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Giddy up?
That isn’t the response I’m expecting, but I guess it works.
“So now what?” he asks.
I catch Krew’s ball and throw it back. “Now, I guess we’re dating, but we’re not telling anyone. So don’t say anything to Krew.”
“You’re not telling anyone?”
“Yeah, it’s something with her work. She could get in trouble if people find out.”
Paul’s expression goes serious. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just be careful with her. Situations like this can be dangerous, and I don’t want to see either one of you getting hurt.”
It’s as if Paul is warning me as a father—asMeg’sfather? And suddenly I feel like Tessa must have told him about our kiss in his kitchen at game night.
He knows.
“I really care about her,” I say. “And I promise I’ll be careful.”
Paul places a hand on my shoulder. “I know you will.”
CHAPTER28
MEG
My class quietly works on their writing assignment about Halloween traditions while I sit at my desk uploading grades into my laptop.
There’s a commotion outside at the construction site, and I look up. Water is shooting everywhere. They must have hit a pipe. Tyler scrambles to his knees by the sprinkler box, using a tool to turn off the main water line. A steady spray of water drenches him until the spray loses its momentum and peters out. He stands, shaking off his hands, and then, before I know what’s happening, he’s taking off his wet shirt.
Good grief.
I glance at my students, making sure none of them are watching me watch Tyler and his bare chest. When it looks safe, my eyes dart back. Part of me feels like Chevy Chase inChristmas Vacation, pressed against the window and drooling. There’s no dad bodhere, unless dad bods come with six packs. No, Tyler’s been hiding a lot of muscles and manliness under his shirt.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen an attractive man’s chest. One Christmas, Tessa gave me a calendar full of men with their shirts off. There was a good-looking chest for every season. But this is the first time that seeing a man without his shirt on has accelerated my heartbeat just bylooking.
Tyler wrings out his shirt, causing his biceps to ripple with each twist. Then he shakes it out as he examines the pipe with one of his workers. This is the gift that keeps on giving—a visual that I will likely never get out of my head. Throw that shirtless man inside a backhoe, and the picture would be complete. I watch every second as he puts the t-shirt back on, trying to memorize the way each of his muscles move.
“Teacher?”
I jump in my seat and clear my throat.
“Yes?”
Silvee points up to the clock. “Isn’t it time for us to leave for lunch?”
It’s 12:02. We usually leave for lunch at noon. “Yes!” I stand. “Yes, it is. I don’t know how I got so distracted.”
That’s a lie.
I know exactly how I got distracted.
“Mrs. Johnson?”
“Yes, Silvee?”
