Beyond Promise (29 page)

“So you understand their addictive
quality?”

“Absolutely do and I’ll have to take you up
on the offer next time. I’ve got some things I need to take care of
tonight.”

“Totally. The offer is always there.” She
flashed a grin and walked out of the classroom, leaving me alone
with the ache of memories I’d never intended to visit today. I
wanted to believe that being back here was going to be good for me,
but as each day ticked by I wasn’t sure.

I pushed the folder with the students’
papers into my bag. My desk was as empty as it was when I entered
this morning. I’d definitely need to bring in some fresh flowers or
something to liven it up a bit.

The sound of the ladder jiggling had stopped
so I snuck over to the window and before I had a chance to lift the
blinds and close the window, a husky laugh washed over me from
behind. I turned around to see the man, who’d been hanging outside
my window, right in front of me, grinning as if he held a secret I
wasn’t privy to.

And Tessa was right. He was the full,
complete, impossibly perfect package. Every amazing ounce of him
looked delicious. His gaze met mine, and all I could do was turn
right back around to secure the window and hide my embarrassment
for the second time in less than ten minutes.

“You know, we have feelings too,” he said
bemused.

Oh, dear Lord.

As I worked the window shut, I flipped the
locks in place and brought the blinds down once again before
turning to face the music and the man. I let out a silent sigh and
slid the smile off my lips. I didn’t need his head to get any
bigger than it already was.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,”
I said, walking over to my desk.

“Oh, but I think you do.” He flashed an even
wider grin, and my heart nearly stopped on the spot. I wanted to be
swallowed up in the ground and transported all the way back to
upstate New York. So I did what any normal human would do when
faced with an overly cocky man, I grabbed my bag and walked past
him.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I muttered.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. By the sound of it
though, the teachers around here do enough of that for me. But
don’t listen to anything they tell you.” He winked, and I couldn’t
help myself from stopping right where I was, which happened to be
in the doorway, while I wondered how much he’d actually heard
perched outside my window.

We both stood in silence for a few moments.
His vibrant, blue eyes held an intensity that was intriguing as he
let the words sink in. He definitely had the upper hand, but I
would change that. The smile swept all the way through his
expression, and it was impossible not to be a little interested in
the man on the ladder, who was now smirking in front of me. His
dark blond hair and olive skin tone was a disastrous combination
for someone trying to stay uninterested. His broad shoulders filled
out his shirt and the slouchy jeans he was wearing made my eyes
want to do another dip, but I refused to give in.

He knew he was good-looking. There was no
way a person could be that attractive and not know it, but there
was also something absolutely adorable lurking behind his gaze. He
was trouble, and I certainly wasn’t looking for trouble this
summer. I’d left enough of it behind to last a lifetime.

He leaned along the doorway and stretched
his arms slightly, but I refused to fall for it. I did not look
down. I kept my gaze securely fastened on his. I was less than a
foot away from him, and I felt every bit of that closeness. To say
I felt electricity zipping between us would be a great disservice
to the storm I felt brewing inside of me, and I wholly blamed the
man in front of me for knowing how to make a woman swoon. It had to
be a learned technique otherwise all the teachers here wouldn’t be
under his spell. I was just annoyed with myself for falling for it
or him or whatever this was swelling inside of me.

“So my real reason for popping in on you was
to see if there was anything around the classroom that you needed
fixed before summer school gets totally underway? I always like to
get these rooms started first if there is a task that needs to be
completed.”

I looked around the room and the only thing
that could help this space was a complete overhaul, and I knew that
wasn’t in the budget so I shook my head. “I hope to get the kids
outside as much as possible.”

He tapped his fingers on the door and gave a
slight nod. “Brave woman. Okay, well if you need to add anything to
my list, I’m usually here on Fridays, but I wanted to get a
jumpstart for the summer.”

“Thanks.” I said, attempting to get by
him.

“So where do you plan on taking the
students?” he asked.

I was surprised by his question, but even
more thrilled that I’d made it all the way into the hallway.
Distance from this man definitely worked in my favor.

“I’m not sure yet. There are so many amazing
beaches close to the school that it’ll be hard to pick. Or I could
take the students to one of the piers, and we could take a class on
wooden boatbuilding. Although, I think getting that to fit into the
history lessons might be challenging. I could definitely work it
into the maritime history of the island, but only time will tell,
which I don’t have much of. It’s probably going to be a very rough
go of it. Getting the kids interested during summer school seems
almost impossible.”

He’d moved into the hallway with me, and he
grinned as his eyes fastened on something behind me. I turned to
follow his gaze and saw a huge poster of a pelican. Each classroom
was referred to as a seabird. I happened to be in the “pelican”
classroom.

“So are you a pelican or a pelican’t?” he
asked, his eyes twinkled with a mischief that made me want to know
more about him.

“Excuse me?” I asked, not sure I heard him
correctly.

“Are you a pelican or a pelican’t? You
strike me as a pelican.” His brow rose, and I couldn’t help but
burst into laughter at the most horribly wonderful pun ever heard
by mankind. “But you were starting to sound like a pelican’t.”

“I suppose I’m in the former group.”

He folded his arms and his smile deepened.
“And which group would that be?”

“I’m not going to say it.” I smiled,
glancing at the noble pelican on the poster. I liked it even more
now.

“You’re not going to say which group you
fall into?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Well, I’m a pelican. Always have been a
pelican. Pelican’ts drive me nuts, but until I hear you say it, I
guess I won’t know which group you truly fall into.”

Tessa poked her head out of her classroom
and gave me the thumbs-up sign and I wanted to shoo her away.
Everything about this encounter was so awkward and he was eating it
up.

And I loved every second of it.

My cheeks were almost hurting from the
amount of smiling that started when I first saw part of this man
balanced outside the window, and it took everything in my power not
to give into temptation and hand him what he wanted. But I was
doing it for my own sanity. I couldn’t afford to start any
relationships in the near or distant future.

“I guess you’ll just have to wait to see
which group I fall into.”

“I don’t think I caught your name,” he said.
“And it’s not listed on the door yet.”

“Victoria.” I didn’t dare ask for his.

He flashed a knowing grin, which worried me
slightly, but I shook it off.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Victoria. I
hope I get the pleasure of standing on a ladder right outside your
window next week, and just maybe you’ll sign up for summer school
next year.”

My cheeks reddened again, and I let out a
completely unattractive chortle-laugh and shook my head. “You heard
that?”

“I heard it all.” He smiled and walked into
my classroom, leaving me to wonder what in the world I’d gotten
myself into.

About
the Author

Karice received an MFA in Creative Writing
from the U of W. She has written twenty novels, and she has several
exciting projects in the works (or at least she thinks they're
exciting). Karice lives in the Pacific Northwest with her awesome
husband and two cute English Bulldogs. She loves anything to do
with snow, and she seeks out the stuff whenever she can, especially
if there's a toasty fire to read by.

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