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“And I just want to retire,” he said. “Leave the crazy parents and the faculty to someone much younger.”
She grinned. She really did like the man.
“Have a nice evening, Mr. Townsend,” she said into the phone. “I’m really trying not to cause trouble.”
“I know,” he replied. “You, too, have a restful evening.”
Standing, she grabbed her coat and headed out the door. After a day like today, she was tempted to order a glass of wine at dinner, but she didn’t know if that would be appropriate. And she wondered what Zach had to say.
All she really wanted to do was go home or to the gym and work out, but she promised him she would be there, so she was going.
CHAPTER7
Zach sat waiting for her, hoping she would not stand him up. He’d overheard some things at school today and he was concerned for her safety. Some of the other coaches were banding with some parents and they planned on setting her up.
Why anyone would want to poke the auburn-haired beauty was beyond him. Didn’t they know redheads had a temper? Didn’t they know that if you poke the bear long enough, eventually, he comes out fighting?
Why not give Emily a chance?
Sitting at a table, he glanced around at the people in the restaurant and worried that someone he knew was here or someone from the press. Being seen with Emily in public was risky.
Maybe it was time he took a chance.
When she walked in, she had changed and was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a sweater that made her blue eyes sparkle, and her auburn hair lay in curls down her back. A groan escaped him.
What the hell was he doing?
If ever he was playing with lighted matches, this was the time. And those matches could create an inferno and burn him to a crisp. All it would take was one touch and he’d be lost.
Standing, he motioned her over to their table and the entire restaurant seemed to stop and gaze at her. How could a woman this beautiful be such a talented basketball player?
“Hi,” he said, pulling out her chair.
Everyone in the restaurant would believe they were on a date, but this was not a date. This was him telling her what he heard today. Warning her and then springing the trap for the cupid run.
Part of him hoped she wouldn’t fall for his ploy. Part of him wanted her to know what this meant and to not accept his challenge.
“How are you?” he asked.
She sighed. “If I didn’t love the game so much, I would walk out of this school. But the kids, most of them, I really enjoy teaching. Then there are the little princesses, who I could do without.”
He grinned. The boys were the same way, but they weren’t princesses. “I have trouble with a couple of the boys. My problem is they want to be the big, strong jock that everyone looks up to. They want to be the star player. And my two strong jocks can’t dribble.”
She laughed.
From across the table, he could smell her sweet perfume and he’d always enjoyed that flowery fragrance she wore. It was like breathing sunshine.
“Do you have problems with some players picking on others?”
“Yes,” he said, remembering the fight he had to break up recently.
“Right after you left, Beverly tripped Alice and took her down. I sent her to the locker room and she took all the girls’ clothes, piled them on the floor, and poured soap over them,” she shook her head. “Unless, of course, that was you.”
“No, it wasn’t me,” he said. “I would never involve the students in our little game, except for the towels. But never their clothes.”
“Thank you,” she said.
The waitress walked up to their table.
