That last bit was delivered almost as a single word. Before Jax could respond, she’d turned and bolted out of the store.
“You scared her off,” she told the bird. “You have a way about you, young man.”
He pressed his beak to her cheek. “I am the walrus.”
“I thought you were the Lorax.”
“No man is an island.”
Marcus walked by, a clipboard in his hand. He glanced at her, then paused.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He waited.
“The woman I was talking to? That’s Shawna, Harris’s girlfriend.”
“The one he wanted for the sleepovers.”
“That’s her. Well, now I know why he wasn’t pissy when I said no to changing the parenting plan. He proposed.”
Marcus stared at her. “You’re kidding. For real?”
“She’s wearing an engagement ring.”
“Do you think he meant it or is he just doing it to—” he glanced at Ramon “—have adult playtime?”
“That would be my guess.”
“He’s an idiot,” Marcus said firmly. “You don’t mess around with a proposal. Marriage is a sacred institution.”
“You surprise me with your emotional depth.”
He chuckled. “Thanks.”
“You getting laid?” Ramon asked loudly.
Marcus grinned at the bird. “No, but I have high hopes that’s going to change soon.”
Jax thought of all the women who came into the store just to watch him work and knew he was probably telling the truth. For a second she allowed herself to play the what-if game. Marcus seemed to be good with his hands—at least as a contractor. Did that skill set translate into other areas of his life? It had been a very long time since a man had, well, impressed her in a naked way. Although thinking about sex seemed to be a little premature considering she wasn’t actually interested in getting involved with a man. Plus, wasn’t Shawna the bigger issue, and what on earth was she going to do about that?
Ryleigh watched the last of her students walk out of the classroom. While she loved teaching, the last couple of days had been difficult for her, in part because she wasn’t sleeping well. She still couldn’t reconcile what had happened, or not happened, with Dustin. And she was carrying around a fairly significant amount of guilt about turning him down and making him feel bad. Plus almost fighting with her sister. It was more emotional drama than she could handle.
She’d decided she was going to endure all the upset until the weekend, then she would spend some quality time thinking about what she wanted for her future. She knew that if she had a plan, she would feel better and have something to look forward to. Because while she apparently didn’t want to marry Dustin and have his children, she still wanted a partnership with someone and children of her own.
She mentally backtracked on that last statement. She wasn’t saying no to a single guy with kids. She was fine with that. While she’d never thought much about being a stepmother, she was sure she could embrace the role. Not that any divorced men were asking her out, but now that she was in her thirties,the odds of meeting one were greater than they had been. Assuming she wanted to start dating again.
“I will deal with all this over the weekend,” she said aloud.
“Deal with what?” Shawna asked, walking into the classroom. “Are you talking to yourself, because some people would tell you that’s not a good sign.”
Shawna giggled as she spoke, as if she were about to tell a very funny joke. Or share a delicious piece of gossip. Ryleigh was open to either—anything to distract her from her own personal conundrum.
“I was talking to myself,” she said with false cheer. “So what’s going on with you?”
Shawna immediately stuck out her left hand. “Harris proposed.”
