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“It’s perfect.”
She met his gaze, surprised at the warmth she found there. And zero judgment.
“Seriously, I would have killed to have a room like this as a kid.”
“But this ismyroom,” Mia said with a laugh, heat rising in her cheeks.
“It’s all part of the job, right? Planning and testing? You might as well have fun in the process.” He walked to the desk and scanned its contents. “I mean, look at all the great stuff in here—construction paper, markers, crayons. Glue sticks. Wait—do I spy colored pipe cleaners, too?”
She nodded. “There’s even more stuff in the drawers. If you use it in a craft, it’s probably in here.”
“I bet you’re everyone’s favorite teacher. How could you not be when you let them play with all this cool stuff?”
The heat in her cheeks intensified. She looked to the desk with a shrug. “We do have a lot of fun in my classroom. Kids seem to learn more when they’re smiling.”
He stepped closer, a smirk on his lips. “You’ve never been an easy person to compliment, Mia.”
The way her name rolled off his tongue sent a pleasant shiver through her, and she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. Nor about the way that spicy cologne was beckoning her to step closer and draw in a long inhale. It hadn’t been like this when they were younger. Things had been simpler then. Platonic. Off-limits.
But now…
No, she refused to let her thoughts go there. Alex may look and smell scrumptious, but he was here for only a day. No sense in letting her imagination run wild over someone who didn’t plan on sticking around. Besides, what would it do to her reputation if rumors started circulating about her having a weekend fling with her daughter under the same roof?
“My students show their thanks through hugs and laughter, that’s really all I need,” said Mia, keeping her voice light. “Speaking of which, I have papers to grade. Why don’t we go downstairs and collect your things so you can get settled in for the night?”
“Sounds good. I have some work to do as well.”
Mia led the way back to the living room, grateful to escape the guest room’s small space. Seriously, that cologne should come with a warning tag. Distracted by her thoughts, she reached for his duffel bag the same time as him.
“I’ve got it,” she said.
“Please, allow me. I’ve already taken up too much of your time tonight.”
He smiled that amazing Alex smile and slung the bag over his shoulder. Then he pulled her into a warm hug and pecked a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you again for your generosity, Mia.”
She froze, surprised by the unexpected contact. When was the last time anyone had kissed her on the cheek? And whoa, had he just kissed her?
For once, she wished she was more like Del, able to jump into whatever called her with reckless abandon. Because what she wanted right now more than anything was a real kiss from the boy she’d had a secret crush on back in college. The boy who’d grown into one fine specimen of a man.
“Hey, Mia?”
“Yes, Alex?”
Shoot, why did her voice have to go and sound so breathy all of a sudden? Maybe that was okay. Maybe he’d take the hint and plant a real one on her lips. Oh man, she hoped he would take the hin—
“Is it, uh, normal to have random people looking in your windows?” he asked.
Oh no.
Mia stepped out of their embrace and turned to find her eighty-three-year-old neighbor peering in from the front porch. Though Margaret Harper had retired from her post as a newspaper journalist twenty years ago, her role as the head of their local rumor mill would likely never cease. Nor, did it seem, would her role as self-appointed matchmaker for the Brooks girls. Margaret waggled her silvery brows and gave them both a thumbs-up.
Mia hung her head with a sigh.
“Welcome to Bourbon Falls, Alex.”
*
Margaret Harper wasa trip.
