2
VALLEIGH ANDOVER
Picking up a blue crayon, I began to color the ocean on my image with neat, short strokes. Iylah sat beside me, scribbling all over her paper. Nothing was in line or made sense, but she seemed to be at peace. The longer I stared at her, the more I wondered what would make someone abandon this little angel. Out of my ten students, she was my absolute favorite.
“Look, Ms. A! I color,” she shared with me, bringing a smile to my face.
My nerves were settled now that I was able to get an answer from her father. We were two hours after school ended, and I was ready to go home for the night. If Rhapsody didn’t answer that last time, I was going to be forced to contact the police, which would inevitably lead to a call to child protective services. Because I knew her father, I was a little lenient, but over the last month, this had been happening multiple times a week. Tonight, I would be asking him what was going on because if Iylah was being neglected at home too, then I would have no choice but to take action to keep her safe.
The sound of her little stomach growling snapped me out of my thoughts. I instantly froze, realizing she was starving.“Would you like a snack while we wait for your daddy? I have some fruit snacks in my bag.”
Her head popped up as she nodded excitedly. “Yesssss! I luh fru snacks.”
I smiled widely, giggling at her little voice. “Me too. Okay, let me grab those for you.” Standing from the miniature table used for my preschoolers, I made my way over to my desk. After digging around in my purse, I finally found my stash of snacks. Call me childish, but I didn’t play about my fruit snacks. “You know I’m only sharing because you’re my favorite,” I shared as if she really understood what I was saying.
She glanced up, but there was a spaced-out look on her face. She squinted before she went back to coloring. I closed the distance between us and placed the candy in her hand. She ripped it open without pause while I took a seat back in my spot. I went back to coloring while she snacked like she hadn’t eaten all day.
Lifting my Apple Watch, I took note of the time. I’d called her father for the last time twenty minutes ago, so I expected him to be arriving any minute now. On cue, I heard shuffling from the hallway. I glanced up at the same time a large frame filled the doorway of my classroom. I gasped softly when my brain registered who stood there.
“Um, hey. I’m here to pick up my niece.” His deep voice rattled the room when he spoke. Or maybe it was the walls in my mind. Either way, I just knewsomethingviolently shook as a result of him speaking.
His eyes rested on me for only a second before they focused on Iylah. She hadn’t moved an inch from where she sat devouring her second pack of fruit snacks. I thought he would instantly recognize me, but maybe too much time had passed. Symphony Sinclaire was a superstar now. Of course, he didn’tremember a childhood girlfriend when he’d likely had hundreds by now. It was silly of me to even consider it.
Clearing my throat, I straightened my posture and walked around the table. “Your ride is here, Butterfly,” I said to get her attention.
She lifted her head before she began looking around the room. Her eyes didn’t settle on a spot until Symphony spoke. “Hi, Iylah. I’m your Uncle Sym. Your daddy is in the car, waiting for you.”
“Sym?” Iylah repeated. She glanced up at me for confirmation.
Sym rubbed his hand through his thick, curly, tapered hair like he wasn’t sure what to do. I took Iylah’s hand in mine, then walked her over to him. I felt the heat of his gaze the second it shifted from his niece to me. His mouth opened and closed twice before an expression I couldn’t read appeared on his face.
He was so tall that I was forced to tilt my head back to look at him. I gulped when I instantly got lost in his almond-shaped, brown eyes. Symphony was a delicious gingerbread complexion that was healthy in every way. It covered every inch of his athletic build. I tucked my lips, admiring his corded arms and succulent-looking, cherry-stained lips. The curve at the tip of his nose and bushy eyebrows helped create the handsome canvas that was his face. The luscious, thick goatee made it hard to see a young boy. Sym was all man. All handsome . . . Swole . . . An expensive-cologne-wearing man . . .
The jeans, white t-shirt, and puffer jacket he wore all looked like they were designer. The only thing I could identify was his wheat-colored Timberland boots. I wasn’t surprised by his perfectly curated appearance, because every time I scrolled by a picture of Sym on social media, he was always dressed well.
When his eyes widened, I knew what time it was. “Valleigh?” he asked as if he was uncertain about my identity.
I tucked my lips and nodded once. My breaths came out in quick spurts now that it was obvious he recognized me after all. “Um, yeah, it’s me. Hi, Symphony. I wasn’t expecting you. It’s been a long time,” I said in a rush. He needed to stop looking at me because it was interfering with my ability to function like a normal human being. There was no reason he should have any effect on me, yet there I was, trying my best not to appear bothered by his presence, when, in fact, I was very bothered, very hot, . . . and very inclined to close the distance between us just for a deeper inspection of his cologne and the splash of black ink I saw crawling up his neck.
He released a slow breath and chuckled softly. “It has been a little minute, but I could never forget my first love.” His voice dropped an octave that I could feel tingling beneath the surface of my skin. I reached for my elbow as if it had the ability to stop my body weight from slinking to the floor.
There was this sly smirk on his face, creating a whirlwind of annoyance in me. I rolled my eyes, refusing to fall for his big energy. The aura of a star emanated from him so powerfully that he filled the entire room with his potent scent. “Boy, cut it out. We both know you haven’t thought about me since we were sixteen.”
He took one step forward, closing some of the distance between us. I became trapped by the intensity of his gaze and the magnetic charge of friction ramping up between us. “Doesn’t mean you weren’t the first girl to have my heart though, right? The girl I could never forget, no matter how long it’s been since I thought of her.”
I gulped because, what was I supposed to say back to that? He boldly studied every inch of my frame as we stood nearly chest to chest—well, face to chest, in a stare-off. It was like the longer I stared, the harder it became to tear my eyes away, . . . to not sink deeper into the chocolatey depths of his soul.
Thankfully, Iylah shuffled beside me, snapping me out of the trance Symphony had me in. I glanced down at her, then hesitantly returned my eyes to Sym. He still watched me like a hawk. “You said her father is in the car, right? Because I don’t think you’re listed as an authorized guardian on her file. He would need to be here for me to release her into your care.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with him, but you can follow me out to confirm. I’m sure she would feel safer with you walking her to her dad. This is our first time meeting.”
“That explains a lot. Come on, Butterfly. I’m going to walk you to your daddy.”
I reached for her bookbag off the cubby rack, then helped her put it on. Sym silently watched over us like a bodyguard. Even when he wasn’t speaking, he was very loud. I felt so fidgety as I took Iylah’s hand and led the way out of my classroom. Symphony fell in step on the other side of Iylah, so she was safely sandwiched between us.
“So, you’re my niece’s teacher? How wild is that?” he asked, breaking the silence. “Rhap didn’t even say nothing about that when he brought you up earlier,” he mumbled.
I shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, I am. It’s not that wild. Solaire is a small city.” While I wanted to ask about the last thing he’d said, I kept a lid on my curiosity. I convinced myself I didn’t care about whatever was said about me.
