Jade just nodded, her eyes looking a little wild, as if the attraction sparking between them surprised her.
He walked toward the door. When he reached it, he turned back. “I look forward to the kiss you promised me, Freckles.” And he left as her jaw hit the floor.
Chapter 5
“I’ve fallen truly, madly, crazily in lust,” Jade announced with a long sigh to her friends Lauren and Ava while they sat in a booth at Jovi’s Pub.
It was the third margarita she consumed that helped the words spring free. It wasn’t like Jade to drink more than one glass on a school night, but after the day she’d had, all because of a very sexy rock star slash music teacher, she deserved it.
Lauren and Ava both paused with their glasses at their lips, then put them down on the table. Ava was the first to speak. “I’m loving the sound of this. Please continue.”
“You know how I want to provide music lessons for the students at my school?” When they both nodded, she said, “Well, Toby has found someone who will teach the classes for a few weeks.”
“That’s wonderful, Jade. You’ve wanted to do this for your kids for so long,” Lauren said, smiling.
“Yeah, yeah. Music, kids… It’s great, I’m happy for you, but get to the good part,” Ava insisted.
“Getting lessons for them is the good part.” When Ava rolled her eyes, Jade added, “I thought that would interest you considering you’re about to give birth to one.”
Ava took a quick sip of her sparkling water, then lovingly rubbed her swollen belly and smiled. “I’d still prefer talking about lust than kids. If I turn out like Lauren after I have this baby, my kid will be what I’ll always be talking about. So, I want to gossip about the good stuff before that happens.”
“Hey!” Lauren protested.
“It’s true, but I love my godson, so it’s allowed.”
“Well, thanks for your permission.” Sarcasm dripped from Lauren’s tone as she sipped her drink.
Ava squirmed in the seat and placed a hand on her lower back. “God, this kid better come out soon. I’m the size of a whale.”
Jade and Lauren rolled their eyes at the whale reference. Only a couple of weeks away from giving birth and she could still step onto a catwalk like a high-fashion runway model and turn heads. No swollen ankles, no puffy face, beautiful shiny hair, and a compact belly. It didn’t surprise Jade that Ava looked so good; she always looked amazing.
“I should go home and give Nick a bit of lust, it might bring on labor.”
More like love, Jade thought. Ava had always avoided relationships with a passion and she’d never believed in marriage, but now she was happily married to her old teenage boyfriend, Nick Williams. And she had never looked happier.
“But before I do that, tell us who you’ve fallen truly, madly, crazily in lust with.”
“As I was saying, Toby found someone to teach, and…he’s freaking gorgeous.” She couldn’t tell them he was more than a music teacher, even though she was dying to. She’d made a promise. It wasn’t her secret to tell. “And not only is he gorgeous, he’s buying new instruments because the ones we have are crap.”
“Wow, Jade, that’s so generous. What does he do for a living that he can afford that?” Lauren asked.
“Umm…something in the music industry.” She shrugged like she wasn’t sure. God, she hated lying to her friends. A sickly feeling spread through her stomach.
“Can we get back to the lust part of the conversation and what you’re going to do about it?” Ava tapped an impatient hand on the table.
“There’s nothing more to say. I’m not going to do anything about it. We’ll be working together.”
“So? Office hook-ups happen all the time,” Ava said.
“It’s not an office. It’s a primary school,” Jade corrected.
“You won’t be getting it on in the classroom. What you do after hours is no one’s business. And you said he was only teaching for a few weeks, he’s not a permanent staff member. So, unleash your lust-crazed body on him.”
Jade laughed. “I’ve only just met the guy.”
Ava shrugged like that meant nothing.
“Does he feel the same way?” Lauren, always the more sensible one, asked.
