I closed my eyes. It was like he wasn’t even paying attention. “She’s Evanne’s teacher, Da. And with that tech conference coming–”
“Don’t be daft! Tech conference! I been seein’ MIRI’s books, including all the employee information. There are at least three people I personally hired who are able to handle that conference.” His voice softened. “Take some time off. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy. Weekends. Evenings.”
“I always take weekends off when Evanne is with me,” I countered. I couldn’t exactly admit to evenings, since I often spent them on my laptop, but considering my time at the office now lasted only from eight-thirty to two-thirty, I felt like I wasn’t spending enough time here to get anything done.
“Take a weekoff, then. Take Lumen and Evanne to Edinburgh.”
“Da, this conference–”
“Will happen even if yer not the only one in control. Ya have good employees, lad. Ya can trust ‘em. Don’t go thinkin’ you’ll regret a moment ya spend with yer wee one. And if this Lumen is already cookin’ yer meals and readin’ Evanne bedtime stories, that’s more than just a teacher. Marry that lass, and be quick about it.”
I laughed, heat flooding my face. “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, Da. I’ve known Lumen less than a month. That’s shorter than you knew either Ma or Theresa.”
I shouldn’t have even needed to explain that. Marriage wasn’t even on the table. I thought Dad would understand better than anyone my obligations to MIRI. What I did impacted the entire company, and that company was the lifeblood of our family and countless other families who count on a paycheck each month. I couldn’t steal away a teacher because I wanted someone to cook dinner and put my kid to bed. Not even if I felt the way I did…
Shite.
No. I didn’tfeelanything but lust and appreciation. Maybe somelikein there, but nothing more than that.
“It was a joke, Alec,” he said, a serious note in his voice. “But maybe it wasn’t for you. Yer a grown man, and I cannae tell ya what to do, not even with the company. I put that in yer hands years ago. But I can give ya a piece of advice. Whatever ya decide, ya better make it quick. Life’s too short to be wastin’ it on regrets.”
He was right on all points. Not for the first time, I was grateful for my father.
“Listen, lad, I know ya’ll make the best decision for you. But if ya ask me, ya should be spendin’ more time with that blonde than the job.”
I blinked. “I never said she was blonde.”
He laughed. “I can hear it in yer voice.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, Da.”
“Cheers, son.”
He hung up, and I was back to square one. Well, not exactly. Now, I was evenmoreconflicted about what to do.
Either I had to make a clean break with Lumen or take the risk and try for a real relationship. If she evenwantedone.
I was starting to wonder how this talk of ours was going to go.
Twenty-Nine
Lumen
My stress levelswere through the roof all day, and I only hoped it hadn’t affected my teaching.
I’d been watching the clock all day, counting the seconds from one lesson to the next. This time, it was their approaching gym period. At the moment, the room was quiet since all my students had their heads down for a quiz. Unfortunately, that meant there was nothing to drown out the chaos in my head. I was trying not to think about what would happen after school when Alec arrived.
As the minutes ticked by, one by one, the kids brought their tests to me, and I thanked each of them by name with a smile. Soon all the tests were in, and the bell sounded for gym class. I walked the kids to the gym and then returned to my classroom, my nerves on edge at the prospect of forty minutes alone.
Almost immediately, I started thinking about Evanne’s behavior so far today. She’d smiled a lot, even more than usual, but I hadn’t spotted her whispering to any of the other students, so I hoped no gossip would spread about her dad and me.
Then again, I couldn’t know who she spoke to during recess or special classes like gym and art. The story was probably going to come out sooner or later. That meant I needed to clear things up before the story got out of hand.
Dammit.
I rested my head on one hand and got to marking the tests I’d just received. I needed to focus on work. I’d feel better if I just–
“Knock knock.”
