It was fucking unbearable, considering there was still that defined line between employer and employee keeping them apart. And he understood, at least on a rational level, that for both their sakes, there had to be one.
He wrapped up things at the office more quickly than anticipated and he decided to surprise Bailey at school. He arrived midway through the reading hour, signed in at the office, and headed to the classroom. He walked down the hallways, cheery only due to the brightly colored drawings done by the children, and approached the room.
The door was open, and as he drew closer, Mia’s voice traveled toward him. She read about Mama Bear, Sister Bear, and Grizzly Gramps, her voice animated with each character she mentioned. He paused in the doorway and took in the sight.
Mia sat in the teacher’s larger chair, Bailey beside her in a small one. Just as the kids who kneeled and sat on the floor eagerly listened to her rendition of the story, so, too, did his daughter, watching with adoring eyes. He was pretty riveted himself and not by the story but by the woman reading it. Her expressive eyes flashed with delight, her cheeks were alight with color, and despite wearing a sweater that covered her well, he could see the outline of those breasts he imagined cupping in his hands.
With a shake of his head, he drew his attention to the stick-figure drawings on the wall, anything to cool himself off. He waited until he heard Mia say the words, “The end,” with a flourish before stepping inside. The kids clapped for her, so Austin joined them.
“Daddy! You made it!” Bailey grinned up at him from her place on the chair. Instead of running straight to him, she grabbed Mia’s hand and looked up at her. “Thank you!” She gave her a big hug before heading over to him to do the same.
“Thank you for coming, Mia. And Mr. Rhodes, I’m glad you could stop by for Bailey,” her teacher, Mrs. Johnson, said.
“I did my best. But I’m guessing she didn’t even miss me. She had a much better reader.” He grinned at Mia, who blushed at the compliment.
“Thanks for having me,” she said to the teacher. “Bye, Bailey.” She waved and Austin did the same as the kids all scrambled back to their desks.
“See you at home,” he said.
He placed a hand on Mia’s back, his palm burning at the innocent touch, as they stepped out of the room. “Thank you,” he said to her.
“You’re welcome but I was just a stand-in for her dad.” She tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail.
His fingers itched to touch those strands and see how soft her hair actually was.
He cleared his throat. “You’re hardly just a stand-in.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets, doing his best not to stare.
Today she wore a pair of tight-fitting jeans and that V-neck sweater, totally school appropriate, but his brain didn’t want to cooperate with that fact. All he could see was her barely there cleavage and think about the luscious fullness hidden beneath. He spent hours in the gym trying not to think about what color her nipples were or whether she’d fill his hands or overflow them. Yeah, you could call him a breast man.
He started to sweat and decided a subject change was in order.
“Want to get a cup of coffee? After sitting in on meetings for the better part of the morning, I’m dying for some caffeine.”
She glanced at her watch. “I don’t know. I need to be back in an hour for pickup, and if I go home, I could get dinner started.”
Did she not want to be alone with him? He wasn’t sure nor did he plan to take no for an answer. He wanted to know more about her and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
“Or you could get coffee with me, I’ll drop you back off here for your car and to get Bailey, and we could order in Chinese or sushi.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Wow. Coffee and no cooking or going home to prep dinner. You drive a hard bargain,” she said, laughing so her pretty green eyes lit up with delight.
His dick perked up at the sound. “Don’t forget to factor in the good company when you’re weighing your options.”
“When you put it that way, how can I resist? Let’s go to Starbucks.”
A little while later, Austin sat across from Mia at the local Starbucks, not far from the school. She took a sip of the vanilla latte she’d ordered, ending up with cream on her upper lip. The desire to lick it off her and taste her mouth was strong. Only the fact that they were in a public place kept him sitting in his seat.
She slid her tongue over her lip, pulling the white froth into her mouth, and moaned. “Now this is a luxury,” she said.
He was grateful for the table that hid his erection, because if they were standing, it would be loud and proud.