With a theatrical sigh Diana pushed herself off the counter. “I can see you’re not going to tell me anything juicy.”
“I would if there was anything juicy to tell,” Lucy answered lightly, and Diana pursed her lips, her eyes glinting.
“You have to admit that our head teacher is just a little bit gorgeous,” she said in a stage whisper, and Lucy gave a noncommittal shrug. “Andsingle.”
“He’s been recently widowed,” Lucy pointed out, and Diana shook her head.
“Nearly two years ago. And he has two motherless daughters. He’s ready to jump back in the dating pool, I should think.”
Lucy just shrugged again. She could see the top of Alex’s head as he worked at his desk and she cringed inwardly at the thought of him hearing any part of this conversation.
“Heishard to get to know,” Diana allowed. “And he’s kind of distant from most of his staff. But you’re not really staff, are you? Being temporary, I mean.” She leaned forward again, eyes dancing. “You could have a Cumbrianfling.”
“It sounds like some kind of dance,” Lucy joked.
“All I can say is I wish I were young and single with a handsome head teacher to obsess about.” She spoke lightly, but Lucy sensed something else going on.
“How are things in Manchester?” she asked.
Diana made a face. “Oh, things aregrandin Manchester,” she said, a note of bitterness creeping into her voice. “So grand my husband is thinking of buying his own one-bedroom flat.”
“Where was he before?”
“He’s been staying in a short-term let. I know buying a place makes sense financially. He’s in real estate, after all. But . . .” She trailed off, and Lucy waited. “He said he’d look for a job back here after six months,” Diana finally said quietly. “He said he’dtry.”
“I’m sorry,” Lucy said, wishing she could say something more helpful, and Diana gave a little shrug.
“You can’t make someone want something, can you?”
“Unfortunately not.” She’d certainly tried that tactic, unsuccessfully, with Thomas. With a sigh Diana moved on and Lucy turned back to her computer.
She wondered how Diana and Andrew would resolve their separate lives, and then how quickly thecrackgot around in a village as small as Hartley-by-the-Sea. Was anyone asking Alex what he’d been doing, having his temporary receptionist over at his house in the evening? Juliet had clearly wondered the same, although she hadn’t mentioned Alex or anything in the last few days. They’d gone back to truce status, minus some of the tension, or so Lucy hoped. Juliet had been busy with guests and Lucy had been busy with school, and neither of them had been inclined, it seemed, to have a heart-to-heart conversation.
As for Alex . . . she might be having a few harmless daydreams about him liking her, flirting with her, but she didn’t want anyone else thinking that way. She was leaving in four months, first of all. Just a little over three now, actually. Moreimportantly, she didn’t want to embroil herself in a family where she wasn’t sure she was wanted. Bella had been hostile enough, certainly. Poppy could change her mind in a moment. And Alex . . . who knew what Alex really thought or felt?
The next man she dated would be child free, with no emotional baggage whatsoever.
Several days later Alex appeared in the doorway of the reception area during recess. It was a lovely, warm day in late September, with sunny skies gilding the fells in gold and a gentle breeze ruffling the sea, which twinkled in the distance. From her open window Lucy could hear the shouts and laughter of the children in the school yard.
“Do you have a minute?”
She looked up, her heart seeming to slam against her ribs at just the sight of Alex. His dark hair was a little mussed, as if he’d unthinkingly run his hand through it. His eyes looked even bluer in the sunshine.
“If the boss says I do, then I suppose I do.” She pushed away from her desk. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to float an idea by you.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
He gestured to the stairs that led to the school hall and the rest of the classrooms. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Lucy followed him through the hall, now with all the chairs pushed back as the dinner ladies cleaned up after lunch, and then down a narrow hallway into the newer part of the building.
The school was still a bit of a maze to Lucy; the original building was Victorian, but there had been various additions built over the years that meant you had to go through one classroom to get to another, and a hallway might dead-end against a newer wall.
Alex walked with quick assurance, weaving through empty hallways and classrooms before he stopped in front of a door. “This is our old resource room,” he explained. “We acquired a new computer room in the latest renovation, so this room is a bit redundant.” He opened the door and ushered her in. It was a long, narrow room in the older part of the building with a table in the middle and an old stone sink in the corner. A couple of flimsy cupboards of prefabricated wood lined one wall. “Who knows what it was a hundred years ago?” Alex said with a small smile. “Maybe part of the kitchens.”
“Mmm.” Lucy glanced around, trying to summon an expression of interest in the empty room when she had no idea why Alex had brought her here.
