Chapter6
Cormac
The muscles in my chest, arms, abdomen, and thighs tightened as I took in her creamy complexion and long, dark lashes. Keelie applied her makeup with a light hand—her shadow was a neutral brown, her mascara darkening and probably lengthening her lashes. Her cheekbones shimmered a pale pink, while her lips were coated in a gloss that accentuated their natural color.
I enjoyed looking at her—at the dramatic curve of her chin to cheek to forehead. My gaze settled on her plump lips for a long moment, which made my heated muscles even hotter.
“Noted,” I said, clearing my throat. I both craved and fought the intensity of emotion Keelie brought out in me. I wasn’t used to caring this much. For the past many years, I’d remained numb…or at least disinterested. Hell, just yesterday I’d planned to live alone forever.
I still did. Nothing had really changed.
Everythinghad changed. Except…everythingmighthave.
Once we’d ordered, I sat forward, elbows on the table. “How did you get into teaching?”
“The usual way,” she said with a smile. “I like kids, and I wanted to do something worthwhile. But I’m not a teacher. I’m an occupational therapist.”
I frowned. “Is that like a physical therapist?”
Keelie nodded. “Yes, but I focus more on the child’s well-being than motor skills, though I do that some, too. My job is to help kids who are struggling with anything from brushing their teeth and hair to tying their shoes to holding their pencil.”
“Ah. I think I understand.” I wasn’t sure I did. I’d never heard of a school occupational therapist, but I didn’t want to tell her that—my lack of knowledge made me feel out of sorts, but also intrigued me.
“It’s a relatively new field,” Keelie added, tucking her hair behind her ear. “But we’re useful, I swear. The kids I work with struggle to fit in with some of their peers. So, my job is to give them tasks—occupations—that help them reach the same milestones.”
“And you work with all the kids in need?”
She nodded.
“I already know you’re good at your job.”
Her eyes danced even as a smile danced across her lips. “Thanks for saying that, but how could you?”
“I saw you with Andy, remember?”
“I wasn’t supposed to be there today,” she said. “I was filling in for another teacher who fell and broke her ankle the morning of the trip.”
The waiter set my plate in front of me as I sat back. I considered the pretty brunette across the table. “I guess that means I have to be thankful for her fall, because I’m happy to be sitting across from you tonight, Keelie.”
Her smile, shy but pleased, grew. “Me, too.”
We talked about hockey as we ate—I explained the termhat trickand that our jerseys were called sweaters. She listened with care, her attention fixed on me. I’d never spent time with someone so…present. Keelie engaged all her senses. If she did this with Andy, I understood why the kid adored her. In a world where most people were pulled toward their phones or the conversations and antics of those around them, Keelie gave me her undivided attention.
Shannon never did that. I shut down that voice, not wanting to compare the two. But now that I’d seen the difference—now that I better grasped just how disconnected Shannon had been from my interests?—I understood how easy it had been for her to end our marriage.
Shannon never made me her top priority, butI could be with Keelie. I tried to shut down that voice as well. We finished eating, and I noted she still had more than half her meal left.
“May I have a to-go box?” she asked the waiter.
He brought her one along with the bill. I pulled out my credit card even as I frowned. “Are you sure you ate enough?”
The waiter whisked the check away.
She glanced up as she filled the box. “I was nervous.”
“About me?”
“About being on a date with you, yes. I mean, you’re famous, and I’m…me.” She crinkled her nose in the most adorable fashion. “You’re different than I thought you’d be.”
