Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“I’m telling you. The protective gene runs deep in this crowd.” She gently shook Thane, who took her teasing with good humor.
“Well, as cute as that is, Callie will not lose to soothe Lewis’s feelings, no matter what’s behind them,” I warned gently.
“Then she’ll be no different from any of the women an Adair man cares for,” Thane cracked.
Regan nudged her husband. “That’s what happens when you surround yourself with strong women.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Adair.”
We turned at the voice to see Mrs. Hunter standing in the classroom doorway.
“That’s us,” Thane murmured.
“Good luck,” I murmured back and watched them disappear into the room.
Glancing around, I saw an empty seat next to a guy who looked vaguely familiar. I took it, my gaze drifting over to Walker before I could stop it. He stared stonily ahead, arms behind his back, shoulders straight, legs braced like a soldier. The man did not blend, and he had no intention of trying to.
Hauling my eyes off him, I stared at my lap and let myself worry about what Mrs. Hunter might have to say regarding Callie. I hoped she’d noticed an improvement in her mood too.
“You’re fairly new around here, right?”
I startled at the question and looked to my left at the parent. This close to him, I realized why he was familiar. Dr. Haydyn Barr, a parent who’d asked Monroe out last year. She’d told me all about him, how he was a professor of engineering at the University of Highlands and Islands, but dressed well and had an expensive car, which suggested he had some other income or inheritance. Monroe had thought him charming, but she wouldn’t date a child’s parent, even if she hadn’t been hopelessly in love with Brodan for two decades.
“Yeah.” I smiled at him and held out my hand. “Sloane Harrow. Callie’s mom. You’re Michael’s dad, right?”
Haydyn gave me a handsome grin as he shook my hand. “I am. Nice to meet you, Sloane. I’ve only ever heard Sloane as a surname, never as a given name. Is it a family name?”
“Really? It’s not unpopular in the US as a girl’s given name. It’s an Irish clan name that means warrior and it was my mom’s surname. She always liked the sound of it as a girl’s first name.” Funny, no one had ever asked about my name. Not even when I first moved here.
“I like it.” His grin was flirtatious as he searched my face, as if he liked it too. I wondered if Haydyn Barr was a player. Honestly, I didn’t care if he was. It was just nice to feel attractive. “It suits you.”
I smiled back. “Oh, you have no idea.”
He laughed loud enough for me to see in my peripheral that Walker turned to look at us. I refused to give him the satisfaction of noticing and continued to chat with Haydyn.
“So, you work at the estate as a full-time housekeeper, you have a bakery business on the side, and you’re a single mum?” Haydyn said five minutes later. “Are you Superwoman, Sloane Harrow?”
I chuckled at his admiring tone. “Maybe a little.”
“Maybe a lot. You put me to shame.”
“You’re a single dad and have a full-time job too.”
He gave me a sheepish look. “With a nanny who helps out.”
“I have help,” I admitted. “Friends who take care of Callie when I’m at work. They’re amazing. I don’t know how I survived before them, actually.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Being a single parent isn’t easy. And I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you must have been awfully young when you had Callie.”
“Seventeen.”
He shook his head in wonder. “At seventeen I was an immature moron. I can’t imagine being a father at that age.”
“You’d surprise yourself. Makes you grow up fast.”
“I’ll bet.” His gaze wandered over my face again, and I flushed a little at his appraisal. There had been no judgment like I got from some people who realized I’d been a teen mom. No snobbery regarding my job as a housekeeper. Haydyn seemed genuinely interested in me. “Do you—”
“Mr. Barr.”
We glanced over at the door to see Regan and Thane standing next to Mrs. Hunter.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Haydyn said, like we would actually see each other after.
As he disappeared inside the classroom, Regan and Thane came over to say goodbye.
The whole time, I was hyperaware of Walker standing guard, wondering if he’d been watching the interaction between me and Haydyn.
Regan hugged me and whispered in my ear, “Barr is a catch.”
I rolled my eyes but laughed at her matchmaking attempts.
When my friends left, stopping to talk with Walker for a few minutes before they did, Walker finally looked at me. My breath caught, and I wanted to go to him. Wanted him to touch me so badly. The muscle in his jaw flexed before he whipped his head around, breaking our stare.