“I’m glad you had fun,” she told him, feeling grateful. She had been expecting him to ask her if she thought her family bought their lie.
“Your family is really special,” he said.
“I’m a little biased,” she said with a fond smile. “But I really think I won the family lottery.”
“Don’t look now,” Ash said quietly. “But they’re watching us.”
He took her hands and she barely breathed as his dark eyes drank her in.
“May I kiss you, Allie?” he asked softly. “They’re still watching, and I’m sure they expect it.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
It’s not real, she reminded herself as he moved closer.
But when Ash let go of her hands to cup her face, she forgot all about everything else, and the moment his lips touched hers, she was breathless, her heart fluttering like it wanted to take flight.
When he pulled back, his eyes were slightly hazy. He gazed down at her with so much tenderness and hunger in his expression, it left her feeling almost dizzy.
And Allie was sure in that moment that her feelings for Ash were anything but pretend.
12
ALLIE
Allie floated through the week, unable to stop thinking about that kiss.
But she stayed busy enough not to worry much about whether or not sheshouldbe thinking about it.
On Monday morning, she spoke with Principal Chittenden about the fact that she was seeing Maya’s father.
“I heard something about that,” the principal said.
“Please don’t take Maya out of my class,” Allie asked.
“As long as there are no issues, we can let things play out,” the principal said. “But Maya’s needs, and the needs of your other students come first.”
“Of course,” Allie had said. “I’m working with Maya to help her catch up.”
“I heard about that too,” the principal said. “I hope everything works out the way you want it to.”
Allie applied herself with all her heart to everything on her plate. Every evening, she worked on lesson plans or took calls with parents. And each morning, she camein half an hour early to work with Maya on fundamentals.
The little girl hadn’t gone to preschool, and Ash’s explanation about the teacher in the city focusing on Maya’s behavior over her learning made sense. Maya was behind her classmates in early reading and math skills, in addition to her struggling to keep still during lessons.
Yet Allie found herself looking forward to greeting Maya each morning before they slowly worked their way through Allie’s simple plan to help her with sounds, letters, and counting practice.
Maya had a lot of energy, but she was an eager student, and she clearly enjoyed having Allie’s attention all to herself. Allie was sure that Maya’s good attitude would help to catch her up to the other students before long.
They started each morning with Allie reading aloud and then asking Maya a few questions about what they had read.
Today, because it was Friday and since Ash was going to pick Maya up instead of having her go to the after-school program, they decided to do a second session during Allie’s lunch break.
“Are you really ready to do more work after a day of school?” Allie asked Maya as they sat at her desk just like they had in the morning.
“Yes,” Maya said happily.
“Let’s unpack your lunch then,” Allie told her. “And you can eat while I read to you.”
