by Caitlyn Blue
“‘When sorrows come,’” she quotes, “‘they come not single spies, but in battalions!”
I should also mention, she is Harrison Academy’s drama teacher. To her, Shakespeare is more than just the Bard; he’s her bard. Before she starts explaining what has her stirred up, she snags an oatmeal cookie from the plate on the edge of my desk and takes a bite.
“Oh my God, you’re never going to believe what’s happened,” she says, pausing to regard the cookie in her hand. “This is really good. Which one of your admirers made it?”
With my best scowl fixed on my face, I say, “They’re not admirers. Just nice ladies who know I like homemade cookies.”
“Right.” She gives me an exasperated eye roll. “Reed Barron, you have no idea your effect on women.”
It’s not the first time I’ve heard her say this. We’ve been friends as well as coworkers for the last six months, and although we’re both single, we’ve never stepped out of the friend zone. Not that I haven’t been tempted. She’s outgoing, affectionate, and adorable as hell—everything I’m not. But, ever since last year and what happened to me at my old school, I have a hands-off policy regarding anyone I work with.
“You were telling me that something happened,” I prompt, barely getting the sentence out before she launches into her tale.
“I was just in Matt’s office. Mandy had her baby last night.” Sarah paces before my desk like an anxious wren. “What am I going to do? Jekyll and Hyde opens in two weeks. Two weeks! And the set was already behind schedule.”
Mandy Ryan is Harrison Academy’s art teacher and the technical director in charge of designing the sets and running the three shows students put on each year—a play during the fall, Shakespeare in the winter, and a spring musical. Sarah directs in addition to teaching drama, speech, and movement classes. She’s fantastic with the kids and has a knack for knowing exactly which student belongs in which role.
“Was she early?” I ask.
Mandy seemed fine the day before.
“Like six weeks early. She had preeclampsia,” Sarah states, as if I have a clue what that is. “Her husband rushed her to the hospital last night, and after she was diagnosed, they induced.”
All this information rushes at me in a blur. “Is everybody okay?”
“She had a boy. Connor. He’s four pounds, ten ounces.” Sarah frowns, as if suddenly realizing that’s not normal. “I guess everything is fine even though he’s six weeks premature. They’ll probably keep them an extra couple of days in the hospital before sending them home.”
“So, what does this mean for the show?”
“It means, we need someone to help finish things up.” She fixes her gaze on me, and shooting stars flare in her eyes. “Someone familiar with construction, who can rally the troops.”
An uncomfortable buzzing begins at the back of my brain. I recognize this as a warning. I know that look. Something is brewing in that zany, disorganized organ she calls a brain.
“I thought the students were in charge of building the set,” I state cautiously.
“Yes, but an adult needs to be there to supervise. Someone who knows his way around a power tool.”
My lips twitch into a half-smile. While I know my way around several power tools, there’s one in particular I’m intimately familiar with. But I’m pretty sure that’s not the one she’s referring to.
She continues, “Someone who can also act as technical director during the show.”
“Whom are you thinking about?” I try for nonchalance, but I know I’m already fucked.
She locks on me and turns up the volume on her irresistible charm. Despair zings along my nerve endings. I start to shake my head, already knowing it’s too late. I’m done for.
“Well…”
On the third finger of my right hand, I wear my father’s wedding ring. I reach for it now and spin it around and around, convinced I can feel the roughness of the inscription scraping my skin. DB+JN Always. David Barron and Jenna Nelson, my parents. They died together in a car accident when I was eleven. An accident I survived.
“Me?”
“Oh, thank heavens you’re volunteering.”
I’m not volunteering, but she’s so damn cute when she tries to wiggle her way out of a jam, which seems to happen fairly often because she leads with her emotions instead of thinking things through.
“Because I already told Matt you’d do it.”
She runs around the desk and throws her arms around my neck. The press of her soft body against my torso has an immediate impact on my equilibrium. I resist the urge to ride my hands up her spine and press her closer.
We’re colleagues, I remind myself as I breathe in her floral scent.
“Sure.” It’s not like I don’t have the time.
As the girls volleyball coach, my extracurricular duties are done before Christmas break. It’s now the first week in April.
“You’re a lifesaver. Mandy’s design for the set is fantastic, but it’s huge. There are two sets of stairs with a walkway between them. A full wall with three sets of working doors. And don’t get me started on what we need for Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory.”
“It’ll get handled. Don’t worry.”
Harrison Academy is a private high school in Evanston, Illinois, with an enrollment of eight hundred students in grades nine through twelve. The school has almost seventy sports and extracurricular activities, among which the theater department is a standout.
In addition to my AP Chemistry classes, I also teach photography and digital art. It’s a little unusual for a teacher to do both science and art classes, but I’m passionate about both. During the summer, I take a couple of months and travel to various exotic places in the world. My favorite is Africa, but I’ve had terrific experiences in Indonesia, Europe, and South America.
“Can you come by the theater around three this afternoon, so we can talk about what needs to be done?” Sarah asks. “I’m going to run to Mandy’s classroom right now to see if I can find her blueprints.”
“I’ll be there.”
“You’re the best.”
MUCH ADO ABOUT BACHELORS coming April 2017
ALSO BY CAITLYN
Windy City Bachelors
The Trouble With Bachelors
Book 1 (Emma & Zach)
Coming in 2017
Much Ado About Bachelors
Book 2 (Sarah & Reed)
It Happened One Bachelor
Book 3 (Brynn & Paxton)
How To Marry A Bachelor
Book 4 Novella (Julie & Paul)
Forsaking All Bachelors
Book 5 (Riley & Jayce)
It Takes A Bachelor
Book 6 (Gabby & Sam)
Windy City Millionaires
Distracted By Her
There are more Windy City Romances coming soon.
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About the Author
Caitlyn Blue is a voracious reader with an overactive imagination, a chocolate addiction, love of fancy cocktails and tasty edibles, sucker for adventure movies and any music with a beat.
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