“It wasn’t all me.”
“You were the force behind it all. It had your stamp all over it, baby.” He spins me in his arms so I can look up at him. “I was really proud of you.”
“Thank you.” My heart flutters, then starts to melt the way it always does when he looks at me like this.
“You’re amazing.”
My cheeks heat, and I can’t believe this man can still make me blush so fiercely.
“You know, I was thinking…” Taking my hand, he leads me out into the hallway so we can talk at a normal volume.
“Oh yeah?” I let him tug me to the top of the stairs.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what to do, now that my football career is all wrapped up.”
I give him a sympathetic wince.
“No, it’s okay.” He pulls me close, his solid arm coming around me. “I’ve had an idea that I’m really pumped about. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I want to do it.”
“The coaching job?” I guess. “It would be a real change of pace for you, but those high school kids are going to adore you. You’ll be the most popular coach at that school within a week. Guaranteed.” I try to make my smile as bright as possible.
But he doesn’t smile back.
Instead, he sucks in a breath, holds it while he studies my face, then lets it out in a rush of words. “I want to stay home with the kids. I wantyouto become the most popular teacher at school,not me.”
My lips part. Okay, I was so not expecting him to say that.
“I want to be the guy who does the school runs and the laundry and the housework and all of the parenting stuff you’ve been nailing for years.”
He what?
All I can do is blink as I absorb this. “You want to stay home with the kids?”
“Yeah.” He grins. “I love hanging out with them.”
My noise wrinkles. “There’s a big difference between hanging out with them and raising them day-to-day. Are you sure you can handle it?” I curl my fingers into his sweater. “Sorry. I’m not trying to doubt you. I’m just…”
“Baby, I can,” he assures me, obviously not offended by my concerns. “I really want to. I’ve been away for so much, and I’m sick of missing everything. I want to be here for the kids. I want to be here foryou. I want you to get your shot at teaching. You’ve never really been able to pursue it the way you wanted, and it’s not fair. You’re so amazing, and I want you to get into a classroom the way you’ve been dreaming about. I want you to inspire more than just our kids.”
That is the sweetest thing.
He really wants to support me, and I’m so touched.
But… if I’m going to get this chance I’ve always wanted… I may as well try for the ultimate dream. At least ask about it, anyway.
“If we’re going to do this, I…” I bite my bottom lip until he brushes his thumb over my mouth.
“What is it? You can say anything to me.”
“I don’t want to stay in the city anymore,” I blurt. “If we’ve got this opportunity for a big change, then let’s go all the way. I’m sick of the city, the traffic, the constant noise and energy. I want small-town again. I want to be close to my parents.”
This is obviously a surprise for Wily, but he takes it like a pro, squeezing me around the waist and asking, “You want to move to Fledgling?”
“That’s a bit too small.” I laugh, then nibble my bottom lip and hesitantly ask, “What about Nolan?”
His eyes light with a grin.
“The kids could handle the move, right? I mean, we’ll obviously talk to them about it before finalizing anything. I just… I want them to experience how awesome small-town living can be. And then once I get my teaching license finalized—which I could do at Nolan U—I could teach at the same school as some of them, and it’d just be so cozy, you know?”
