“You named her after me?” I saw my tears mirrored in his eyes, and my heart broke again for all my stupid decisions.

“I did. Jax, I have no excuse for not telling you. At the time I thought it made sense. I don’t know why. What I do know is that I’ll never regret the night I met you, even if it hadn’t resulted in a perfect little girl. You gave me a precious gift that George could never…” my voice broke as I trailed off. “Please don’t hate me.”

“I might be angry as fuck right now, but I don’t hate you. Maci, we need to work this out,” he implored.

“What is there to work out? She knows George. She loves George. I don’t want to confuse her. We’re happy, you know? Isn’t that what you’d want for her?”

“Of course, I do.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Shit, I can’t believe you’re asking me to walk away from my flesh and blood.” He let out a huge sigh and his shoulders fell.

“No, I’m begging you to do it. Not for me. Not for George. But for Jackie.” A million prayers were silently sent to God as I stood there and watched as something worked behind his eyes. I didn’t want to keep him from Jackie, but it was the best thing for her. I couldn’t imagine anything good coming from telling her the truth.

“Can I at least see her sometimes? I’m living here in town now and running the Stone Construction and Real Estate that just opened up.”

“I don’t know,” I hedged. I wasn’t sure George would be okay with me promising something without talking to him about it first.

“You owe me as much. I could easily take you to court over this.” His words were most definitely a threat, but his face was soft and passive. It went a long way towards softening me up to agree to his request.

“As long as George is okay with it, we’ll set something up,” I finally told him after silently deliberating.

“Here’s my number.” He grabbed a pen and order pad from the counter and scribbled on it. “Call me after you talk to him.”

I nodded and slid the paper across the counter, tucking it into the pocket of my apron. Jax took his change and truffles and left after making me promise I would call him later that night.

Alone in the shop, I braced my hands on the counter, my head dropping between my shoulders and took several deep breaths. One way or another it looked as if we were going to have to find a way to become a blended family.

I didn’t have to worry though. It didn’t take long for Jackie to fall in love with her uncle Jax. And every now and then when I’m bored or lonely, I close my eyes and remember that one fabulous and sinfully dirty night with my beautiful stranger.

HOT FOR TEACHER

ONE

The light turned green and I punched the gas, my balding tires squealing loudly on the pavement causing several passersby to stare. It wasn’t anything new for me, so I shook off their silent judgments and flew into the school parking lot.

“We’re late, Mommy,” my daughter, Rachel, chastised me from the backseat. My eyes lifted to the rearview mirror, and I smiled at how adorable she looked with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face.

Today was her first day of Kindergarten and we were late, thanks to my shift going over at work. I pulled a double shift, cleaning, the night before so I could afford the school clothes and supplies she was sure to need after today. My sister, Kenya, had thankfully slept on my couch so that Rachel wasn’t alone.

“I know, baby. Mommy’s sorry,” I replied softly, putting the car in park and opening the door. Once Rachel was extricated from her seat in the back, we walked hand in hand up to the entrance of the brick building.

It was just as I had remembered it from my own days in elementary school.

It might have only been twenty years since I was in Rachel’s shoes, but some days it felt like a hundred.

Little girls and boys, their fingers firmly wrapped around their parents’ hands, filed into the school. The chatter was at a supersonic level, making my head throb. I couldn’t wait to go home and catch a few hours of sleep. I really needed to find a way to make it onto a day shift while Rachel was in school, now that I wouldn’t be able to spend time with her during the day. Or maybe I could switch with someone on the overnight shift and work while she slept.

Fuck, being a single mother sucked. If only her father wasn’t a piece of shit deadbeat who left us three years ago to find himself, or as I like to call it, join a motorcycle gang and slut it up with whatever skank he could find.

My eyes scanned the numbers and names along the wall, looking for the right classroom. The letter sent home to us had said Mrs. McCullin in Room 4D. Finally spotting the correct room, my feet stopped abruptly and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the name next to the number—Mr. DiGristino.

No. It couldn’t be.

Rachel pulling on my arm shook me from my stupor, and I walked on leaden feet towards the door. There had to be another teacher with the last name DiGristino.

Please let there be another DiGristino.

The silent prayer was on repeat in my head when we rounded the doorway and walked into the room that was already bustling with kids. When I didn’t spot the teacher right away, I allowed myself to relax a little.

Today was about Rachel and her first step into being a little miss. It broke my heart to think about how fast she was growing, so I studiously tried to avoid remembering the way her big blue eyes blinked up at me when I breastfed her. Or the way she smiled when she took her first steps. Or the look of triumph on her face when she used the potty for the first time.

If I thought about any of that I was sure to break down. The weight of life was heavy on my shoulders, and this day could be the straw that broke the camel’s back, if I let it.

“Alright, boys and girls,” a woman spoke from the other side of the room. “You’ll find your name on top of your cubby over there against the wall. Go ahead and put your lunches and backpacks inside them. Then come take a seat on the carpet over here.”

Confusion wracked my brain as I helped Rachel find her cubby and led her to the carpet before standing off to the side. The sign in front of the door had clearly stated that the teacher was a man, so who was this woman?

Maybe the sign was wrong. Maybe it really was Mrs. McCullin. Or maybe it should have said Mrs. DiGristino and she was Matt’s wife. The thought instantly made me frown.

It’s not that deep down I was hoping it was my Mr. DiGristino, and that he was still single. Nope. Not at all.

I took a minute to study the woman with her short brown hair cut into a bob and her bright green eyes. She looked way too peppy for my liking, but I supposed it was a good way to be around a room full of young children.

“Great job!” she praised the kids after the last one took her spot on the carpet. “My name is Ms. O’Reilly. I’m going to Mr. DiGristino’s helper this year.”

At the mention of his name, my heart rate picked up and my palms became clammy.

That would explain that then.

The silent prayer about it being someone other than Matt DiGristino began repeating in my brain now that my nerves were back in overdrive. He had always wanted to be a teacher, but it could very easily have been one of his cousins, or hell, even his brother who was going to teach Rachel. I had to believe that might be the case in order to keep my sanity at that moment.

As Ms. O’Reilly droned on about the classroom rules, I found it hard to focus. All I could think about was the man that, if I were being honest, I really did hope would be my daughter’s teacher, and all the ways we used to play together.