Page 39 of The Scout

“That’s one of his favorites. Did he recite the lines?”

“He did, yes.”

She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, but the bell is going to ring soon, and I have a class. Why were you looking for me?”

The melancholy etched on her face told me everything I already knew. She missed her boy. “I would like to invite you to dinner at my place tonight. Me, you, and Jimmy.”

Her eyes brightened. “I’d love that, thank you. I know it was only one night, but I missed him so much. I barely slept. He might not be too receptive to the idea. He can get stubborn.”

“Wonder where he gets that from?”

She cocked her hip to the side, and I couldn’t stifle a small laugh.

“Kidding.”Sort of. Not really.“I know you were upset. It kept me up last night, knowing you were sad. I think it would be good if we all talked it out and stopped casting blame, but that needs to start with us, Hannah.”

Her eyes shifted to the door when it opened and two teachers walked in.

“We can talk about that more later. Also, I contacted my assistant. He’s going to send the box of fan mail from my house. The phone will just be a lost cause. I can’t prove that I didn’t get calls. You’d need to take my word for that.”

“Okay.” The bell sounded, and she nervously smiled. “I need to go.”

Without much thought, I reached forward and ran my thumb down the side of her neck, smearing the blue line away. Her pulse thrummed beneath my finger. Pulling it away, I showed her the tint I’d gathered.

God, how I wanted to kiss her. Another place and time I might have tried. “One more thing ...”

It was almost as though I was that horny teenage boy who wanted to touch or kiss his girlfriend every time he saw her. We were no longer those kids, but that didn’t matter when it came to Hannah.

“Seriously, Cash, I’m going to be late. What is it?”

Not caring where we were, I leaned forward and pressed my eager lips to her soft ones. The kiss was chaste but had its usual effect on me. Someone coughed, and Hannah jumped back.

“Sorry, seems I can’t resist when I’m near you. I have a plan for tonight. Do you trust me?”

The second bell rang. “Sure. No. Whatever. I’ll see you later.”

Spinning on her heels, she hustled out of the room, bumping into the door before she left. Part of me wanted to walk her to class, but I knew she’d hate the attention. As far as my heart was concerned, Hannah Hall was still mine ... she just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter14

Hannah

Good lord, that man made my insides flutter. Why the hell did he always need to look so good? This morning when I saw him jumping rope, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I’d never seen a body like that before. Well, not in real life, anyway. Even when we painted models in my college art class, they didn’t look like him. Something told me if they did, the enrollment would have been higher.

Speaking of art, his tattoos. Art in all forms intrigued me. Having it permanently inked into your skin was something I often thought of doing. One day I’d create something that would resonate enough to make me pull the trigger and get it done.

My classes went by torturously slow. Maybe it had to do with a certain ex who seemed to be able to throw me off-kilter. When he said he had a plan, I couldn’t imagine what that would be.

“So he didn’t say anything?” Mia asked, sipping her iced mocha latte.

“No, just that he had a plan. Oh, and that he thinks Annie Higgins knows about him being Jimmy’s father.”

“It’s only a matter of time. Do you know that he’s now the volunteer coach for the baseball team?”

My matcha frappé tasted more like grass as it sat on my tongue. Finally forcing it down, I made her repeat herself. “Did you say he’s coaching?”

“Yup,” she replied with a cute pop of thep. “I ran into Michael in the parking lot before I left to meet you here. The man looked as though he were walking on springs. His steps were so bouncy. Then again, how often does a former professional ball player come and work with the team?”

“People are going to start to piece things together.”