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“Macie, this is Carter. He was my neighbor growing up. Our parents are friends. Tom Edwards, from the school board, is Carter’s dad.” I sighed. “Evidently, the district couldn’t find a substitute for Katie’s maternity leave, so Carter will be teaching her photography courses, I guess. And apparently, I will be teaching her art courses.” I dropped my head, rubbing my temples.
“Why on earth–” Macie started.
Carter cut her off, “Pep is a great artist.”
My heart skipped a beat as he said that nickname I hadn’t heard in so long. When I was adopted and Maddie was only two, she couldn’t say Penelope. She’d somehow taught herself to say ‘Pep’ instead. Throughout our childhood, my siblings and friends called me that, but as we grew up my full name took its place.
Macie looked at me. “I didn’t knowPepwas an artist.”
“I’m not. I used to doodle in high school. That’s all.”
She hmphed at me. Carter looked like he was about to say more, but I shot him a look that begged him to stop, hoping he was still capable of reading my features. “Okay, so you’renotan artist. Please explain how you ended up in this situation, then.”
“Pretty sure our dads set me up.” I craned my neck toward Carter.
“So, you must be a photographer, then?” Macie asked Carter. I leaned in, desperate for his answer, yet hoping it didn’t show. I need something– some kind of inkling as to what his life had been like before showing up in Collins’ office today.
“Yeah,” he paused, “and thank you. For the hot part, not the stupid part.” He then winked.Winked.At Macie. She was practically panting, and I suppressed an eye roll. “I’d been wanting to get out of Hawaii for a while. I guess the school was having trouble finding a substitute for the teacher here who's going on leave.” Looking down at his feet he timidly added, “I didn’t know you were working here too. I thought you were still in England.”
My stomach twisted. Would he not have accepted the job if he knew he’d be working with me? Would I have accepted if I knew I’d be working with him? Likely not. If he thought I’d still be in England, then his dad must’ve not told him about my…situation.
I wasn’t sure what to think of that.
“Anyway, after my feature inTravel + Leisuremy dad pitched me as the substitute, and the school board approved it.”
I stared after him in shock. “I– I’m sorry. Did you sayTravel + Leisure? You’re like, legit?”
He chuckled, “Yeah, I guess. Mostly landscape. I was shooting Hawaiian locations for tourist publications. I’m hoping to get into some other stuff now that I’m out here. Focus more on the creative and artistic side of it.”
“Very cool. Very hot,” Macie said. I shot her a look that could melt her face. She snorted. “I’ve got class soon. It was nice meeting you Mr. Carter. I’ll see you later, Penny.” She blew me a kiss as she headed toward the door. I knew she’d have a million and a half questions for me later. I also knew her prep period just started, meaning she didnothave class soon. For whatever reason, she’d decided she wanted to leave me alone for the first time ever.
After she was gone, Carter looked at me and raised a brow. “I thought only your dad was allowed to call you Penny.”
“He is, but you’ll soon find that Macie doesn’t give a shit about rules.” He laughed. I’d found that I had mindlessly placed all the paint I’d pulled out of the box back into it, just as mindlessly as I’d pulled it out. “Speaking of class, I need to get back to mine,” I said.
He pulled his hands from the box of cameras he’d been inspecting. I wondered if he was also doing so mindlessly, or if he’d actually had a purpose for what he was doing. He rubbed them together. “Totally. Let’s go.”
“So, what are you doing in Brighton Bay?” he asked as we exited the studio. “You know, since you’re clearly not still in England.”
“Am I not in England? I hadn’t noticed.” He caught up to me and turned around, walking backward down the hallway, raising a brow at me. “I live here,” I answered finally.
He huffed. “I mean, when did you get back?” I didn’t answer, as he continued walking down the hallway backward, staring at me. I let him continue walking, even though he was going straight when we should’ve turned left down another hall. Once he’d passed the entryway to the forked off hall, I cut down it. His footsteps stopped, and then sped up until he was racing up behind me. My mouth twitched upward.
“I moved back in September,” I said, unwilling to divulge additional information.
“From Oxford?”
I nodded.
“You graduated?”
“Yep. Archaeology.” I hoped he wouldn’t pry further into my past than he already was.
“Wow,” he breathed, shaking his head. “Pep, that is incredible.”
A twinge of gratitude escaped me as we continued down the hall, even though his praises were hollow. Yes, I had graduated from Oxford, but it wasn’t as if I was using the degree that cost my parents thousands upon thousands of dollars. It wasn’t as if I was following the dreams I had since I was a child, the dreams that led me across the Atlantic.
“Penelope.” His tone had me skid to a halt. I turned back to face him. “Is there blood on your shoe?”
