LITMIR.BIZ

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      “That’s very kind of you,” he said.

      The lady behind the counter said, “That’ll be eighty dollars and twenty-five cents.”

      Dismay flashed across her features. Clearly, it was more than she’d expected. Well, she was a teacher; she probably didn’t make a big salary.

      “I’ll get that,” he said.

      She gave him a puzzled frown and the bakery lady said, “She was here first.”

      He said to the teacher, “No, I—I’ll get them for you.” Her eyes went wide, as though he’d taken leave of his senses. “For the kids, I mean,” he added.

      She shook her head, though a smile played at her lips. “I can’t let you do that.”

      “I insist.” Maybe he was being overbearing. He held up his hands. “I mean, unless you say no again.”

      That made her laugh. “Okay, since it’s for the kids, I’ll let you.” He loved her voice, with its wry drawl. It sounded like smoked honey. Her cheeks flushed pink. Wow. Was she ever pretty when she blushed.

      He pulled out his wallet, counted out the money, and handed it over. The teacher gave the woman behind the counter a delighted look and said, “Yay,” and the woman smiled back. As Dylan took his change, the teacher picked up the box of cupcakes. “Thank you,” she told him. “That’s very generous.”

      Dylan realized the couple behind them was watching him—the same couple he’d seen in the parking lot. While he hadn’t minded them noticing his nice car or his expensive suit, he now felt self-conscious. He shrugged and said to the teacher, “My good deed for the day.”

      “You do a good deed every day?” She sounded impressed.

      “Um…no. Almost never.”

      “Oh.” She appeared to be at a loss. “Well, I should go.”

      “Yeah. Nice meeting you.—I’m actually heading out too.”

      She nodded and they both moved toward the exit. Ughgh. There was nothing more horrible than essentially saying goodbye to someone and then continuing to walk alongside them. To diffuse the weirdness, he said, “I’m Dylan, by the way.”

      “Paige.”

      Get her number.

      He pushed the idea out of his head. He wasn’t the kind of guy who tried to get women’s phone numbers right away. And if he asked, she’d think he’d paid for the cupcakes to make her owe him, which wasn’t true at all.

      Still, he’d like to run into her again. As friends, or friendly acquaintances. As he held the door open for her, he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.” She would’ve been pretty hard to miss.

      “It’s been a while since I’ve been here. But it’s right by the school.”

      He nodded. “I come here a lot to work.” In fact, it had been a long time since he’d last stopped in, too.

      “What do you do?”

      “I’m in investment banking.” He waited for one of the usual comments: how he must make a lot of money, or how he must be very smart.

      She laughed. “I don’t really know what that is, but it sounds awful.”

      It is awful.

      As he brushed away the unexpected thought, she said, “Thanks again,” and turned and walked down the sidewalk. He’d parked in the opposite direction, and he headed that way, but couldn’t resist a backward glance. She was bending over to put the cupcakes in a bright yellow VW bug—of course, that was what she’d drive. She straightened and looked back at him. He gave what he hoped was a casual wave and turned away again.

      As he got into his own car, he regretted not telling her that his job wasn’t awful. Nobody loved their work. Possibly she did, but that wasn’t the norm. That was why they called it Work and not Super Fun Time. He’d been paying his dues at the firm, and he’d see more and more rewards in the next few years. His mind went to the presentation he still hadn’t double-checked. He’d give it a quick look at the office, and maybe it’d be fine.

      Paige. He said her name to himself again so he wouldn’t forget it. But he doubted he would, anyway, and he also doubted he’d need to remember it. He probably wouldn’t even run into her again.

      chapter three

      As Paige stepped through the front doors of Jefferson Elementary, its faint but distinctive smell surrounded her—a mingling of cleaning products and freshly sharpened pencils. Not everyone would’ve found it pleasant, but Paige had worked there long enough to find it welcoming.

      One of the teachers, Brittany, stood chatting with the principal outside his office. Paige waved at them both as she passed, wondering if Brittany was talking to him about the details of her maternity leave. Paige still had a couple of weeks to figure out what to bring to her baby shower.

      A voice called out. “Morning, Paige! You sell those kids’ books yet?”

      Paige looked up to see Linda Goff, who taught second grade. Linda had been at the school forever, and often had teaching advice for Paige—whether she wanted it or not.

      “Not yet,” Paige chirped and strode down the hallway, the bakery box in her hands, before Linda could ask more questions.

      She’d almost reached her classroom when her best friend Jessica intercepted her. “Hey!”

      “Hey. How was your weekend? Is your mom still in town?”

      Jessica shook her head. “She went back home yesterday morning.” Her mother and stepfather lived in San Antonio, where Jessica had grown up. “On Saturday we went wedding dress shopping.”

      “Ooh. Come tell me more.” Jessica followed Paige into her classroom. Paige set the box down on her desk. “So did you find The Dress?”

      “No. I’ve tried on so many pretty dresses, but there’s always one little thing I don’t like.” This didn’t surprise Paige. Jessica paid a lot of attention to details. “And let me tell you, those dresses are not made for short, curvy ladies.” She was smiling, but Paige could hear the insecurity in her voice.

      “You’ll find the right one. You’re going to be a stunning bride.” She meant it, too. Jessica, with her curly dark hair, big brown eyes, and flawless amber skin, would look beautiful if she went down the aisle in a flannel nightgown.

      Jessica’s mouth turned down. “My mom keeps telling me about how much weight my cousin lost for her wedding.”

      Paige had heard a lot of stories about Jessica’s big but close-knit family. “You don’t mean the cousin who got divorced three months later?”

      Jessica nodded. “She did look great on her wedding day, though.”

      “Well, I guess that’s all that matters,” Paige quipped, and they both laughed.

      Jessica sat down on top of Paige’s desk. “And guess what? Yesterday I volunteered at Furever Friends. I took three dogs on walks.”

      Paige looked at her askance. “I thought you were going to get through your wedding first, and then help rescue cats and dogs.”

      “I know…but it’s good exercise. And you know how I want to adopt a dog with Steve as soon as I move in.” Jessica had talked about this so many times that Paige had teased her about marrying Steve for his big fenced backyard. Jessica lived in a dog-friendly apartment building, but she’d be moving into Steve’s very nice three-bedroom house.

      Paige asked, “Did you meet any you wanted to adopt?”

      Jessica laughed.

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