Page 6 of Third Chances (Men of Manhattan 2)

"Oh, yeah, I'm great. I'm just...in a hurry." I looked over at the limo. I was sure my friends were all watching me. Except for Alina. Since she had a pillowcase on her head for some ridiculous reason.

"I see. Heading out of town?"

"Yup," I said lamely. It wasn't like I could tell him where I was going, because I had no idea. "How's Justin?"

"He's good. Studying for his SATs."

"That's great. It's such a shame when kids don't use their minds all summer." Well, I certainly sound like a boring grown up.

He smiled. "I couldn't agree more. Actually, I'm glad I ran into you. I know that you don't date your students' parents. But it is summer. Technically, Justin isn't your student right now."

I laughed awkwardly. So he wants a casual summer fling? There was red flag number three. "I'm sorry Rick, but I really don't think it would be a good idea for us to go out."

"Please don't tell me it's because Justin has a crush on you? You know kids, it's fleeting

."

What the fuck? Red flag number four. I laughed awkwardly again. "No, it has nothing to do with that." Well, maybe it does a little now.

He grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a business card. "I'm just asking for one date, Daphne. Give me a chance to change your mind." He handed me the card.

Four red flags? I don't think so. "I'll think about it." I put the card into the front pouch of Alina's suitcase. I didn't need it. There was no way for me to rationalize why it would be okay for me to date him. Even though I hadn't been on a date in months. Just visualizing Justin calling me mommy was enough to make me forget about how sexy and distinguished Rick was. Things were on my checklist for a reason. If I just abandoned principles, there would be no reason for a list.

"I hope you have fun on your vacation."

"Thanks."

"And I hope to hear from you soon." He smiled. "Bye, Daphne."

"Bye, Rick." Hopefully I would never see him again. I pulled Alina's suitcase toward the limo.

Layla opened the door and poked her head out. "Ow ow!" she screamed.

My face probably turned bright red.

I turned around to see Rick smiling. He winked at me and I quickly climbed into the limo.

"What is wrong with you?" I said.

"Who's the silver fox?" Layla asked, ignoring my question.

"One of my students' fathers."

"He's sexy as hell."

I looked out the limo at Rick walking away. He might be sexy, but he wasn't what I was looking for. What am I looking for? "I guess," I said instead.

"You guess? I'd let him do terrible things to me," Kristen said. She stood up and hit her head on the ceiling of the limo. "Ow. Why do they design everything in the world for short people?"

I laughed. "They don't. You're just abnormally tall. You two have both had too much to drink." I grabbed the champagne bottle that had ended up in Layla's hand. "Layla, you're married to Ethan. Who, by the way, is such a catch. And Kristen, you're dating Tim. And apparently you like him for some reason. Kristen, sit down."

Kristen made a pouty face and sat back down in her seat. "You know Tim is a catch. Don't even, Daphne. Isn't Tim a catch, Alina?"

"Can you please take this thing off my fucking head?" Alina screamed through the pillowcase.

"Maybe we should gag her too," Layla said.

I wasn't sure why, but I started laughing really hard and I couldn't seem to stop. Which made Layla and Kristen start laughing too.

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