Page 11 of Fake To Forever

Gulping, Oliver turns and makes his way across the room to the other kids. They’re all starting to get up from their circle and when they notice Oliver approaching them, several of the kids hurry forward to talk to him.

I watch as Oliver slowly warms up to the others and shows them the cars he’s still clutching in his little fists.

“He’s going to be just fine,” Haven says, pulling my attention back to her. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

I give her a small smile, still a little unsure about everything. “Yeah… I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous because he doesn’t warm up to people too easily, but he does seem to be doing all right.”

“If he has any issues, I promise to let you know,” she tells me. “Maggie has your number on file from when you signed Oliver up online.”

As much as part of me wants to take it slow and stay while he plays for an hour, deep down, I know that isn’t going to help anything. He has to get used to things without me hovering around him. It’s the only way for him to become independent and comfortable in our new home.

“Great, I appreciate that.”

“Do you have another number for your wife?”

The question catches me off guard. I guess to the average person that would seem like a reasonable question to ask.

“No,” I answer at length. “Oliver’s mother isn’t in the picture.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she gasps, her brows shooting up and her eyes going wide. “I shouldn’t have assumed…”

“It’s all right,” I assure her. “It’s complicated.”

She shakes her head and releases a long breath. “Me and my big mouth… my brother is always telling me I need to be more careful and not say everything that pops into my head.”

I grin. She’s pretty adorable when she’s flustered.

“Filter problem, huh?” I chuckle. “I can sympathize with that. I’m sure working with kids doesn’t help.”

The corners of her mouth twitch, and she shakes her head. “No, it doesn’t. I guess I am used to all these little humans saying whatever’s on their minds. I never considered that before.”

We stand gazing at each other for several moments, neither saying another word. At length, I realize I’m staring and clear my throat, breaking my gaze from hers.

“I should head out,” I say. “I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”

“Oh… right,” she murmurs, her cheeks turning a delicious shade of pink. Damn, she really is pretty. Garrett didn’t mention that his sister was such a bombshell.

Wait, no! I can’t have these thoughts. Not about her… Garrett’s sister and Oliver’s new teacher. She’s entirely off-limits.

And yet, I can’t seem to walk away from her, even though I just declared that I was leaving. The urge to reach out and brush a finger along her cheek to see if it’s just as soft as her hand slams into me. I have to clench my hands into fists to hold myself back.

“I’ll, uh, see you at pickup then,” I say, taking a step back and forcing more distance between us.

“See you later, Chris,” she replies with a soft smile.

Before I change my mind, I turn and hurry out of the room. Oliver is preoccupied with the other kids and doesn’t seem to notice me leaving, which is good because I’m not entirely sure I can continue to resist the temptation wrapped up like a present in green.

Chapter Five: Flirting

Haven

“So, rumor has it there’s a hot new dad in town. Care to confirm?”

I glance up at Marie and roll my eyes. “Who told you that?”

She grins at me from her perch on top of my desk. I’m scrubbing down the small tables we use for arts and crafts with soap and water, which is a regular part of my routine at the end of the day. Marie usually stops in my room after her weekly library reading visit with the kindergarteners.

“Maggie,” she answers. “I can always rely on her for the hot gossip around here.”

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