Page 65 of Everlasting Love

Jas skips alongside Shane, making his arm bounce each time she hops, and if I weren’t trying to hold my thoughts in check, I would be laughing at the comical sight. Jas’s teacher is waiting outside the door to greet us when we arrive and my daughter drags Shane straight for her.

“Good morning, Jasmine. Violet.”

Jas responds before I have the chance to open my mouth. “Good morning, Mrs. Diamond. This is my friend, Shane.” She tugs him forward, and he holds out his hand for Mrs. Diamond.

Her lips tip up, then she glances at me as she takes his hand. “Nice to see you again, Shane.”

He tips his head. “You too.”

“I’m gonna show Shane my favorite puzzle.”

Her teacher smiles and nods. “Well, you’d better get in there quick before all the other kids arrive.”

We spend the next ten minutes with Jas as she drags Shane around her classroom showing him everythingexcepther favorite puzzle. His attention is one hundred percent focused on her the entire time, so much so that he misses the blatant way the moms are checking him out. On a normal day, only one or two of the moms say hello to me but today, several of them act like we’re the best of friends and introduce themselves to Shane, going so far as to put their hands on him as they speak. All I can do is grit my teeth and remind myself that he’s not mine, and he’s free to speak with whomever he chooses but seeing their hands on him grates me to my core. I’m somewhat mollified when he dismisses them in favor of lavishing Jas with his attention.

When it’s time to leave, Jas wraps her arms around Shane’s legs. “I didn’t get to show you my favorite puzzle.”

He scoops her up and I can almost feel everyone’s ovaries exploding. “I’ll come back again, Angel.” He presses his forehead to hers, and her little hands come up to cup his smooth cheeks.

“Okay,” she says brightly, then scrambles down his body to sit on the mat with the other kids.

As we make our escape, Shane shivers and I glance at him. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to spend time with Jas.” He looks behind us. “I almost feel dirty.” So hedidnotice.

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it and I glance over my shoulder, spotting a group of moms watching us. “I’m pretty sure they’re all licking their lips.” I bump my shoulder into his side as I chuckle, and he wraps his arm around me to keep me in place. I hadn’t considered that he’shands-onwith me until Tristan mentioned it the other day but now that I think about it, he definitely is.

When we arrive at our cars, he drops his arm, leaving me feeling adrift. “I … I … uh … guess I’ll see you tonight.” He rubs his hand over the top of his hair as his eyes trace over my face. “Have a good day at work.” Turning away from me, he heads to his car before I can respond and my shoulders slump in disappointment. Not even a goodbye kiss. Damn.

I’ve been ruminatingover the fact that Shane didn’t kiss me goodbye this morning, and after last night’s …activities, my pride is a little wounded. I’m not sure if I’m hoping for something that isn’t a possibility, but I’m prepared to give the man grace since I know we have chemistry, and that he’s definitely attracted to me. He opened up a little and shared something personal with me that I bet not too many peopleknow. With each piece of himself he reveals to me, each little piece that gives me a peek into the man inside, the harder I fall for him. And I’m not even trying to stop myself. Focusing has been almost impossible today knowing that it’ll just be Jas, Shane, and me home for the next week.Almost like a family.

I pull into the empty driveway and park. “Mommy, where’s Shane?”

Releasing her seatbelt, I answer, “Remember, he had to coach Evan’s soccer game this afternoon. He said he’ll be home after that.”Home. I like the sound of that.

“Oh, okay. Can we go watch?” Jas asks as we take the steps to the front door.

I unlock the door. “I don’t know where they play. Maybe if you ask Shane, we can go watch another time.”

“Okay.”

We step inside and the faint smell of cooked steak hangs in the air. “Go wash your hands, and I’ll make us an afternoon snack.”

Jas takes her backpack to the kitchen and places her lunchbox on the counter, then hangs her bag on the hook in the hallway. When I open the fridge to grab some cheese and an apple, I see an enormous platter loaded with salad greens, grilled corn, tomatoes, red onion, and sliced grilled steak. When Shane told me he had soccer practice this afternoon, I figured I’d be cooking dinner even though he said he would. I never expected to come home to this but I shouldn’t be surprised because he’s shown me time and time again that he’s a man of his word.

24

SHANE

I clap my hands loudly.“Great game, boys!”

They run off the field, and I notice Evan dragging his feet. One of his teammates nudges him gently and Evan pushes him back so hard, the kid falls on his ass. I jog toward the boys to help the kid to his feet. “Are you okay, Ronald?”

He brushes off his butt, “Yeah, thanks.” He throws a dirty look at Evan and then heads toward his mom.

I catch up to Evan. “What was that all about?”

“He pushed me,” he snaps, and my eyebrows shoot up. I thought we’d sorted out his bad attitude.

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