A Better Man(37)

As soon as she unlocked her front door, Ziggy started doing a doggy version of the happy dance. Jordan stepped back as Lucy dropped the rest of her things to the floor, sank to her knees, and proceeded to engage in the hugs and baby talk that told Ziggy what a good boy he'd been and what a handsome boy he was.

Jordan appreciated seeing the straitlaced schoolteacher let a happy bubble of laughter take flight. Knowing how much love and devotion she put into her pet gave Jordan an inkling of how much love she probably had to share.

Not that he was looking for love.

Since he'd left home at the age of eighteen, he'd never had a dog, a cat, or even a goldfish. There had barely been enough time in his life to date the same woman from the same town twice.

Okay, maybe that one had been on purpose.

"I'm sorry," she said to Jordan as she got up off the floor and dusted herself off. "Ziggy and I have a ritual and I need to get his Beggin' Strip before you and I talk. Is that okay?"

Jordan often had selective hearing. Lucy on her knees, making a little sweet talk and mentioning something about begging, jumped out like bullet points on an important document.

"I'm in no hurry." He jammed his hands deep into the pockets of his leather jacket. Well, maybe he was in a hurry to find out what she had to tell him. But as soon as she walked away from him in that hip-­embracing skirt, he lost his train of thought.

It wasn't like the damn material was see-­through, or short, or anything special at all, really. It just gently hugged her hips and her perfectly rounded rear end. That's all.

Ordering himself to pull it together, he followed her into the kitchen and watched while she had Ziggy perform a short series of tricks before he sat like a "good boy" to receive his treat. While Ziggy chomped down the snack and Lucy wrapped her arms around the retriever's neck, Jordan thought he might do tricks too for one of those hugs.

Yeah. Totally not why he'd come here.

He shook his head to clear it, then waited until she washed and dried her hands.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked him, setting the kettle on the burner. "Besides green, I have orange spice, mango sunrise, and Earl Grey."

"I'm good." He'd like a beer or something stronger, but since Lucy seemed like a healthy food and drink kind of girl, alcoholic beverages were probably out of the question.

"Is it okay if I make a cup for myself? I just indulged in a lemon bar and hot chocolate from Sugarbuns. I think my body is going into shock."

He scanned the body in question up and down.



       
         
       
        

Looked pretty damn good to him.

"An after-­school meeting?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes. With Nicole. And while she didn't offer any answers to her behavior, she was very friendly and open to discussion about school." A smile brightened her face and showed off the rarely seen dimple in her right cheek. "Have a seat and we can discuss."

Last time he'd sat in her kitchen chair his butt had gone numb. Apparently his hesitation prompted an alternative.

"Better yet, how about we use the living room?" She poured her tea and, cup in hand, led the way.

Watching the woman leave a room was as fascinating as watching her enter. Lusting after a woman like a sex-­craved teenager hadn't been on his agenda for a long damn time. Yet here he was, needing to roll his tongue back up in his mouth.

"Thanks for coming by," she said. "I'd have picked somewhere else to meet you but it's been a long day and I didn't want to have to wait to share this news."

"Judging by the smile you're wearing I'll guess it's a good thing?"

"Indeed." Her smile shone all the way up into her eyes. "Today I handed out an assignment specifically with Nicole in mind." Lucy sat on the edge of the white sofa and pulled a pale blue pillow onto her lap. "Something I hoped would spark her interest and maybe give her an outlet to release some of that anger."

Her long, delicate fingers played nervously across the pillow's lace-­trimmed edge. He hoped it wasn't him making her nervous, then he realized that making others uneasy was what he was paid to do.

Though there were two comfortable-­looking armchairs, he sat beside her and took pleasure in her sugary scent, no doubt left over from the bakery.

"I gave the students until the end of class time to complete the project."

"How'd that go?"

"Better than I imagined." She lifted her hand, then dropped it to her knee with a slap. "Every student handed in their papers at the end of class. Even Nicole."