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“Good. Geez.” She laughed, a bitter edge to it. “You know how to make a girl feel welcome.”
“I’m sorry.” The apology flew out on autopilot. “You caught me off-guard, that’s all. A little more planning would have been helpful.”
“It was your idea to keep it a surprise, Hunter! I did what you wanted, and now you’re complaining. I can’t believe—”
“Okay, okay,” I said, wanting to cut off the conversation before it escalated into an argument.
“Don’t okay me!”
I took a deep breath, searching for patience. I was not in the best mood after last night’s fiasco with Clark and Toby, but it wouldn’t help any of us to blow up at my ex-wife.
“Holly, let’s not fight. I’ll be there to get you,” I said calmly. “Send me the details. Toby is going to be really excited to see you.”
“But not you, huh?”
“It will be nice to see you.”
“Uh-huh.”
I turned to the pan, the scent of burning meat just now registering with me. “Shit! Dinner is burning. I have to go.”
Holly laughed. “There’s the Hunter I know. Maybe you won’t be thrilled to see me, but at least Toby can eat a proper meal again.”
I was too busy scooping the meat out of the pan to explain that I’d actually gotten pretty good in the kitchen, thanks to my boyfriend. Myrealboyfriend, not the fake one Holly believed I had.
There was going to be a lot to talk about once she was here, and I wasn’t looking forward to any of it. With Toby upset about me seeing Clark, this was the worst possible time for Holly to visit. But even if she were willing to reschedule for my sake, I couldn’t deny Toby a chance to see his mom.
I just hoped it didn’t make it even more difficult for him to accept that our marriage was over. I had entered a new chapter in my life, and the title of that chapter was Clark Fletcher’s Boyfriend. My son was going to have to accept that eventually, because I had no intention of giving up the best person to ever open their heart to me.
* * *
CLARK
Principal Simmons wasat her desk when I knocked at the door, looking frazzled after returning from two days out of town. Her bun was coming loose, strands of hair curling around her rosy face, and she’d discarded her suit jacket. A fan whirred, pointed directly at her and causing a few papers to flutter.
She glanced up. “Ah, yes, come in. Let’s get this done. There’s a margarita waiting with my name on it.”
“You sound like Maisie.”
“Do I?” She smiled. “I’m going to take that as a compliment since she’s a favorite with the students. A bit of a wildcard, but then, so was I once upon a time. Sadly, I’m less wild and more menopausal now.” She grimaced, cutting her eyes to the fan.
“Ahh.” What was the proper response to that. “Sorry?”
She scoffed. “Not your problem. And it never will be since you’re a man. Lucky duck.”
“Did you enjoy your time off work at least?” I asked politely. “I know it was a conference, but hopefully there was time for a margarita or two.”
“Or a dozen,” she agreed. “And I needed every one of them after listening to bureaucratic nonsense all day. You would have blown a gasket, Clark. Testing this and testing that.” She waved a hand, her manicured nails a splash of color against her black-and-white attire. “But let’s not get into all that. I read your email about this situation with your GrasshopPeers. How do you want to handle it?”
The question surprised me. “As I said in the email, it involves Hunter’s son. Since Hunter and I are dating, it didn’t feel appropriate for me to make that call.”
Principal Simmons nodded. “I agree. I’m glad you brought this to me so we could have no appearance of bias. That was smart. However, it’s your program, Clark. You’ve been working with these students, not me. I’d like you to tell me what your instincts are. If I feel your decision isn’t objective enough, I’ll tell you.”
“Okay. Well…” I wiped my hands on my thighs, nervous despite her reassurances. This felt a bit like a test of my principles and I was terrified of failing. “Toby came forward with the truth. That counts for something. He tells me that he and Will divided up the work, with Toby focusing on one part of the project and Will another. It was Will who plagiarized an essay and turned it in. It’s not clear to me if Toby was aware of it before or after the fact. I did talk with Will about this once it came to my attention, to get his side of the story as well.”
“Did he corroborate Toby’s story?”
“Yes and no.”
