Page 51 of Grinchland
Shit. I’d been caught red-handed.
“Did you need something, Mayor?” Maria asked.
I straightened and adjusted my suit coat. “Nope.” I paused, desperate for a reasonable explanation as to why I was trying so hard to see into the classroom, but nothing rational was coming to mind. So, I went with the next best thing: the truth.
“I was looking for Ms. Snow.” I gave a pointed look to Clara, and when her cheeks flushed, I took satisfaction from being able to get her to react that way.
“Oh?” Maria glanced over at Clara. “And what do you need to talk to her about?”
I cleared my throat as I shoved my hands into the front pocket of my pants and tipped slightly toward Maria. “What did I need to talk to her about?”
The only thing that was flowing through my mind was our kiss last night and how badly I wanted to reenact it, but I doubted that Maria would want to hear about that. And I doubted Clara wanted me talking to her boss about it.
“Probably about the play,” Clara said as she glanced over to me with her eyes wide as if prompting me to play along.
“The play,” I said, probably a tad too loud from the way Maria’s eyebrows went up even farther. “I need to talk to her about the play,” I said, bringing my voice down a bit too low. I winced. Why couldn’t I just act normal?
Maria glanced from me over to Clara and then back to me. “Well, here she is,” Maria said as she glanced back at Clara once more before she shook her head and continued walking down the hallway.
Now that we were alone, I glanced over at Clara, my gaze instantly dropping to her lips before I forced it back up. “I’m sorry about that,” I whispered.
Clara was studying me with her lips tipped up in a shy smile. She shook her head. “It’s okay.”
I leaned in. “I was dropping off Isabelle.”
She nodded. “I figured.”
I glanced down at the ground. “And…I was trying to see you.” I flicked my gaze up to meet hers.
“I figured,” she whispered, her voice turning breathless.
My heart pounded from the sound. Thoughts of our kisses and the soft way she moaned against my lips raced through my mind, and it was taking all my strength not to press her against the lockers and kiss her once more.
“So can I see you tonight?”
She nodded. “You can.” Then she leaned in. “We have practice,” she whispered.
That was not what I meant. I preferred my one-on-one time with Clara.
“But afterward…” She took a step closer to me and peered up at me through her long, dark lashes. “If you want, you can come over.”
I didn’t try to hide my smile. Instead, I just stared down at her, enjoying the flirty way she met my gaze as if she were challenging me.
“I can?”
She nodded.
“Do you have another Christmas activity that you want to show me?”
She shrugged. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” She tucked her hair behind her ear before she started to walk toward the doorway to her classroom.
“Is this a required activity?” I asked.
She paused before she flicked her gaze over her shoulder. “No.” And with that, she disappeared into the classroom, leaving me alone in the hallway.
My heart was racing as I walked out to my car. Her words echoed in my mind like the cave walls of the Grinch’s lair. This wasn’t required. Did that mean she wanted to spend time with me? Was this…a date?
Did I want it to be a date?
