Gwen shrugs. “It is what it is. I should go do my actual job instead of gossiping over here. It was great to meet you. Hopefully I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here for a few weeks.”
“Good.”
I’ve only got an hour before I need to meet Holt. There’s plenty to do, but my brain refuses to focus on it. All I can think about is Holt making that innuendo about rope,winking at me, and then walking away as if it was nothing. I have never wanted a man as much as I do Holt. It scared the shit out of me, and I knew that I had to put up some boundaries or things were going to get messy.
I don’t do messy.
I’m a one-and-done kind of girl. There’s been the occasional friends-with-benefits situation, but I always ended it before emotions could get involved. I never had any issues walking away from those guys.
Walking away from Holt is a whole different story.
He’s kind, and funny, and so fucking sexy it’s hard to be in the same room with him. I could easily see us becoming friends, and adding sex to the mix would only further complicate things.
I came to Pine Creek Falls on a whim. I figured rebranding the town would be easier if I were actually staying here, but eventually, I’ll have to go back home. As I’ve already established, goodbyes are not my strong suit, so knowing I’ll be leaving is enough of a reason for me to keep my distance from the sexy single dad.
Even if I want to jump him every time he looks at me.
“G!”
Through the cacophony of sounds in the library, Leah calls my name. Turning, I see her race across the room. She barrels into me, and I’m forced to take a step back to keep from falling over. “Hey, Leah.”
“You came!”
“Of course I did.”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Holt complains. Leah giggles, grinning at her dad as she hugs him.
“Come meet my teacher,” she demands, grabbing myhand to pull me across the room. It’s a little strange how friendly Leah and Lauren are with me, but I oddly like it. Despite not being the country music star they thought I was, they haven’t treated me any differently. It’s an abnormal reaction after people find out I’m not my sister.
“Miss Nelson, meet my new friend, G.”
Leah’s teacher is a riot of color. Her dark brown hair is French-braided into two pigtails with a chunky rainbow headband sitting on top of her head. Her maxi dress has multicolored flowers all over it, and her fingernails are also painted in rainbow colors. She’s the embodiment of a kindergarten teacher if I’ve ever seen one.
“The famous G. I’ve heard a lot about you today.” Leah’s teacher laughs. “I’m Farrah.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Gia.”
Farrah looks at Leah. “Go pick out your books. The next class will be here soon.”
“G, will you come help me choose? Daddy said I can pick two.”
There’s literally no chance I could say no to those big blue eyes, so I follow Leah through all the portable shelves. Holt and Farrah stand on the side of the room watching the students browse the books. They laugh and joke with the familiarity of people who have known each other for a long time. Have they dated, or do they just know each other well because they live in a small town?
Are they flirting with each other?
Why do you care?
I shouldn’t. Holt isn’t mine, and he never will be. He deserves to find an adorable woman who can give him everything he needs.
And I’m not that woman.
CHAPTER 7
Dad Bod Support Group
Dad Bod Support Group
