Page 54 of Learn Your Lesson

Which left me no choice but to look to my left.

At Will.

There was no avoiding the heat that crept from my neck all the way down to my toes as I turned to face him, and I hoped my smile was the kind that could cover mystupid crush. I hoped it screamed professionalism. I hoped it didnotscreamhey, I had a wet dream about you last night!

“So, which donut was your favorite?” I asked.

And then I promptly cringed, and tucked my hair behind my ear only to untuck it, and then cracked my knuckles before grimacing in horror when I realized Will was cataloguing each nervous tic.

I folded my hands together and stuck them in my lap to prevent further embarrassment.

“Don’t do that.”

Chills swept over my shoulders and down to my fingertips at those gruff words leaving his mouth.

“Do what?”

“Try to make small talk with me when we live together.”

I thought I saw a dad at the table ahead of us angle his head at that, like he was suddenly more interested in what was happening at our table.

I lowered my voice and cleared my throat. “Sorry.”

Will arched a brow at me in warning.

“What?! I apologize a lot, okay? Get over it.”

I waited for him to growl something back at me, but instead, he just…stared. His golden eyes held mine captive, like he was searching for something.

And then, he smirked.

It was ridiculous how that tiny, pathetic excuse for a smile made my heart triple its pace, but it did. I felt like I was thirteen again, reading a blowjob scene from a Wattpad story under my covers well after Mom and Grandma were asleep, instead of sitting at a table full of dads and their kids.

Everything this man did now had my skin tingling, my blood pumping faster, my toes curling in my shoes. He dripped with sex appeal even when he didn’t try to, and it was becoming a real issue for his new nanny who was trying very hard not to drool over him.

“You’re amazing.”

I blinked. “Um… what?”

Will gestured one large hand to the classroom, like it was obvious. I took that precise moment to take in how hilariously bizarre this beast of a man looked folded into a little kid’s chair.

“I’ve never seen you in your element,” he said. “I mean, not since those first days of school when I was walking Ava in.” He paused, his brows inching together. “You really do love this job, don’t you. You love these kids.”

Neither one of those statements were questions, though he posed them as so.

“I do,” I breathed on a smile, looking around the room. I tucked my hair behind my ear again on habit before internally cursing and shoving my hands back in my lap. “These kids, they’re so young, so innocent. They’re discovering the world for the first time. They’re honest — sometimes brutally so,” I added on a laugh. “But they’re also heartbreakingly kind and gentle. They’re raw, like putty waiting for a strong hand to shape them. I like thinking that maybe I can plant some seeds that will grow as they do. I like the thought that some of their best qualities could be molded right here in this classroom.”

I laughed a little at myself, hiding my blush as I looked down at my hands in my lap.

“And at the very least, I like knowing that for the hours they’re here with me, they can feel safe. And loved. And free to be themselves.”

Will was quiet for so long I wasn’t sure I wanted to look at him, for fear I’d see him looking at me like I was insane.

Instead, it was awe I found in his gaze when I met it. Genuine, unfiltered wonder.

“Oh, stop looking at me like that,” I said on a laugh, shoving playfully at his shoulder — which didn’t so much as budge an inch. “You act like it’s notyouwho is the amazing one to watch at work. I’m just a teacher — one in a billion. Butyouare a professional hockey player. A goalie. Literally one in, what, thirty?” I shook my head. “I’m nothing in comparison.”

That made his scowl deepen, his jaw hard as stone. “You are far from nothing, Chloe. You…”