Page 30 of Stolen Kisses

“I had no idea teachers had so much work to do in their own time.” I’m not sure how she manages to do everything as a single mom and full-time teacher. No wonder her place looks a little run down and in need of some TLC. Luckily, I can help her out with all of that.

The kids walking in front of us allowus to chat without interruption. I squeeze Emma’s soft hand to gain her attention. “You want me to take the boys for a couple of hours so you can get some work done?” Her head snaps toward me as she stops, pulling me to a stop by tightening her grip.

“Really? You’d do that for me?” The crinkles between her brows as she nibbles on her full bottom lip are adorable. Using my thumb, I tenderly smooth out the creases as I nod.

“Of course.”

“What would you do with them?”

I shrug. “Dunno. I’ll think of something. I could show them my workshop, teach them some basic wood-working skills.”

Her eyes narrow as she continues to nibble on her lip. “That’s right, you’re a carpenter. Were you the person who fixed …” She stops speaking and shakes her head.

I nudge her shoulder. I have a feeling she’s perhaps put two and two together in regards to the repairs of her front steps. “Go on.”

She shrugs. “I’m probably being silly, but were you the one who replaced my stairs and fixed mymailbox?”

I don’t know why I didn’t tell her it was me the other day, but I didn’t want her to offer to pay me for the work. She was already trying to pay me for a couple of pizzas.“I did. I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to help you out a bit,once I knew you were doing everything on your own.” I tuck my hands in my pockets because I really want to pull her into me.

She moves forward, wrapping her arms around me and kissing my chin. “Thank you so very much. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. How much do I owe you?”

“You’re more than welcome, Em.” I rub my nose against hers.“Nothing. I had the material laying around. It helped free up some space in my workshop.”

She sighs, before whispering, “I would appreciate you taking the boys for a couple of hours.But,you’ll have to be careful with them in the workshop around all of your tools.”

“I will. Don’t worry, they’ll be safe.”

“Be sure to set strict rules.” Oh yeah. She’s put on what I assume is herteacher’s voice.Sexy!Placing the basket on the ground, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her in tight to press my lips to her forehead. Her body’s stiff in my arms, as though she’s unaccustomed to being held. The feel of her soft breasts pressed up against my hardplanesis magnificent—better than I could have imagined. The heat of her body seeps through our clothes and I have to assume the sensation will be even better when we’re finally skin against skin.

Leaning back, I lock eyes with hers, azure to dozens of different shades of green. “Have some faith. I promise I’ll keep them safe.” I lean forward to kiss her forehead again, my lips lingering against her warm flesh. Her warm breath heats my neck on a sigh; her body relaxes against mine as she nods her head against my lips. Reluctantly, I release her so we can keep walking to catch up with the kids, who are a little ahead of us now.

“Okay. I’d really appreciate it. But I have to warn you that Lachlan doesn’t cope well with sudden loud noises.” We lengthen our strides and pick up speed to catch up to the kids who are already stopped in front of Emma’s place.

“Not a problem. We won’t use any of the machines today.” We come to a stop next to the kids in front of Emma’s home. “Boys, let’s help your mom put this stuff away, and then you’re coming to my place for a while.”

Austin is the first to react. “Really? Can we help you make something?”

“Yay, you can color-inwivme!” Kenny cheers at the same time. She gives Austin a lookthatclearly telegraphs her displeasure at his suggestion.

Emma looks at me, awaiting my response. I appreciate that she’s allowing me the space to lay the rules and boundaries down. “Idohave a project you can help me with. No electric tools today though. You have to listen and follow my instructions. Deal?”

“Deal,” he responds excitedly.

“Can I dosanding?” Lachlan asks eagerly.

“Absolutely, Buddy.” I muss his hair and then pull my hand away quickly, worried I’ve done the wrong thing. I’m not exactly sure what Emma meant about him being on the spectrum, but my gut tells me he needs some tender handling.

Wemoveinside to unpack from the picnic.

Handing the picnic blanket to Austin. “Can you put this away, please?”

“Okay.” He takes it from me, heading in the opposite direction with Kenny hot on his heels.

This is my first opportunity to study the inside of Emma’s home. You can definitely tell she has two boys living here with her. Theamountof trucks and Lego constructions displayed on every available surface is a dead giveaway. It’s clean and mostly tidy apart from the boys’ toys. The kitchen is immaculate, unlike my own. I’m not the best at cleaning up straight after a meal. I tend to save up all the dishes and do them once at the end of the day. I’m guessing Emma washes everything as she usesit.

After emptying the picnic basket, I hand it to Lachlan. “Would you mind putting this one away for your mom?”

“I can do that.” He takes it from me and walks toward the room directly off of the kitchen. Once everything’s packed away, we leave Emma to her work and I take the kids back to my place.

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