“Good night, Lucy.”
The door closed behind me, and as I headed to my car, my thoughts spun. I couldn’t wrap my head around why she didn’t feel as if she was good enough for me. Lucy was beautiful, intelligent, funny, and sexy as hell. It amazed me to think she thought she might hurt me in some way.
It was then and there I vowed to make sure she changed her mind. I’d make her realize she wasn’t only good enough for me, but was perfect.
Chapter 5
Lucy
Mason met me for our morning coffee and chat in the teachers’ lounge. The room was dreary, so beige and boring. The only color was that of the American flag, which naturally reminded me of a particular senator.
“Good morning, Mason.” I smiled and plopped down next to him at one of the two round tables in the lounge, handing him the latte I’d bought him at Starbucks on the way in.
“Thank you for this.” He took a sip and studied me over his cup. “You seem very chipper this morning. Did you have a good time after I left yesterday?”
“Thanks for a fun day. I had a blast.” I smiled, hoping he would drop it, but knowing he wouldn’t. “Mud and all.”
“That’s not what I asked,” he said, pinning me with a meaningful look. “I meant afterward, with Drake.”
Two teachers came in with one of the secretaries and sat at the table next to us, but not before ogling my coffee partner.
I leaned across the table. “They want you,” I said in a low voice with a wink, and he gave them a quick glance before dismissing my comment.
Marie, the music teacher, looked brightly at me from the next table. “Lucy, I saw Senator Prescott in your room the other day. Do you think he’d come into my class?” She winked. “I bet he has a great instrument.”
The other teachers snickered, and I pressed my lips together to hold back a snarky retort for the teachers acting no older than the students they taught.
Smiling sweetly, I said, “I really wouldn’t know, but I’m sure if you contact his office, they could help you.”
And so it began. This was exactly what I’d been afraid of—unwanted attention.
Longing for the sanctuary of my classroom, I stood and headed for the door. Mason followed and slipped my heavy tote bag off my shoulder so he could carry it for me.
Since I taught history and government, the walls of my classroom were plastered with maps and pictures of past presidents. Scanning them as I made my way to my desk, I thought about how bizarre and incredibly wonderful it would be to have Drake’s picture hanging on my wall one day.
Mason set my bag on my desk as he perched next to it. “Drake seemed like a pretty cool guy.”
“He is and much more. But I just don’t know if the two of us getting together is a good idea or not.”
“Luce, do you like him? Because your face lights up when you talk about him, and when Marie mentioned his name, you looked as if you could scratch her eyes out.”
Shrugging, I said, “I hardly know him.”
“Did you kiss him?”
Avoiding his gaze, I pulled the stack of graded tests from my tote bag, trying to formulate an answer. I didn’t want to lie to my best friend, but I didn’t want to kiss and tell either. Besides, I was confused enough about what to do with Drake without Mason jumping on the matchmaking bandwagon.
The first bell rang, and for once I was glad my day was starting. As students made their way to their seats, chatting loudly, I glanced at Mason.
“You’d better get to your class.”
Mason stood and headed for the door, but turned before he reached it, calling out, “This conversation isn’t over.”
And that was where he was wrong. Our conversation about Senator Prescott was definitely over.
? ? ?
Later in the morning, I was reviewing notes for the end-of-the-year syllabus when there was a knock on my door. Jeanette, one of the office secretaries, was standing in my doorway, holding a vase filled with white hydrangeas and red roses.