Page 69 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

It was so nice that the kids missed me when I was gone. I remember being ecstatic when we had subs because it meant we could watch TV and not do work.

“Morning T.J.” Our hands nearly missed but managed to make contact. “I missed you guys, too.”

“Morning, Miss Nadia.” Rena Birch selected the hug. “I hope you are feeling better.”

“Morning, Rena. I am, thank you.” She wrapped her arms around my waist before heading into the room.

Typically, the kiddos all chose the same greeting, but a few liked to mix it up. Bruno Wallace was one of those kids. He never selected the same greeting two days in a row. He was one of mymost bright and creative kids. He’d challenged me as a teacher to bring my A-game to keep him engaged in class.

“Morning, Bruno!”

“Hi, Miss Nadia.” He slapped the laminated card with two hands, shaking.

Of course, since it was Bruno, it wasn’t a regular handshake. Our handshake was special. It was side-five, fist bump, double pound, handshake, thumb touch and twist, palm slide, fingertip grip, pull, and snap throw.

I smiled as I watched Bruno head into the classroom. Instead of shoving his backpack into the cubby like everyone else did, he kept it on and then backed it into the cubby like someone backing a car into adrivewayandslipped his arms out of the straps, so they were hanging outside the cubby. When class was over, he would walk over and slip his arms back in and be off. He was a very out-of-the-box thinker. I was excited to see what he did in the world.

I turned back to the hallway and saw Matty wearing clothes I hadn’t seen him in before. He had on a black Burberry tracksuit and Dior sneakers. I knew it was Burberry because of the square plaid logo on the left side of the sweatshirt and sweatpants. And I knew how expensive it was because I’d seen it discussed on one of the trash reality TV shows I watched when one of the kids wanted it. The mom bought it behind the dad’s back and hid the receipt. It wasn’t just his clothes and shoes. He also had a Dolce & Gabbana backpack. If you combined everything he was wearing the cost was more than my first car.

In the month Matty had been here, I’d never seen him wear anything designer, and now he was dripping in it. The changes didn’t stop there. His hair was gelled in a style I’d never seen before.

“Morning, Matty.” I smiled widely as he pressed his hand to the card with two stick figures hugging.

“Morning, Miss Nadia.” He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly. “I missed you last week. I’m glad you’re back.”

“I missed you guys, too.”

Matty took his backpack off as he walked into the classroom. I watched him put it in his cubby, and I wondered if I should lock it up in my supply closet since it was a luxury item. I was still contemplating that when I turned my attention back to the next student, but, instead of a student, I saw a woman’s hand in my line of vision. Not just any hand, a perfectly manicured hand with a massive diamond ring on her finger.

My eyes traveled from that finger to her wrist, up her arm, to her shoulder, and finally to her face.

When our eyes met, she introduced herself. “I’m Felicity. Matty’s mom.”

It took a second for my brain to register what I was seeing for several reasons. One, I’d only ever seen Felicity on social media and never in person. Two, I’d been in bed with this woman’s fiancé a little over twenty-four hours earlier. Three, the woman standing in front of me was one of the most beautiful people I’d ever seen in my life. Her skin was flawless and dewy; it was as if she was walking around with a filter in real life. Her eyes were iridescent, surrounded by thick, dark lashes. Her shiny chestnut hair fell to her waist. She could be shooting a Pantene commercial right now. Her lips were plump. Her nose was cute and upturned. She looked like a young Angelina Jolie, but even hotter.

She held her hand out further, and I took it. “Hi, I’m Nadia.”

“I know who you are.”

The gleam in her eye and the firm grip she had on my hand as she squeezed it made me wonder exactly what she’d heard. She was definitely giving back-off vibes. It was very territorial. If shewere a dog, her hind leg would be in the air, and she would be pissing to mark her territory.

“I just wanted to come and introduce myself now that I’m in town and back withmyfamily.”

“Nice to meet you.”

My heart sank. Was this why Callum hadn’t picked up the phone last night? He couldn’t because he was in bed with his ex. It had to be.

I only had myself to blame for this. I jumped back into bed with him before even finding out just how single and available he actually was, which it turned out to be, not very.

24

CALLUM

I checkedmy phone again to see if Nadia had called me back. She hadn’t. We were playing phone tag. I called her yesterday. Twice. She called me back last night, but I was already asleep. I returned her call this afternoon, but she didn’t pick up. I tried to time it when she was at lunch, but I must have missed her.

Today was a long one. We were on-site for twelve hours, and the commute, which typically took forty-five minutes, ended up taking over an hour both ways due to road work on the causeway that was the only way on or off the island. I hadn’t stopped thinking about her since I left her sleeping in that bed. I wondered what she was thinking about the night we’d spent together.

Did it mean anything to her? Was there unfinished business between us? Or was it just a one-off for old times’ sake?

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