“Josie Marie O’Conner,” she whispered and I knew right away that I hadn’t imagined her nerves. The kid had just moved across the country. She was in a new place where she didn’t know anyone. And that was something I could relate to.
“Josie Marie is a beautiful name,” I told her, dropping her hand so I could squeeze her shoulders instead. “I’m so excited to get to know you! I think we’re going to have a wonderful school year.” She still looked a little nervous but the tight set of her shoulders relaxed. I glanced behind her, eyes scanning the students milling around the room, until I found who I was looking for. “Hey, Gabby. Will you come over here?”
Gabby Conner was the sweetest little girl. Her older brother, Marcus, had been in my room last year and the whole family was just awesome. The little beads in Gabby’s braided hair jingled as she skipped over. “Hey, Miss K,” she drawled.
“Hey, sweetie. This is my new friend Josie. And you guys have almost the same last name!”
Josie gave Gabby a shy smile and the other girl grinned right back, showing off her missing front tooth. Man, she was cute. “That’s cool!” Gabby said.
“Josie is new to our school, so I was wondering if you might want to show her around the room a little bit. You remember where the fish tank and the reading nook are from visiting last year, right?”
“Sure,” Gabby said, immediately taking Josie’s hand and pulling her away.
I stood, watching them go. “You made that look easy,” Liam said from behind me.
I took a deep breath, trying to steel myself. This was silly. It was a dumb little school girl crush. And it was twelve years ago. I could talk to this man like an adult.
I turned, pasting a smile on my face, and tried not to think about how gorgeous those blue eyes of his were. Or how he was standing close enough that I could feel his body heat.
“I know Gabby’s family, they’re awesome. I knew she’d be the perfect person to make Josie feel welcome.”
His eyes tracked his daughter around the room, his forehead creasing in concern. “It’s been a tough few months,” he muttered.
“I can imagine. I remember how hard it was, moving to a new place. I’m sure it’s a hundred times harder for a kid.”
His eyes came back to my face. “She was upset about leaving her friends and our apartment. And her mom stayed in New York, so that’s been tough on her too.”
My heart squeezed for the girl. The sympathy that flooded my system left no room for the little twinge I wanted to feel when he mentioned Chloe.
“Thank you for letting me know,” I said, keeping this professional, when what I really wanted to do was drill him for information about his marriage and why it hadn’t worked out.None of your business, Grace.“It’s always good to be aware of disruptions the kids might be dealing with.”
“Chloe’s parents live here now,” Liam said, and I couldn’t hide my surprise.
“They do?”
“Peter got transferred to Houston when we were in college. He retired last October and they moved out to a lake house in Austin.”
“That was lucky for you.”
He shook his head. “You have no idea. I can’t begin to tell you how much easier it’s going to be when I’m on the road.” His eyes sparkled as he grinned at me. “Guess I really owe Andy one, huh?”
I wondered if Andy knew about the Taylors relocating here. I honestly wouldn’t put it past him. He made it his business to know everything he possibly could about his employees, and I was sure that was going to carry over to the hockey team as well.
“So, you’re teaching, huh?” Liam slipped his hands into his pockets, eyes scanning the room.
“You sound surprised.”
“I don’t know. I guess I always imagined you getting into politics or something. You were always so good at that Model UN thing you did.”
I snorted. “I would have been a terrible politician. I’m incapable of lying with a straight face.”
He grinned. “That’s right. Your cheeks would get redder than your hair even before you opened your mouth.”
My stomach flipped a little, watching him grin like that. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him remembering these little details. I’d always assumed he’d forgotten all about me.
“I guess it makes sense,” he continued. “You teaching, I mean.” He seemed to be inching closer to me, and the breath caught in my chest. “You were always real good at teaching me.”
God I could stare at those eyes all day. His voice was still so familiar to me, after all this time. Warm and raspy, the way it always sounded when he’d lean over his book to tease me about something.
