Page 8 of Fight for You (Flirting with Forever 2)

I take a deep breath and try to focus on how to explain everything. “It felt like he was seeing into me somehow, like we had this weird connection. Anyway, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that he was different, like maybe I was somehow supposed to talk to him or get to know him … but I have no idea how because I’d never seen him before.”

“I take it he left before you could say anything to him?” Sophia’s brow furrows, clearly intrigued.

I nod. “Yeah. I turned around for just a second and when I looked for him again, he was already on his way out the door. I didn’t know his name, where he came from, if he was just passing through or whatever.” I wet my lip, seeing him again in my mind. “But, man, he was yummy with a capital Y.”

Zoey frowns. “So, what are you going to do? How would you find him again even if you wanted to?”

“Maybe we should hang out at the bar more? You know I’m not opposed to that. I’ll hang out with Shawn any day of the week.” Madison winks at me. “Or you could tell Shawn what he looks like and have him watch out for you instead?”

All at once, everyone tosses ideas around, trying to come up with the best way to locate my mystery man, oblivious to the fact that I already know exactl

y how and where to find him.

It had been way easier than I was anticipating, that’s for sure. It’s like he fell right into my lap.

I purposely look down to watch as my fingers trace the swirled pattern on the outside of my teacup and I murmur, “The thing is, girls, I don’t have to look for him.”

Piper places a hand on my forearm, and my fingers stop their movement on the cup. “You found him? Why didn’t you say so?”

I glance up at her and then around the table at the other women. “Um … because he actually found me instead.”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell us more.”

“How’d he find you?”

The questions rush out of their mouths, and I hold up my hand to stall them.

All at once, Zoey sets her coffee cup down, realization dawning on her face. “Oh. My. God.” She shakes her head. “No way. Tell me it’s not who I’m thinking it is.”

Blood pounds furiously through my head and my cheeks heat. “Yep. It’s Sawyer. The student teacher I’m working with.”

Stunned shock registers on everyone’s faces.

“Oh, no.” Piper cringes. “He’s totally cute. But—”

“Yeah. I know. I’m feeling totally indecent about the daydreams I’ve been having about him the last few weeks.” I mash my lips together. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Quinn and Sophia look at each other, exchanging worried glances. Quinn finally utters what I know to be true, but don’t want to hear. “I hate to say this to you, but getting involved with him seems like a terrible idea.”

Sophia shakes her head slowly. “You can’t.” She stops herself. “I mean, you shouldn’t. You probably shouldn’t.”

My face blanches.

Reaching out a hand to cover mine, Sophia continues. “What I mean is I don’t know how that would look to our administration. I wouldn’t want you to end up with a mark of some sort on your record. Don’t hunt in the backyard, Hadleigh. It’s not worth it.”

Quinn speaks up. “It’ll only cause trouble.” She looks around the table. “None of us wants that for you.”

I know Sophia is right, but oh, how I want to ride the stallion I found in my backyard. My insides tingle just thinking about him. I blow out a controlled breath. “Yeah, I know. He is twenty-four, though, just for the record. But I’m also his mentor. He’s totally off-limits. It was such a weird coincidence I just had to share.” I knew what they were going to say before I even brought it up. Still, disappointment floods through me, putting a damper on whatever had been sparking inside of me whenever I think of Sawyer.

Madison lets out a low whistle. “Well, leave it to us to have some sort of drama again at our book club meeting. This is becoming a habit.”

Zoey comes out of the daze she’s been in since she figured out what’s going on. “So, wait—is whatever was between you and Ed finally over?”

Enter problem number two. Ed. Ed, who seems to think we still have something. Ed, who also likes to hold things over my head. Ed, who is most definitely an asshole.

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