“And college. I’m interested in volunteering since I know the game.”
“A man of many talents,” she mumbled. “I can introduce you to him after Career Day, if you would like me to.”
Any reason to spend time with her would be fantastic. “It’s a date,” I replied.
“Got to run. I need to keep law and order around here.” She gave me a ball-squeezing smile. “See you later.”
My heart rammed against my ribs as she wiggled her nice ass in the direction of Lila and Dax, who were talking by the doors.
The two football players came over, chatting about how cool it would be to fly jets.
But all I could think about was how cool it would be to sweep Monroe off her feet. It had been years since a woman made my pulse race.
Maybe the way to relax, as Captain Hollis ordered, was spending time with Monroe. After all, she had some mojo that was tempering my PTSD and lifting that suffocating weight of being grounded off me.
5
MONROE
As I cleaned up my desk, I couldn’t get Jace out of my mind. I’d been operating like a zombie for the last two hours, going through the motions without really being present. One of my Algebra II students had even called me out when I’d worked through a problem on the board and missed a step. Me. A math teacher miscalculating basic algebra.
I scolded myself for allowing a man to occupy my mind. Then again, Ryan had screwed me so much through our divorce that I’d had to take days off from school. But Jace wasn’t messing with my psyche in a bad way.
The conversation we’d had at his table had been kind of fun but also eye-opening. Beneath his bravado was something emotionally deeper that I couldn’t put my finger on. When I’d asked why he wanted to fly jets, the color had drained from his face. Then his interest in volunteering had me scratching my head. He didn’t strike me as the type to give his time freely. Although I needed to stop judging people because they wore a military uniform or had a death wish.
As a former military wife, I knew better. I also knew Lila was right. Not all men in uniform were like Ryan. I’d seen manyof my military wife friends who had great marriages. Yet my trust factor was severely broken, and I wasn’t sure how I could completely trust another partner.
I packed up two folders of tests to grade as heels clicked along the floor outside my room.
“Monroe,” Lila said, as she waltzed in, “thank you for helping out with Career Day.”
Following behind her was none other than Jace.
He swaggered in, flight suit unzipped halfway, revealing a dark T-shirt, sleeves rolled up just enough to tease an intricate tattoo of flowers woven around an eagle on his left forearm, which I had noticed at Devil’s Hollow but hadn’t really paid much attention to.
That cocky grin, the one branded in my brain all afternoon, slid easily into place. “This is where the magic happens.”
Lila snorted. “I could think of other places where magic happens.”
My eyes bugged out at her as I mouthed, “Hush.”
“Jace tells me you’re going to introduce him to Coach Perry.” Lila stood by the door, ready to make a quick escape or maybe lock us in, if I knew what was going through her head.
Jace studied the posters hanging on my walls and bulletin board in the back of the room as if he were admiring an artist’s work at a gallery.
The man stirred something in me I hadn’t felt in years. Whereas Ryan needed to be seen in a crowd, Jace didn’t. He carried himself in a way that didn’t demand the spotlight but somehow drew it anyway.
I hated that my pulse was reacting to this man so quickly and that it hadn’t learned a thing from the wreckage Ryan had left behind. And I hated that I felt a pull toward Jace like two magnetic poles coming together when I’d promised myself I would never fall for another man in uniform. But damn. The wayJace looked at me as if he saw me—not the teacher, not the ex-wife, not the woman rebuilding her life. The handsome fighter pilot sawme.
“Hey, Jace, I’ll be right back,” I said as he continued to take in my classroom as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“Take your time,” he said.
I silently urged Lila into the hallway. “You didn’t need to bring him here.”
“We closed up early, and he asked to see you,” she said, all wide-eyed and innocent, which I wasn’t buying. “What’s wrong?”
“My life,” I whispered. “Ryan is coming home, and Jace is suddenly everywhere.”
