The Princess and the Principal (The Rebel Royals 5)

“Ew, your mom dates your grandpa.”

“He wasn’t my grandpa,” insisted Ricky. But even with his suit and tie on for his lead role performance, Ricky couldn’t pull off an ounce of menace. “He just had a beard and gray hair like a grandpa. I didn’t like him. His skin was wrinkly and he smelled like peppermints. I don’t like peppermints. They make my nose itch.”

Ron wished it was his place to tell Iman to keep her dating life private from her kid until she was ready to make a commitment to a partner. But his place was not in the home, it was at the school. He could only teach the kids.

“Parents deserve to go out and have fun without their kids,” Ron said, deciding to take the diplomatic approach.

“I heard him tell her he wanted to be more than friends,” said Ricky. “Whatever that means?”

Ron wanted to shake his head. But he didn’t. He opened his mouth to offer more diplomacy, but Molly beat him to the punch.

“What it means is say hello to your new daddy,” said Molly.

“But I don’t want him to be my daddy,” said Ricky. “Or the musician. Or the mechanic. Or the chef.”

Now Ron had to put his professional feelings aside and do what was best for the emotional well-being of the child. And a string of men in his life wasn’t.

“I want you to be my daddy,” said Ricky, Jr.

Ron had been down on the kid’s level. That statement rocked him back on his heels.

“He can’t marry your mom,” said Molly. “He’s going to marry mine.”

That rocked Ron in a totally different way. He barely tolerated Iman. But he couldn’t wait to see Kylee again.

“He doesn’t even know your mom,” said Ricky.

“Yes, he does,” said Molly. “They’ve been best friends their whole lives.”

“Is that true, Principal Kidd? Are you gonna marry Molly’s mom?”

“I… well…” Ron began. But his mouth wouldn’t complete the sentence he knew he was supposed to say. He couldn’t deny that he would never marry Kylee. His heart wouldn’t let him deny its greatest wish. “Ms. Bauer and I are just friends.”

“Teachers can’t date parents, dear.” All three of them looked up to see Mrs. Steen looming over them. “It’s against the rules.”

“Says who?” asked Molly.

“Says the boss of the teachers,” said Mrs. Steen.

Molly turned to Ron. “I thought you were the boss of the teachers.”

“It looks like they need you all on stage,” Ron said, taking the cowardly way out. “Have a great show everybody.”

Avoiding Mrs. Steen’s gaze, Ron rose and made a quick exit from backstage. He took the long route to avoid the other teachers, kids, and parents. He didn’t look up or make eye contact with anyone until he reached the back of the auditorium. Once there he leaned against the exit doors. He had an excellent view of the stage and the backs of everyone’s heads.

“Why do you look like you’re hiding?”

Ron turned to face Kylee. His urge to leave out the exit doors vanished, and his feet grew roots. “Because I am.”

“From who?” she stage-whispered, looking around as though she could find his nemesis.

“Students, teachers, moms.”

“Moms?” She turned back to him.

“You may not know this, but I’ve become a hot commodity these last few years.” Ron flipped up the collar of his dress shirt and posed like a model he’d seen in GQ Magazine. “Single professional who’s good with kids and has all his hair.”

“You sure about that?” Kylee reached up to ruffle his hair.