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“You’ve been smiling all damn day,” I retort.
“Can’t I be in a good mood?” he teases.
“Oh.” I nod, understanding now. “Valerie finally learned to control her gag reflex, didn’t she?” I slap a hand on my brother’s shoulder. “Good for you.”
This gets his smile to fall. “Fuck off, asshole.” He shrugs me off. “I’m happy foryou.”
“Me?” Pointing at the center of my chest, I look around the pasture because there’s no way he’s talking to me. Maybe he’s talking to the asshole bull who has claimed this pasture as his domain?
“Yes, you, Chase,” he answers with a laugh. “I’m glad to see you’re finally growing up and learning to respect women. It’s refreshing.”
“I’ve always respected women.” My hackles are up in an instant.
“Mom, yes. Our grandmas, also yeah. Patience is a hell yes, but for any other woman you’ve ever been around, you were an ass,” he explains.
“And how am I respecting Angie when I haven’t before with a woman in the past?” I’m curious about my brother’s perspective.
“You put in the effort to apologize to herandyou went to her place last night to make her dinner, not get in her pants.” His head bobs with his approval.
“How do you—”
“Patience saw you buying groceries. She told Mom, and Mom told us.” He cuts me off.
“Damn her. She can’t keep her trap shut.” I’m not really mad at Patience. “It feels different, but in a good way—an amazing way. I never knew.”
“It takes the right woman to show you how great a relationship can be.”
I can only nod because I’m starting to see that. “I want to do something I’ve never done before. I want to take her out on an actual date.”
Chapter Twenty
Angelica
There’s almost a fog around me as I make my way back up to my classroom to finish up my day. After this morning, being at work felt like it dragged on forever.
That’s never happened to me before. I have always enjoyed being at work when I’m in the school building and helping to educate young minds. Keeping my attention on the students and the material I cover with them on a daily basis has been a joy. I’ve done everything to keep my personal and professional lives separate until now.
I have never had my thoughts wander off to life outside of the brick walls of work like I do now. Not even when my grandma fell and broke her hip two years ago while I was still student teaching did I lose focus. I knew my mom had her care handled, so I didn’t even dwell on it too much.
But Chase has seeped into every single waking thought I have. It worsened as the day progressed and increased when Ridge stepped into my classroom. His looks take after his dad’s side of the family, so he faintly resembles Chase. His hair is a few shades darker than his uncle’s, but they share eye color. And where Chase’s jaw is chiseled and square, Ridge’s is still round with youth.
Stop it, Angie!
My chest rises and falls with deep breaths as I continue to walk down the hallway. At the beginning of the week, I was glad I was on bus duty and now I wish I could switch back to the parking lot.
I shouldn’t want to see Chase while I’m at work, but I do, and a part of me is pissed off over it. I still feel that this is a too-good-to-be-true situation. High school Angelica before the library stunt would be to the moon and back over this. Well, I’m the adult, slightly jaded Angelica now, and as much as I want to give in to this feeling of being wanted by a handsome man, I can’t help but keep my reservations.
My students and I have been working through new material, so I have been busy explaining and re-explaining how to do the formulas while walking around the room to give whoever needs extra help. Thankfully, most of them needed my help. I do have a couple in each class who have a firm grasp on the material and never have to worry about them, but I welcomed the additional work today.
Between classes, I found myself looking in the drawer of my desk where my purse, keys, and phone are housed to check for messages since I gave him my number this morning while we ate breakfast. Or I was looking out the window and down to the parking lot thinking there might be a freak chance I see his truck.
I’m being a love … err …luststruck puppy for his attention when I shouldn’t be anywhere near any of that.
Yet I can’t bring myself to regret not turning him down.
I can’t let myself fall this easily. Ineedto keep my heart locked away until I’m one-hundred-percent certain he has changed and isn’t just playing around with me like some giant man child.
“Oh, Angelica.” I nearly roll my ankle when I step forward only to let it slip and my heel causes me to fumble when Cera’s obnoxious attempt at a singsong voice carries down the hallway.
