Jealousy raced through my veins.
“I’ve got to run, Paxton. I’m glad today was great!”
Forcing a smile, I waved.
The only two parents left were Steed and Gina. I watched them talk before I headed into the building. I tried not to, but I glanced over my shoulder. My eyes caught his and I quickly shut the door behind me.
I spent the next hour trying to get work done, but all I could think about was Gina and how she was laughing and placing her hand on Steed’s upper arm. I imagined she was making arrangements for a play date for the girls … or maybe for her and Steed.
Throwing my pen down on my desk, I let out a frustrated groan.
“Steed,” I hissed.
Someone knocked on the classroom door. “Bad day?” Corina asked with a frown.
“No. It was actually a great day. How about you? Your first official day as a first grade teacher. Well, a first grade teacher here.”
She laughed. “It was nice having the smaller class. The kids are precious. The parents are a pain in my ass already. And the need for a glass or two of wine is pretty strong.”
I lifted my brow. “That bad?”
“Let’s just say one of the moms asked if I was free this weekend. She had the perfect guy to set me up with.”
“What did you say?”
Her mouth dropped. “Well, I didn’t say anything at first because I was utterly shocked she knew I was single.”
I chuckled. “Welcome to small town USA. Everybody knows everyone’s business.”
“Hmm, I probably shouldn’t have told her I had plans with BOB this weekend.”
My eyes widened. “Please tell me you didn’t say that to a parent.”
She smiled. “I did.”
“Did she know what you were meaning?”
Corina shrugged. “Heck if I know, but that will teach her to butt into my business again.”
I dropped my head. “You’re going to get fired and I recommended you!”
Laughing, Corina turned to leave. “I’ve got some work to do before I call this day over. Tacos tonight?”
My phone buzzed on my desk. It was a strange number. Not local.
“Yeah sure. Be at my place at seven.”
Corina gave me a quick wave as she retreated. Sliding my finger over the phone, I answered it.
“Hello?”
“Paxton.”
His voice cut straight through my body and I found myself unable to speak.
“Hello?”
Jesus. Get it together Paxton! Now!
“I’m sorry, who is this?”
Good. Good. Make him think you didn’t immediately know it was him. I tried to keep my voice straight, unfeeling.
“Steed. Turns out you put your number in more than one place. I was hoping this was the right one.”
Pulling the phone away, I dragged in a breath and slowly blew it out. “What do you want?”
Wow. That came out more bitch sounding than I intended.
“You told me to call you…so we could talk. Plus, I didn’t get a chance to ask you how Chloe did on her first day.”
“Right.” You’re an idiot, Paxton. “She did really well. She’s very outgoing and made a number of friends today. There were a few times I could tell she was getting a little homesick, but all the kids went through that and will for the next few days.”
“I’m glad to hear she did good.”
I could hear the smile in his voice. It was obvious Steed was a good father.
“Are you free this evening? Chloe is having dinner with my parents tonight. They want to start a new family tradition where they get to take her out to eat once a week.”
I beamed. That sounded like Melanie and John.
“I’ve actually made plans for dinner tonight.”
“Oh.” The disappointment in his voice both thrilled me and made me feel bad at the same time. He’d taken the time to track down my number. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him. Plus, I wanted to find out what he and Gina had talked about.
“But, it’s with a friend from work. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I cancelled.”
“Yeah?” His voice sounded hopeful.
I didn’t want to smile, but a small part of me was happy knowing Steed was free tonight and he wouldn’t be spending it with Gina. “Yeah. I think it’s best if we clear the air. I can’t very well want to take a knife to your dick every time I see you.”
“Um…”
Kicking my feet up onto my desk, I covered my mouth to hide my chuckle. Paxton one. Steed zero. “It’s best we do this for Chloe. I’d hate to think I would be responsible for her not having any younger siblings. Especially with how friendly you and Gina were.”
“Who?”
I huffed. “Puh-lease. Don’t even pretend. I’m not in the mood for your games.”
“My games?”
“Listen, do you want to meet for dinner or not?”
The silence on the other end of the phone had my chest squeezing. Shit. I went too far in the bitch mode.
“What time and where?”