His Texas Forever Family. Amy Woods
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getting to the point where Paige was beginning to accept that this was just going to be their life.
* * *
The next day at school, Paige avoided Liam. All they’d had was a simple, professional exchange...there was no need to deal with him any further today, unless something came up with Owen.
So why, then, could she not stop thinking about him? There was the part about him being incredibly good-looking. But what was it that kept him on her brain through her morning conferences, through phone calls with parents and through her break? Unfortunately, she had the teacher meeting at three that afternoon, just after school let out. She would have to be chatty with everyone, Liam included.
When Paige arrived at the assembly, the cafeteria was pulsing with teachers milling about, sharing stories from their summer just like the kids had the day before. Paige wondered if anyone else had heard the rumors swirling that Principal Matthews was thinking of retiring
There had been a time when Paige would have loved to take over the position, but after Mark’s death, when she’d suddenly turned into a single parent, she had put the thought of becoming principal out of her mind. Besides, she probably didn’t have enough experience to get Principal Matthews’s job, and there were plenty of teachers who had been working at the school far longer than she. Still, Paige couldn’t help mentally crossing her fingers on the off-chance that she had a shot.
Sure, it would be difficult. For one, it would mean even longer hours and less time with Owen. But, on the other hand, it would mean that Owen could get better care if it was available. Dr. Roberts regularly suggested an after-school therapy group of kids Owen’s age at their Wednesday meetings. Paige had been seriously considering it but adding more therapy was costly, and the additional hours were not covered by Owen’s medical insurance.
She found a seat at an empty table as the last of the staff began to file into the cafeteria. Paige had always struggled to socialize with her employees at gatherings like these, feeling as insecure as a student again. She was expected to behave a certain way as an assistant principal, and she should maintain a certain distance between herself and the faculty, although she’d spent years teaching with many of them.
Despite her position, Paige still considered them equals, and many of them would always be her friends. But she’d made the decision when she’d first accepted this position that it was better to remain distant from all of them at such events rather than to have anyone thinking that she favored certain individuals.
It was better to be alone.
* * *
The cafeteria was full of staff when Liam arrived that afternoon, but he didn’t recognize a single face. He really did need to make an effort to leave his classroom more and at least make an attempt to get out of his shell to make friends with his new colleagues. He and Callie had had a wide social circle in Abilene, and he missed getting together with friends. He guessed he would just have to make new ones...eventually.
Another unpleasant side effect of their painful divorce.
His eyes scanned the crowd for anyone he might have met, even briefly. He’d been hired late in the summer, but even in the few summer professional development days he’d attended, he had been too interested in learning the workings of a new environment to do more than share a few words with anyone.
Just as he decided to be the first to occupy one of the empty tables at the back, he caught the enchanting sunny glow of Paige’s headful of curls. Liam knew he was acting like a damn fool as he gravitated toward her, but by the time he could do anything about it, she’d caught him coming and it was too late to turn around.
“Hi there,” he said, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table at the far end—where there was no way she’d get the wrong impression. He had no intention of bothering her. Plus, he didn’t think he could stand to hear her inform him yet again how little she needed his help.
In his career, he had seen many parents who wrestled with the idea of alternative therapy like the kind in which he specialized. Generally, he dealt with them at the stage in which they were open to such an idea. Paige wasn’t there yet, but against his better judgment, he was finding it awfully hard to resist the urge to persist and recommend that she bring Owen to his hospital sessions. He knew it was selfish, but helping Owen would inevitably equal more time with Paige, a thought that became more appealing each time he caught sight of her. He hadn’t wanted it, but he couldn’t ignore his growing attraction to the woman.
She greeted him with a tense smile, her eyes working to focus on him as though she’d been distracted.
“Hi, Mr. Campbell,” Paige said, moving quickly to pick up her pen. She busied herself flipping through the packet of papers in front of her.
Liam didn’t correct her this time. He’d figured out that she preferred the distance of last names when it came to addressing faculty. If he had to guess, it probably made her feel like less of the teacher she’d likely been before she moved to her current position and more like a boss. He’d had plenty of administrators like her in his time, but, for some reason, this one didn’t make him want to run in the other direction. In fact, she had the opposite effect, which he wasn’t keen to admit. He had no business circling the assistant principal like a bee to honey.
Yet, there he was, at her table in a cafeteria filled with empty ones.
“I don’t really know anyone yet, so I guess you’re the unlucky tablemate of the new kid,” he said as he slid down the table toward her.
Liam was surprised when Paige laughed, the melodic sound tickling his ears and spine. She looked up from her notes and the violet-blue of her eyes glittered at him. It was the first time he’d seen this softer side of her, and he wanted more. What would it take to get her to smile at him like that again and again? Whatever it was, he would do it in a heartbeat.
“I don’t mind much. No matter how long I’ve been here, I always still feel a little like a newbie,” she said.
Liam returned her smile. “I would think that in your job, you’d know everyone.”
Paige looked down at her papers again and Liam instantly wanted her eyes back on him.
“I suppose in a way I do, but it’s difficult being in my position. It puts certain...expectations...on my interactions with other teachers.”
Immediately after speaking, Paige bit her full bottom lip, as though she’d said too much. She shook her head a little and put on what looked like an attempt at a confident grin.
“But I love my job. I really do. It’s just that...well...” She shook her head and looked up at him again. “I guess every position has its rough spots, doesn’t it?”
Liam nodded, hoping he could reassure her. He realized once again that he’d go pretty far to get her to smile at him again, to see those berry lips part one more time and her eyes crinkle around the corners.
With force, he pulled his gaze away from her mouth and met her eyes.
“That it does,” he said. “But I love my job, too. It’s one of the hardest jobs in the world but also...”
“The best,” Paige filled in.
Liam laughed. “Yes, it is pretty great. I’ve wanted to work with kids in some capacity since I was one myself, and I’ve always loved art.”
Paige grinned and Liam noticed a hint of mischief this time.
“So were you like me, then, with dolls circled around your bedroom waiting with eagerness to hear every word you had to say?”
She was teasing him, he realized, though it felt strange coming from the person who’d been so tense just the previous afternoon. But she was also irresistible.
“Not dolls. Army men,” he said.
Paige laughed again. This time, her mouth opened fully and, before he could stop himself, his mind wandered into the dangerous territory of what it would feel like to have his lips against