her hair gently, ‘let me buy you dinner?’
‘Isn’t it a bit early for dinner?’
‘I skipped lunch,’ he replied, ‘so any food is good. We could walk down to the beach; I’ll buy you a lobster roll and an ice cream.’
‘What kind of ice cream?’ her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
‘Best on the east coast,’ he grinned.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she watched him.
‘Okay,’ she replied after a moment.
‘Yeah?’ his smile widened.
‘Sure,’ she shrugged.
‘Okay,’ he backed up slowly, ‘I’ve just got a few things to tie up. Give me ten minutes, I’ll be right back.’
‘Okay,’ she nodded as she watched him walking slowly backward.
‘Okay,’ he repeated, ‘and you’ll be right here?’
‘I’ll be right here,’ she smiled slowly.
She watched as he threw her another gorgeous grin before turning around and darting back into the school.
‘Oh boy I’m in trouble,’ Ava muttered.
She had to admit she was having a hard time resisting all the nerdiness and boyish charm wrapped up in a sinfully good-looking man. It was a dangerous combination. She’d thought she had him pegged the first night she met him, but she was just starting to get what Hope meant about him being oblivious to the female attention he received. He just wasn’t that shallow.
She was also starting to feel slightly guilty for all the nasty thoughts she’d had earlier when she thought he was just ignoring her. The guy was just busy. He had a life; he had a job… well two jobs apparently. She kept trying to squeeze him into a box that didn’t fit him, and he’d simply just laugh and climb straight back out. It was confusing the hell out of her. She felt like she was trying to navigate shark infested waters, with no paddle, in a capsized canoe.
She had no experience to draw on. It wasn’t like she was a virgin by any means. She’d scratched plenty of itches over the years when she’d felt like it, but both parties had been looking for no strings, mutual satisfaction topped off with an amicable ‘see ya later’ in the morning.
Kelley wasn’t like that and just what the hell was she supposed to do about him? He made her want, although if you’d asked her what, she wouldn’t have been able to tell you, only that he tugged at her, just like the island did.
‘Hey, you look like you were a million miles away.’
Ava looked up in surprise as Kelley reappeared in front of her holding a battered brown leather satchel. She glanced down at her watch; true to his word he’d only been just over ten minutes.
‘Come on Bailey,’ Ava tucked at the leash, dragging her protesting dog to her feet. ‘So how come you work at the bar too?’ Ava asked. ‘Are teachers’ salaries really that bad?’
‘No,’ he laughed as they walked side by side, not quite touching. ‘My uncle owns the bar and grill, but he has a bad knee. Played some football in college, was good enough to have gone pro, but an injury shot his knee. It’s been getting steadily worse for the past couple of years, but he was too stubborn to do anything about it. The last few months he’s barely been able to walk, so I’ve been helping out as much as I can. He’s going in for surgery on the mainland next week, so I’ll run the bar for him while he recovers.’
‘That’s good of you,’ she murmured.
Kelley shrugged, ‘it’s what you do for family. His kids, my cousins, are all married with families of their own and demanding jobs. They don’t have the time to help out. They would if they could, but I’m the only one who doesn’t have a life outside his job.’
He laughed, but it wasn’t filled with self-derision or mockery but a genuine amusement and affection for his family.
‘You’re a very easy-going guy,’ she remarked.
‘I doubt my students would agree with you,’ he chuckled.
‘Did you always want to be a teacher?’
‘Yeah,’ he nodded, ‘I did, even when I was a kid. I’d grade my brother’s papers for him, it drove him nuts. Killian hated school, he just loved to build things.’
‘But not you?’
‘I hate to ruin your manly image of me but I’m pretty much a spaz if you put any kind of tool in my hand. Now if you want someone to quote you Hemmingway, I’m your man.’
‘Hemmingway?’
‘Or Shakespeare, Poe, Yeats?’
She stared at him.
‘The mighty pyramids of stone, that wedge-like cleave the desert airs, when nearer seen and better known, are