Page 10 of The Billionaire's Teacher

“Morning.”

I glanced over from staring at the coffee maker. “Morning. Coffee’s underway.”

“Thanks.” He crossed the deck and stepped out onto the uncovered portion, then tipped his face up to the sky.

The early morning sun glinted off his hair, and something in my belly quivered. I looked away and swallowed. He was good looking. I wouldn’t deny that. At least not in the privacy of my own thoughts. But he was also younger than my younger brother. And it felt…disloyal to my husband to even notice.

The coffee finished brewing and I took the carafe and filled two big mugs as I fought the urge to look back over at him. “Do you take anything in yours?”

“I can fix it.”

I startled. I’d been so studiously ignoring him, I hadn’t noticed that he had come back into the kitchen. “Okay. There’s half-and-half in the fridge. And some vanilla creamer if you like that.”

“Sugar?”

I watched his lightly tanned fingers curve around the handle of the mug, and had to swallow again as my imagination took off on its own. I cleared my throat and forced myself to look up and meet his eyes. “Couple of kinds in the top drawer.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“Sure.” I sipped my coffee and slid out of the way. Distance from him felt more necessary than air right at that moment. I could get the fruit and bread out when he was finished doctoring his drink. “I have a light breakfast available here. Or I can suggest some places nearby for something hot, if you prefer.”

“What do you have?” Wes pulled open the drawer and his eyes lit up. He grabbed two packets of the raw sugar I stocked, tore them open, and dumped them into his mug.

“Fruit and sweet bread.” I paused. Said like that, it didn’t sound like it was going to set anyone up for a day of diving. I tended to like a heavier midday meal, and I hadn’t asked his preference.

“That’ll work. Probably better for me than a donut.” Wes raised his mug to take a drink.

I set my coffee down on the table and scooted around to the fridge. Wes didn’t move immediately. I had to give him a long look before he shot me an impish grin and moved to sit at the banquette.

I shook my head and got out the container of sliced fruit. The bread was wrapped and stashed in the cabinet above the sink. I got it, and then plates and forks, and carried it all over to the table.

I put a plate in front of Wes before taking my own. Suddenly, I was less interested in the fruit than the bread. Carbs were always my go-to for emotional eating. And I was absolutely not going to investigate exactly what it was about Wes that sparked that craving.

Oh, who was I kidding? No investigation necessary. The man—boy. I really should keep in mind that he was a solid ten years younger than me. Maybe even more than that. I’d have to look up his birthdate on the rental paperwork. Maybe keeping that number in the front of my mind would help me avoid concentrating on how long it had been since I’d seen such a perfect specimen of man.

Was it disloyal to my deceased husband to notice?

I frowned and reached for the bread.

“You okay?” Wes was watching me with open curiosity.

“Yeah. Sure. Of course.” I had a feeling the smile I offered was sickly, but there was nothing I could do about it. I pulled one of the buns off the loaf and reached further into the bag for the packet of powdered sugar that accompanied the treat. I opened it and tapped out a generous hill of the white confection onto my plate, then tore off a hunk of the bright yellow bread, dipped it into the sugar and popped it in my mouth.

Wes watched me. I couldn’t decide what he was thinking. Maybe that was a good thing. I dipped another hunk of delicious carbs into the sugar. “What?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone eat bread like that.”

I nudged the powdered sugar toward him. “Try it before you knock it.”

With a shrug, Wes dumped some of the powder onto his plate and reached into the bread bag to grab a roll. He studied it for a moment before tearing off a piece, dipping it in the sugar, and eating. “Mmm.”

“See?” I set my bread down on my plate and reached for the fruit. I pried up the top and scooped some onto my plate. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I also didn’t need to stuff myself with bread just because of Wes.

“I apologize for doubting you.”

I snickered. “Stick with me, kid. You might learn something.”

His eyes flashed. “I’m not a kid.”

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