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Chapter 12
Don’t get too close.
Lincoln had kept that mantra for a decade after discovering how hard it was to walk away from people. And he always walked away.
This stint in Bliss Cove wasn’t like one of his research undertakings, but the circumstances were the same. He’d stay for a limited time, get the information he needed, and leave.
All he had to do was come up with three good reasons why a person would choose to live here. Sam wouldn’t let him get away with easy answers—the ocean, the redwoods, the artichoke soup—but Lincoln was a writer. He could embellish anything.
On Monday morning, he arrived at Grace’s classroom an hour before the first bell rang. As he’d expected, she was working industriously at her computer. Though he’d brought coffee and doughnuts twice last week, today he’d resisted the temptation to stop at Java Works and bring her one of her ridiculous toasted marshmallow concoctions.
She glanced up. Her eyes widened with both surprise and unmistakable relief. “You came.”
“You thought I wouldn’t?”
“No, I…well, I wasn’t sure.”
“I told you I’d stay.” His shoulders tightened.
He tried not to notice how stunning she was in a tailored navy blouse that somehow brought out blue highlights in her eyes. Her hair was pulled back tightly—no loose tendrils today—and he curled his hand into a fist against the memory of how those thick red strands had felt sliding through his fingers.
Get a grip, Atwood.
“I want to clear up what happened the other night,” he said.
The light in her eyes dimmed. “Clear up?It was a kiss, not a rash.”
“It was a mistake.”
Her mouth compressed. “I tried to explain that I’m not—”
“The fact is that we’re working together for a few weeks.” He dredged up the cut-and-dried speech he’d planned. “I usually work alongside people to learn about their lives, but I don’t make attachments. And to avoid making things difficult, it’d be best if we keep this professional.”
She blinked the instant before her expression hardened. “In case you forgot, your exact words were,‘I want to kiss you.’Which you then proceeded to do quite thoroughly. And yes, I took things farther than you expected, but I explained I’m not interested in a relationship, so I don’t like your implication that I’m the one making thisdifficultor encouragingattachments.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You were.” She stood abruptly. Her hazel eyes sparked. “News flash, Mr. Atwood. My goal is to fit you into my classroom, not into my life. As long as you put your best effort into teaching and helping my students, we can get successfully through the next five weeks and then part ways. Nodifficultiesinvolved.”
Lincoln groaned inwardly. He was such an ass. She was the one accommodating him, not the other way around.
“I’m sorry.” He forced out the apology. “I shouldn’t have kissed you, no matter how much I wanted to. I don’t want to make this complicated.”
She expelled a breath of impatience. “Lincoln, there is one thing I want from you, and that’s a successful Real World Specialist experience. Principal Spruce was right when he said this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my students. They can learn a lot from you. I want nothing more than for them to finish this year full of new ideas, insights, and possibilities. You can help inspire all of that. But I need you to look at this as a way of shaping lives and making a difference, not just because it’s something you’ve never done before.”
Lincoln had often experienced humility during his research endeavors. Few things made him and his life seem less important than a refugee child who’d lost both his parents, or a fisherman who depended on the sea and the weather to feed his family.
But a high-school Shakespeare teacher who played the ukulele and loved rhubarb pie might just have topped the list.
“I’m in,” he finally said.
“Good.” She unclenched her fists and lowered herself back into her chair. “If you’ll please sit down, I’ll show you how to access the curriculum.”
He pulled up a chair closer to the desk. He caught her scent—something sweet and warm, like vanilla.
Grace clicked another screen on the computer. “By the way, it would be a good idea if we could be friends…or at least,friendlywith each other.”
“What?”
