need to look out for one another.”
Her overpronunciation of my name shouldn’t have sounded so damn sensual, and I shouldn’t have been so viscerally attuned to it.
“Who’s looking out for you?” I asked, lower and huskier than I meant to.
“Besides my uncle?” She smirked, looking me over with a raised brow.
The uncle who would kick my ass if he knew I was lusting after his niece.
