Page 6 of Single Teddy
“That’s okay,” I said. “How about you go find the best desk in the classroom, and I’ll chat with your dad over here?”
Bear stared at me, not saying anything, but when the dream man got down on his knees and urged him forward, he hesitantly weaved through the classroom in pursuit of the perfect spot.
“I’m Wesley,” I said, turning back to the dad. “You must be Theodore.”
“Teddy,” he said, and I all but melted.
And when he closed his hand around my own and firmly shook it, I just about exploded. Internally.
Dream Man kept getting better by the second.
“I hate Theodore,” he said.
“Teddy, it is.” I smiled and let go. Hardest thing I ever had to do.
But I had to be professional.
“I’m actually his uncle,” he added. “His mom, my sister…she recently passed away. Car accident.”
The way he pressed his lips together, his eyes blinking rapidly for a couple of seconds, his head dipped a little, turned me into a puddle, and I wanted to give this man a hug.
“I’m so sorry,” I said instead. I liked my job. I didn’t need to hunt for another. Especially not now that I had a mortgage. Not even for Dream Man.
And boy, what a dream he was.
“Thank you,” he muttered and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“So, you’re new to Mayberry Holm? What brings you here?”
“My old commander. He’s from around here. Plus all my friends from…from the Navy.”
I flinched.
“Oh. You’re a SEAL?”
He flinched too.
“H-how do you know?”
“Well, this island is crawling with your kind. I just put two and two together.” I bit down my laugh, and he gave me a hint of a smile.
“So you know Goodman?” he asked.
“Goodman?”
“Sorry. Wyatt.”
“Oh yes. Well,ofhim. I’ve been to his bar. But I know Parker and Slade. Oh, and I recently met Azrael.”
“Yup, those are all my friends.”
Nicehotgroup of friends. Definitely not something out of a gangbang porn fantasy. Not that I watched those.Never.I was a lady and a half.
“How long did you serve?” I asked, standing beside Teddy so I could look at my new student.
He was sitting at a desk right at the front and was already drawing something in his pad.
There. Already at ease. He’s going to be a breeze.
