Page 15 of Wanting You

“You Googled him. Got it,” Billie confirmed. “And?”

“And…he graduated several years ago but didn’t start teaching right away because…” She groaned. “He’s kind of famous.”

“Famous? For teaching? But how…?”

“Not teaching,” she corrected. “Apparently, he’s kind of a big deal in Alpine skiing.”

Both Jade and Billie pulled out their phones as they asked his name.

“Tanner Westyn,” she replied begrudgingly. “He’s…”

“Oh my God!” Jade said excitedly. “I’ve seen some of his stuff up at the ski resort! He’s a spokesman for one of the lines they carry! How cool is that?” Then she looked up at Chloe and instantly sobered. “But um…he’s a jerk, so…no big deal.”

“Too bad he’s a jerk,” Billie commented. “Because he’s kind of cute.” Then she glanced at Chloe. “Don’t you think he’s good-looking?”

“I hadn’t noticed. His rude personality was all I could see.”

Liar! Liar!! Liar!!!

Okay, fine. She totally noticed it. Hell, she noticed it when she saw him right here at Books & Beans on Monday morning. When Principal Kincaid had walked into her classroom and she’d turned around and saw Tanner, she couldn’t believe her good fortune!

Then, he opened his mouth and ruined all her dreamy thoughts.

And she truly had tried to befriend him for the last several days. After he apologized and accepted her room decorations, she thought they were good. But he’d been weird and secretive ever since, and she had no idea what to do with that. All the teachers she’d ever worked with had been open and friendly. Was it just her he was being rude to or was it the entire staff?

Guess I’ll find out when I get to the meeting…

Which reminded her that she really needed to get going.

“Ring me up, Jade,” she said cheerily. “I need to get there a bit early so I can help set up. We’re going to use the new lounge in the portable building, so I don’t know where everything is yet.”

Handing Jade her credit card, Chloe watched the screen and then signed the tablet before thanking her sister again.

“It was my pleasure,” Billie told her. “And don’t let this Tanner guy get you down. You have seniority and you’re a hometown girl. A few well-placed comments and no one’s going to think he’s a big deal. You just say the word and…”

Chloe held up her hand to stop her. “As much as I love the fact that you want to do that for me, I can’t let you smear someone’s reputation.”

No matter how much they might deserve it.

“I get it,” Billie said sweetly. “And if he’s as big of a jerk as you say, he’ll smear his reputation on his own.” She took a slow sip of her coffee. “Either way, he’s going to learn how to behave in a small town.”

“His bio says he’s kind of from a small town too,” Jade commented, and once again looked up and seemed to regret her words. “I mean, yeah! He’s going to have zero friends here!”

That made Chloe giggle as she picked up her boxes of baked goods. “I appreciate the show of support, but I really need to go.”

“Call me later and let me know how it went!” Billie called after her. “You know I love the praise!”

She had just stepped out onto the sidewalk when she spotted her brother Levi jogging toward her.

“Here, let me grab those,” he said, effectively scooping the boxes out of her arms. “You go open the car door.”

“My hero,” she said with a grin. “I didn’t think about how I was going to open the door with my hands full.”

“Then it’s a good thing I showed up!” He carefully put the boxes on the front passenger seat before closing the door and giving her a hug. “Teacher meeting today, right?”

Hugging him back, she nodded. “Yup! I need to get there early and set up.”

Taking her hand, he walked her around to the driver’s side. “Then I won’t keep you. We’ll catch up tomorrow night over dinner at Ashlynn’s.”

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