Judging by the barely perceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, it appeared the man actually had the audacity to find her indignation humorous. It was also obvious that he wasn't at all threatened by her confrontational attitude.
"Sydney, I didn't mean to imply anything by the question, and I'm sorry if I offended you in any way," he said, his voice genuinely sincere. "I'm just trying to get a better feel for Cassie's home life. Is something going on with her that might be distracting her from school and testing? Anything in her normal routine that has changed lately?"
Choosing to believe that Daniel was truly interested in her daughter's welfare and hadn't meant to insult her, she gave his question serious thought. Sydney knew all the good friends that Cassie hung out with, along with their parents, and though the girls had normal teenage issues that they occasionally dealt with, everything was fine for the time being. She regularly checked her daughter's e-mails and text messages to make sure Cassie wasn't doing something she wasn't supposed to, and she stayed on top of her extracurricular activities and her whereabouts. So, other than a regular fifteen-year-old attitude that came with frequent mood swings, there wasn't anything abnormal or troubling about her daughter's behavior.
Sydney shook her head. "I honestly can't think of anything that has changed or is out of the ordinary for Cass."
"Then it's possible that this is just a bump in the road, so to speak, and we'll just have to get things back on track again."
"What do you recommend I do?" she asked, unwilling to walk out of his classroom without some kind of proactive plan in place for her daughter. "I can get her a private tutor, if you think that's necessary."
"No, not yet I don't." He picked up the papers and slipped them back into Cassie's file. "At this point, I wanted to make sure you were aware of the problem. So, before I recommend you hiring a tutor, I'd first like to try and work through this with Cassie myself."
"Okay." She was fine with that. Despite running her own business, anything beyond basic math was out of her realm of comprehension, and that included algebra. She wouldn't be much help to Cassie at all.
"I tutor my own students on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons," he went on, meeting her gaze from across the table. "I'd like to have Cassie come in on those days so I can work with her one-on-one, which most of my students don't get during class time because we only have an hour to review the day's work. By working directly with her, I can get a solid idea of how she's doing and make a better evaluation of the situation. I can find out if she's truly struggling in the class, or if something else is going on that needs to be addressed."
Of course, Sydney's mind conjured up all kinds of worst-case scenarios. Like drugs. Depression. Hooking up with a horny boy who said all the right things to flatter a girl, but only wanted one thing from her: sex.
Panic made Sydney's heart race. She'd like to think that as Cassie's mother she would be aware of, or at least notice, such extreme activities, but she was far from being that stupid or naive.
"What else would be going on?" she asked.
"Hopefully, nothing too serious or dramatic." He must have seen the stricken look on her face, because his own expression softened with understanding. "Look, I know Cassie well enough to know she's a good kid. But, she's a teenager, and she's at the age where there's a lot of peer pressure and outside distractions that can interfere with schoolwork. Unfortunately, I see it happen all the time."
Sydney's stomach clenched. "Well, I'll definitely be having a talk with Cassie when I get home today and see if I can find out what's going on."
"That would be good," he said, encouraging her with an easy smile. "But don't push too hard for answers, or go searching for trouble where there is none. It could be as simple as her needing extra help in math."
That said, he stood and walked back to a tall filing cabinet, where he put away Cassie's academic folder. While she accepted his input, she'd like to think she could handle her own child, without any extra advice from him. After all, she knew Cassie and her personality best.
Figuring their parent-teacher conference was over, she stood, too, and stopped in front of his desk before leaving. "I appreciate you staying on top of Cassie."
He turned back around. "It's not a problem. It's my job to make sure each student does their absolute best in my class." He came around to where she was still standing, and tipped his head, regarding her curiously. "By the way… can I ask you a personal question? It's something I've wondered since the first time I met you last year."
"Uh, sure," she said with a carefree shrug, though after his inquiry about Cassie's father, she couldn't help but feel cautious about what was currently on his mind.
His warm gaze traveled over her face, taking in her features, then lingered on her lips a few extra seconds before he raised his brown eyes back to hers. "How old are you?"
Another question she absolutely hated. Especially when she knew it related to being Cassie's mother. "Why does it matter?"
He shook his head and laughed. "Are you always so defensive about everything?"
"Are you always so nosy about people's personal life?" she shot right back.
"No, not normally," he said with a sexy grin that told her that he was purely interested in just her personal life, which completely unnerved her. "Most of my kids' parents are in their mid-thirties to forties. You, on the other hand, look young enough to be Cassie's sister, not her mother."
The man had a way of throwing her off balance, with his direct questions, the too-charming way he had of dealing with her brash replies and personality, and the undeniable interest in his gaze that struck a spark of restless excitement deep inside her belly.
Jee-sus. She was starting to lust after a buttoned-up, conservative teacher. Un-freakin'-belivable.
"I'm twenty-nine," she said, not at all surprised at the disbelief she saw pass across his expression when he made the quick mental calculations that told him how young she'd been when Cassie had been born.
She was certain her announcement had just put a huge damper on his interest, just as she'd intended. She'd come across a few nice guys like Daniel Barnett over the years, and her past indiscretion resulting in a child born out of wedlock when she was only fourteen never failed to make them back off, and fast. At least when it came to anything more than a brief affair. Which proved that when it came to polished, educated men, she was the type of woman they slept with, but didn't take home to meet Mom and Dad.
"I guess I was right, wasn't I?" he said, a good dose of humor chasing away his initial shock. "You are young enough to be Cassie's sister."
She rolled her eyes at his flattery. "You should have been a politician instead of a teacher."
"That definitely would have made my parents happier," he said meaningfully, but his grin never wavered.
His comment again told her too much about his family and his way of life. She adjusted the strap of her purse over her shoulder and decided it was time for her to leave. "I should be going."
"I'm done here, too." He rounded his desk, tossed some papers into a leather briefcase, and snapped it shut. "I'll walk out with you."
Her point had been to get far away from this man who provoked way too many unexplained feelings within her. However, saying, "I'd rather you didn't" was too rude, so she waited for him to join her at the back of the class, and together they headed out of the building, a surprisingly comfortable silence settling between them.
Walking side by side as they passed through the campus to the parking lot, she was acutely aware of just how tall he was, how masculine. The cool, crisp afternoon breeze ruffling through her long, unbound auburn curls also tousled Daniel's short honey-blond hair, giving him a mussed, unkempt look she found much too appealing.
There were only a few cars left in the lot, and she started toward her ten-year-old Honda Accord. The vehicle was old and used, but it was completely paid for and ran like a dream, and that's all she cared about. When Daniel continued to follow her, she
cast him a sidelong glance filled with amusement. Undoubtedly, he'd been raised a gentleman, and that included walking a woman to her vehicle. "I think I can make it to my car on my own from here."
"Actually, my car is right over there," he said, and pointed to a vehicle that was parked just beyond hers-a sporty Volvo convertible coupe that most people wouldn't be able to afford on a teacher's salary. "And, there's something I wanted to ask you."
Coming to a stop on the driver's side of her car, she dug her keys from her purse, then met his gaze and allowed a derisive smile to curve her lips. "Another personal question?" She unlocked the door and opened it, just in case she needed a quick escape from him and what was beginning to feel like a relentless interrogation.
He thought for a moment, then replied. "Yeah, I guess it would be."
After tossing her purse into the passenger seat, she folded her arms across her chest and braced herself for another curious inquiry about her life, her past, or some other quest for private answers. "What would you like to know?"
His gaze drifted briefly to the cleavage she'd unintentionally created, then came back to her face. "Would you like to go out sometime?"
His question caught her completely off guard. That was the last thing she'd expected him to ask, and she wasn't even sure she'd heard him right. After all, checking out her breasts and flirting with her were one thing, but it just didn't make sense that someone so conservative would want to interact socially with her. "Excuse me?"
He casually braced a hand on the top of her car, subtly caging her in between the vehicle door and his body. "I asked you if you would you like to go out on a date."
Okay, so she had heard him correctly, and somehow she found the fortitude to laugh off his absurd question. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm not joking." In fact, he appeared downright serious.
She shook her head, causing her hair to swirl wildly over her shoulders. "I don't think so."
His gaze remained persistent. "Why not?"
Wanting to let him down easy, she came up with the most logical excuse without stating the obvious-that their worlds just didn't mesh. "Well, for one thing, I'm sure my daughter wouldn't appreciate my dating her math teacher."
"Actually, it's not Cassie's choice to make."
He was right. But here was the best reason of all why going out with Daniel Barnett just wasn't a good idea: "You're so not my type."
He shifted on his feet, the movement bringing him closer somehow. Certainly within touching distance. "Now how would you know that?" he asked in a soft, sexy drawl that was equivalent to a sensual caress along her spine.
She ignored the tingling sensation making her nipples tighten and pucker. "A woman just knows these things."
"What if you're wrong?" he countered, all charm and temptation rolled into an irresistible package she was certain many woman found hard to ignore.
Herself included, it seemed.
"I'm not wrong," she insisted, then inhaled a deep breath. But instead of the cool, fresh air she'd expected to fill her senses, she drew in the scent of him, A heady combination of heat and sandalwood, and something else that made her stomach clench with shameless desire for a man who never should have affected her so physically.
"Look," she tried, this time more firmly, "I'm flattered you asked, but it just wouldn't work between us."
Amusement tipped up the corner of his mouth. "It's just a date, Sydney. I'm not asking you to marry me."
The wry note to his voice and the mirth dancing in his gaze prompted an indulgent smile from her. "That's a good thing, because then I'd have to turn you down twice."
He paused for a long moment, and just when Sydney thought she'd finally convinced him she wasn't interested, he managed to throw her another curveball. Reaching out, he caught a long strand of her hair and slowly, gently wound it around his long index finger, ensnaring her in more ways than one. The gesture struck her as oddly tender, if not a little possessive, especially when his fingers grazed the side of her neck. She shivered and damned her lack of willpower, and that gnawing need making itself known deep inside her soul.
"Are you always so tough with men?" he asked, his tone low and caring.
She tried to pull back, but he still had her hair between his fingers. "No, not all men." With some of them she played easy to get, usually to satisfy her own purposes. But her reasons for being tough with Daniel had more to do with him being a genuinely nice guy-and her being a very bad girl.
"Then why me, Sydney?"
God, even the way he said her name, so soft and reverent, made her want to hear it on his lips in the throes of passion. And that thought was enough to force her to take drastic actions with him.
"Why you?" Deliberately, she stepped closer to him and ran her finger down the front of his dress tie while giving him an upswept glance infused with a whole lot of unabashed confidence and reckless aggression. The kind that considerate, conservative guys found too bold and brazen for their tastes. "Because I eat stuffed shirts like you for breakfast."
He raised a brow, then burst out laughing. Once he got all those deep, good-natured chuckles out of his system, he regarded her with a lopsided grin. "I don't know what amuses me more, the fact that you think I'm a stuffed shirt, or that you'd eat me for breakfast." His eyes darkened with something wicked and playful. "I have to admit that would definitely be a first for me, but I'm willing to let you try your best."
Did nothing dissuade this man? She dropped her arms to her sides and sighed. "Daniel… you're a really nice guy, and-"
"Ahhh," he interrupted, the word laced with a wealth of understanding. "Too nice for you!"
Now he was getting it. Finally. "Trust me. I'm doing you a huge favor by telling you no."
"I'm a big boy, Syd," he replied confidently. "I think I can handle a night out with you."
She stared into his compelling caramel-colored eyes and realized that Daniel was no different from any other guy and it was all about getting laid. It had to be, because there just was no other explanation for his determination, despite her rejection.
Well, two could play that game. It had been months since she'd gotten laid, and there was something about Daniel Barnett that made her wonder what he was like in bed. There was a definite attraction between them, so it wasn't as though she were settling, or even taking advantage of him.
What the hell, she decided. He thought he knew what he was getting into, that he could handle her. It would be interesting to see if that was true.
"Fine," she said, giving in for the sake of enjoying a night of mutual pleasure with him. "I'll go out with you, but it will have to be next weekend so I can get someone at the bar to cover one of my late night shifts."
"That works for me." The grin that appeared was pure male satisfaction. "Next weekend it is."
Having gotten what he wanted, he slipped on a pair of sunglasses and walked away toward his sporty Volvo, his stride self-assured and cocky, even. She watched him go, appreciating the width of his shoulders and his firm backside before she slid into her car. She closed the door and started the engine, unable to remember the last time, if ever, that a man had been able to wrap her around his finger, as Daniel just had.
The feeling was disturbing… and very exciting.
Chapter Six
IT wasn't often that Lora bought new clothes for herself, but she hadn't been able to resist buying a new top for her first real date with Joel. Besides, the shirt had been on sale for half price, so it had been much easier to justify the purchase, because she'd gotten such a great deal.
The long-sleeved, plum-colored, thermal ribbed top was perfect to ward off the chill of the late October weather, and the low, rounded neckline and row of small silver snaps securing the front would no doubt stir Joel's imagination, and hopefully a good amount of lust. She'd paired the top with her favorite low-rise jeans, which did great things for her butt, and a comfortable pair of heeled boots, since they'd be taking Joel's motorcycle. The overal
l look was simple, but sexy and alluring at the same time-which was exactly the result she'd wanted to achieve.
After a girl-to-girl talk with Sydney earlier that afternoon and a much-needed boost of confidence from her friend, Lora had decided that tonight she was going to indulge wholeheartedly in the mutual attraction simmering between her and Joel, and follow wherever it might lead. She wanted to discover just how hot and intense all that sexual chemistry was, and just how far it would take them.
She fluffed her unbound hair with her fingers one last time, then exited the bathroom into her bedroom. Cassie was still where Lora had left her five minutes before-laying on her stomach on the queen-sized bed, thumbing through one of the month-old fashion magazines Lora had brought home for the teen from the hotel spa. Every month when the new magazine subscriptions arrived for the reception area, Lora collected the expired periodicals for Cass before they were thrown away.
The young girl had dropped by half an hour earlier because she wanted to hang out before heading back to her place for the night, but Lora suspected there was something else distracting Cassie. Since arriving, she'd been quiet and subdued, and Lora was fairly certain that the talk Cassie had with her mother the previous night about her math grades was weighing heavily on her mind. As a result of Sydney's meeting with Daniel Barnett, she'd restricted Cass's weekend and weeknight activities until her grades improved, and while Lora thought her friend's limitations were a bit extreme, Sydney had been adamant about her decision.
"So, what do you think, Cass?" Lora asked in an attempt to draw the young girl out of her funky mood. "Does this outfit look okay for a casual date?"
"How would I know?" Cassie replied sullenly, and without glancing up from her glossy fashion magazine. "I've never been on a date before."
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