Gemma stood, ignoring the tightness in her hip, and tucked her mobile into her wristlet. “Lead the way.”
They walked to the gym door and Henry opened it for her. “What did you think of the festival? Did you have a good time?” he asked.
“I did. This was my first taste of an American Halloween. It’s a lot more commercialized here than back home in Scotland. I guess what surprised me the most was the timing of the event. Halloween isn’t until next week.”
“We did that on purpose.” He laughed. “The PTA asked us to move it from the week of Halloween to the week before. They didn’t want to have the kids pick and choose between trick-or-treating and attending the school festival.”
“That makes a lot more sense.”
They reached a white minivan, and he clicked the key fob. The doors slid open, and lights clicked on.
“Oh, fancy.”
It must be for his kids.
“Not really, but it’s practical.”
Gemma climbed into the passenger seat. “I’ll wager that it makes it a lot easier to shuttle your kids around in.”
Henry closed the door, inserted the key into the ignition, and stared at her with a confused expression on his face.
“My kids?”
“Yeah, you know?.?.?. your tiny humans?” Gemma chewed on her lip. “I’m surprised. I thought they’d be with you tonight.”
“Some of them were here.”
“Some?”
“Yeah, I think about twenty made it.”
Gemma blanched. “Um, exactly how many kids do you have?”
Henry started the engine. “Thirty-five.”
She gripped the armrest attached to the door. “Thirty-five,” she sputtered.
“Uh huh.”
Slowly backing the car out, he looked both ways, ensuring there was no approaching traffic, then turned out of the car park onto the darkened State Highway Three.
“I assume not all of them have the same mum, or um?.?.?. live with you. You’d need to have an enormous farm, and about fifty washrooms.”
“Live with me? Fifty bathrooms?” His eyes suddenly widened, and he roared with laughter. Pulling over to the side of the road, Henry wiped the corners of his eyes. “Gemma, I’mnotthe father of seventy-plus kids. I’m ateacher.”
Chapter 7
Gemma wanted to disappear. How could she be so wrong as to assume he had so many kids? The only word she could manage was, “Oh.” She placed her hands over her face.
Henry continued to laugh. “As much as I would love to be a dad in the future, I’d have to be in a relationship for that to happen.”
Gemma slowly lowered her hands. “You’re single? I assumed you were off the market.”
“Uh-huh. I thought you would’ve picked up on that.” He winked. “I thought I was being pretty clear that I’m interested in you.” He rested his hand on his stomach. “Oh, my abs are gonna be sore from laughing so hard.”
She sat taller. “You read me right. I’ve been thinking about you since Hobby Land, but you mentioned having kids the day we met.”
“I did?” He cocked his head to the side.
