AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The secretary’s voice came over the PA system to let them know that the doors were opening to let the students and parents into the building. Pressing a hand to her stomach to try to quell her nerves, Charli stood up from her desk.
The prospect of seeing Blake again was dominating her thoughts, as it had since realizing that his daughter was going to be in her class. She’d told herself not to think about it as she’d dressed that morning, but that had been a lost cause.
Thankfully, because she wore mainly pants while teaching, her choices weren’t too vast, or it might have taken her forever to decide what to wear. In the end, she’d chosen a soft pink blouse that she knew was a flattering color and fit, and paired it with black slacks.
A large part of her wished that she’d been more proactive about exercising and losing the weight she’d added from her pregnancy with Layla, because she wanted to look good when Blake saw her again after twelve years. But there was nothing she could do about that now.
And it didn’t matter, she reminded herself.
Blake was a part of her past, and seeing him again meant nothing. She had zero intention of spending any time with the man because she had zero intention of letting him meet Layla. That might be wishful thinking, considering Jackson was his cousin and spent a lot of time with her family.
Charli just had to hope that Blake would think that Layla was too young to be his daughter. She was a bit small for her age, so it was possible she might get away with it. Her family wouldn’t put two and two together, since they didn’t know what had happened between her and Blake.
She just needed Blake to focus on his own daughter and leave hers alone.
“Good morning, Miss H!” a little girl called out as she skipped over to where Charli stood in the doorway of the classroom.
Charli greeted her with a smile, then spoke to her mom, who she knew from church. The pair then headed into the classroom to find her desk and get her settled. After that, there was a steady stream of students with their parents.
For a short time, focusing on the children meant she didn’t dwell on Blake’s imminent arrival. Sort of… However, there was really no way to keep that thought completely out of her mind.
Then, she happened to glance up between greeting students and caught sight of his tall figure walking down the hall toward her classroom. His head was angled down, so for a brief moment, she had a chance to take in the sight of him without his awareness.
His blond hair, which he’d worn long the last time she’d seen him, was now cut short, and though he’d been tall and fit before, he seemed even more so now. He wore a simple white T-shirt tucked into a pair of blue jeans.
Her gaze wanted to stay on him. To continue to categorize all the things that had changed since she’d last seen him. Each stride he took toward her made her heart rate increase, just like it had when they’d been together before.
As Blake neared, their eyes met for a moment, but then another student reached Charli and took her attention, for which she was grateful. She didn’t want her heart to race for any reason when it came to Blake. But here she was, heart pounding so hard she was sure everyone could hear it, even as she tried to keep her attention on the student in front of her.
As the mother and son she’d been speaking with moved past her into the classroom, Charli braced herself for the coming interaction with Blake and his daughter. When they reached her, she chose to focus on the little girl instead of her father.
“Hi there,” Charli said, her smile feeling a little forced as she held out her hand. “I’m Miss Halverson. What’s your name?”
The little girl regarded her with big blue eyes that looked very much like her father’s. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was dressed in a pleated blue skirt and pink T-shirt with a unicorn on the front.
“I’m Amelia,” she said, her voice soft as she put her hand in Charli’s.
“It’s nice to meet you, Amelia. Would you like to take your dad into the classroom to find your desk?”
Amelia glanced up at Blake, as did Charli, because she just couldn’t help it. Blake was watching her, but his expression was unreadable. Charli forced her gaze back to the little girl in time to see her nod.
“Perfect. You can look for your desk and put your supplies there, and then you have a cubicle where you can put your backpack. Both have your name on them.”
Amelia nodded, then pulled Blake toward the doorway. Charli offered them both a smile, then turned her attention to the next student waiting to speak with her.
When the bell rang to start their day, Charli made her way to the front of the room.
“If I could have your attention,” she called out, waiting for a moment before continuing. “Parents, please help your child find their seat, then say your goodbyes.”
As she waited for the parents to do as she’d requested, Charli let her gaze drift around the room, making note of which children seemed to be having a bit of difficulty with the goodbyes. There were always a few who were fine to wave their parents out the door, but most were a little apprehensive. A few were teary, reluctant to let their parents go.
Amelia appeared to be one of the latter, and Blake was on a knee next to her desk, speaking to her quietly.
Soon, the majority of the parents had said their goodbyes and exited the room, leaving just three parents.
Charli made her way to one of them, assuring the parent that it was okay for them to go. Some parents were reluctant to leave their child when they were upset, but most of the time, the child settled once they were gone.
She left Blake and Amelia to last, giving them some extra time together. As she approached Amelia’s desk, Blake looked up at her. Charli tried not to acknowledge the flutter of nerves in her stomach as his gaze focused on her again.
