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“I’m so sorry I’m late. I lost track of the time, and…”
“It’s fine,” Margot says, handing her a little boy who I think is called Christopher. “He’s been really good today.”
His mom smiles down at him, roughing up his hair, although he pushes her hand away.
“Can I call Dad when I get home?” he asks, looking up at her.
“He’ll be at work. Why not wait until later? He’ll have more time to speak with you.”
Christopher shakes his head. “No, he won’t. He’ll be too busy with Jade to wanna talk to me.”
His mom crouches down, holding his hands. “Daddy’s new wife is very kind to you, and even if you don’t like her very much, you mustn’t be rude about her. Okay?”
He hesitates for a second, and then nods his head, like he’s less than convinced. Seemingly satisfied, though, his mom stands up again and looks at me. “Sorry about that,” she says.
“Don’t worry.”
They leave, sauntering across the schoolyard, and I turn to Margot, raising my eyebrows.
“You won’t remember all of this after the day you’ve had,” she says, “but Christopher’s last name is Leyton. His mom is called Diana, and she works at the bakery.”
“The one that’s also a delicatessen?”
“That’s the place. She moved here from Willmont Vale after Christopher’s father cheated on her.”
“And married the other woman?” I guess, and she nods her head, folding her arms across her chest at the same time, as we continue to watch them.
“You’ve gotta admire her. It would be easy to bad-mouth her ex and his new wife, but she never says a word against either of them.”
“She’s more generous than I think I would be,” I say, and she laughs.
“Me too.”
I turn and let out a yelp when I come face-to-face with Tanner.
“Oh, hello.”
He smiles down at me and says, “Hi,” his voice whispering over my skin, like the first rays of sun on a summer’s morning, heating it, my body following, and the longing for him building inside me.
Stop it! He’s married. He has a son. You can’t go there.
“I’ll go back inside and start clearing up the classroom,” Margot says, and although part of me wants to tell her I’ll come with her, I can’t walk away from Tanner.
It’s simply not possible.
Even if he is taken.
Chapter Eight
Tanner
I know Margot Ashton well enough. She’s a fan of cozy detective novels, and while I’m aware she frequents the library far more than she does my bookstore, there are authors of whom she’s particularly fond, and whenever they have a new release, she’ll buy it, rather than borrow it.
She looks up at me, but doesn’t say a word, and although I know I ought to at least acknowledge her, I can’t think of a single thing to say. I’m far too preoccupied, wondering how the Kindergarten teacher beside her seems to get more and more beautiful every time I see her.
I’d be happy to swear that the blue of her eyes is even more intense than it was yesterday when I walked straight into her, and she gazed up at me, and flipped my world around with just one smile. It’s strange… I thought her hair was honey-colored then, but I’m sure there are some blonde streaks in it now. I obviously wasn’t paying attention. More fool me.
Margot Ashton says something, and turns around, going back into the school, and although her colleague and I have already said ‘hello’ to each other, I’m not sure what to do next.
