Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Why did he have to be the one who made me feel like this?
Time crawled as the parents who were left either talked to one another in low tones or glanced around awkwardly, trying not to meet anyone’s gaze. I noted a few of them staring at Walker in curiosity.
Michelle Kingsley, a woman Monroe had known in childhood and still disliked (but whom Regan liked because she’d once helped fend off a man who attacked Regan at the school gates a few years back) gazed at Walker like he was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
I decided at that moment to side with Roe on this one, even if Michelle had helped Regan.
Petty, but true.
Finally, Haydyn came out of the classroom, and Mrs. Hunter called Michelle in. Instead of leaving, Haydyn walked over to me.
“All good?” I asked.
He nodded. “Michael makes parenting easy.” Haydyn reached into his coat and pulled out his phone. “If it’s not too presumptuous, I would really love to grab a coffee or dinner with you sometime.”
My lips parted in surprise. While, yes, we’d definitely been flirting, I hadn’t expected him to ask me out. And in front of people.
In front of Walker.
I couldn’t look in Walker’s direction as I nodded. “Sure.”
Haydyn’s smile was slow and sexy as he held out his phone. “Can I have your number, then?”
I typed my number into his phone and he took it back, pleased. “I’ll call you soon.”
“Great.”
He nodded in agreement. “It is.”
As he strode past Walker with a spring in his step, he missed my bodyguard/ex-lover watching him walk away with a coldly murderous look in his eyes.
My heart raced at the rare show of emotion on Walker’s face, and I instantly regretted giving Haydyn my number. It didn’t matter if things were confused and weird between us right now. If Walker did that to me, it would hurt.
After a month of nothing, I thought he wouldn’t really care.
But I caught his eye as Mrs. Hunter called me into her classroom … and he was pissed.
Through the guilt, I felt a mingle of indignation and thrill shoot through me.
Thirty
SLOANE
To my everlasting relief, Mrs. Hunter seemed to agree that Callie was coping well after her father’s attack. It was weird for her teacher, someone who was kind of a stranger to me, to know such intimate details about our family, but in order to do her job well, she needed to be aware of the situation. She told me Callie had been quieter than usual for the first few weeks, but the past week she’d noted an improvement. My daughter wasn’t a loud, boisterous kid, anyway, but her teacher said she was holding her hand up to answer questions again, she had more energy, she was getting more involved with their projects, and seemed overall happier and more content.
It was exactly what I needed to hear. On top of the fact that Callie’s grades were great and Mrs. Hunter called her an “exemplary student,” I was in an awesome mood when I stepped out of the classroom. It was only when my eyes met Walker’s that I remembered Haydyn.
Walker fell into step with me as we walked away from the classroom.
To my surprise, he asked in a tight voice, “Callie all good?”
If only he didn’t care about my daughter, maybe I could stay madder at him. “She’s doing really well. Grades are great, and her teacher says she’s acting more like herself again, which is what I’m seeing at home. So, all good.”
He gave me a scowling nod. “Good.”
“Yeah.”
We fell into an awkward silence as we walked to his car. He yanked open the passenger door of his SUV, and when I looked at him, I found him glowering at me. A shiver rippled down my spine as I hopped into the vehicle. Then Walker shut the door, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he shut it a little harder than usual. Not enough to be called a slam, but there was definitely anger behind the action.
I sucked in a breath as he rounded the SUV to get in.
As soon as he started the engine, he bit out, “Callie’s staying with the Galbraiths tonight, right?”
“Right.”
When he said nothing else, I eventually asked, “Why?”
He cut me a dark look.
Well, this was fun. I’d been ready to apologize for accepting Haydyn’s number, but his attitude made me swallow it. Why should I apologize? Walker hadn’t had the decency to have a mature conversation about what was between us, so why should I bother?
A minute later, I realized we were not driving back to my cottage. “Where are we going?”
“My place,” he replied gruffly.
Butterflies sprang to life in my belly. His place? For what? “Walker …”
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me was totally indignant, and the other part that was addicted to him wanted to shut up so I could have my wicked way.