Allie grabbed a plate of her own and followed.
Maybe it was the cozy kitchen of the little church she had attended since childhood, or the smell of good food after a long day, but she felt better here with her friends than she had all day.
This is all I need,she told herself.This is better than flutters and tingles.
But in her mind’s eye she saw the big man bending down to talk with his daughter, and her heart gave a little squeeze.
4
ASH
The following night, Ash sat with his knees bumping the top of a tiny desk in Maya’s kindergarten classroom, his gaze trained on the enthusiastic blonde woman who paced the floor in front of him.
Miss Lawrence—Alliewas describing the activities her kindergarteners were working on and the progress they had made so far, her eyes lighting up and her hands dancing in the air as she talked her way around the room.
It wouldn’t have occurred to him if she hadn’t said something about it yesterday, but Ash couldn’t help noticing that Allie was in constant motion. From her feet to her fingertips, she seemed to exude a joyful energy that reminded him a bit of Maya.
And her need for movement didn’t seem to detract from her teaching abilities. Every parent in the room was leaning forward to listen to her every word, and it was easy to imagine her students being equally mesmerized.
A small measure of relief at seeing an adult rolemodel for Maya who was energetic and successful eased the tension in his shoulders. He worried about his daughter a lot these days—too much probably.
The truth was, unless he did something incredibly foolish with his money, she would never have to worry about having a roof over her head. But he wanted more for her than to be one more pampered princess depending on her rich daddy. He wanted her to have a career of her own, something to give her life purpose, something for her to feel passionate about.
Like I used to be passionate about the beverage industry,he thought to himself darkly.
When the teacher at the school in the city told him that Maya was naughty and disruptive, it broke his heart.
But he sort of understood. He’d seen her himself, tearing through the penthouse and knocking down a vase of flowers or spilling drinks while trying to climb over the dinner table to reach something. The expression in her eyes when he talked to her about her behavior afterward was always ashamed, but also worried—like she didn’t want to do it again, but she knew she probably would. She just couldn’t help herself.
It was part of the reason for the move to the country. If Maya had acres to explore, plenty of fresh air, and maybe a more understanding environment at school, then maybe she could run off all that frantic energy and concentrate on her learning.
And he didn’t want her growing up into one of the teens he saw sleepwalking through the building lobby, permanently scowling at their phones, looking unmoored from the world and each other.
“If anyone has any questions, or would like to talk about their child’s progress, please feel free to stay back,” Allie said, stopping her pacing at last to smile at the gathering of parents. “And of course, please help yourself to homemade cookies or lemon loaf.”
Ash was amazed to see almost everyone just file out. Only one or two parents stopped to briefly thank her for her presentation or grab a cookie for the road.
He thought it was charming that she had baked treats for her students’ parents. But everything about Allie Lawrence was charming.
Stop that,he told himself inwardly.She’s Maya’s teacher.
He had already caught himself wondering how he looked as he got ready for tonight, and he’d even splashed on a little spicy aftershave.
Idiot.
He’d been burned badly enough by Maya’s mother that he shouldn’t have any problems steering clear of women for a good long time.
But there was something about the forthright and wholesome young schoolteacher that had his pulse pounding in spite of himself.
“Hi there,” she said, smiling at him.
The other parents had all moved on now, no doubt making a cursory tour of the art room and gym, as they had been invited to do.
“Hi, Allie,” he said.
“I’m glad you came,” she told him, her cheeks coloring slightly. “Shall we sit?”
“Sure,” he said, resisting the impulse to pull out her chair.
