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Chapter One
Claire
“See any hotties yet, Claire?” Maya says, craning her neck to look across the crowd.
I roll my eyes. “Youdoremember we’re here for work, right?”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, too,” she says.
Maya wiggles her eyebrows at me and I can’t help but laugh. But when I scan our surroundings again, I sigh. We’re practically standing in the same spot we were standing in ten minutes ago.
The lines are moving, but at a snail’s pace.
Asluggishsnail’s pace.
Maya and I are in town for an annual educators conference—Maya teaches third grade, and I teach second. The place is packed with teachers and administrators and other people who work in schools, and everybody is simultaneously trying to check in.
Maybe Ishoulddo as Maya is doing and search the crowd for good-looking men. At least that would be more entertaining than just standing here, waiting for our line to move forward.
Not that I would actually do anything if I did spot a hot guy. I came to this conference to learn, not to hook up with some teacher from another state.
“Ooh,” says Maya, nudging me with her elbow. “Look. Over there.”
I rise up on my toes so I can see across the crowd and follow Maya’s gaze. There’s so many people here in this convention center lobby that it’s impossible to tell who she has her eyes set on.
And then he catches my eye.
The man is tall—taller than most of the people here—and even from this far away, I can tell how muscular he is beneath his button-up shirt. His body screams gym teacher, but his attire and his neatly combed hair, which has just a hint of grey, gives off an air of importance.
Well, whatever he is, he’s damn hot. That’s for sure.
“Tall guy in the blue shirt?” I say to Maya.
“What?” she says. “No. The guy in the black sweater.”
I search the crowd and see who she means. “Ah. Gotcha. Yeah, he’s cute.”
“Wait, who wereyoulooking at?”
“No one,” I say quickly.
“Claire. Come on. Youneverpoint out cute guys.”
“Just…” I sigh and look back across the room. “Him. The tall guy. Blue shirt, like I said.”
She picks him out of the crowd with her eyes. “Nice.”
Just then, he looks across the crowd—and his eyes lock on the two of us. Or maybe just on me. It’s a little hard to tell from across the room, but I definitely feel his gaze on me.
Quickly, I pull my eyes away.
“Stop staring,” I hiss at Maya. Oh, God. I feel like a fourteen-year-old girl right now. “He saw us.”
“So?” She grins and waves.
“Oh my God. Maya.Stop.”
“Lighten up, Claire. Have some fun for once in your life.”
