Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,5
I walked over to the view of Central Park. It was breathtaking. I had never seen Central Park like this.
Focus. I turned around and found Alina's suitcase. It looked like she hadn't had time to unpack anything yet. I opened up the front pouch and found the passport exactly where Kristen said it would be. I smiled at the sticky note Bryce had left on it.
"I love you, Alina. And I can't wait to marry you. Have fun with your friends...but not like ITA tiebreaker fun. Just like, normal person fun. I'll be counting down the days until I see you again.
P.S. Hopefully this morning will tide you over until the next time I see you.
Love,
Bryce
I stuffed her passport back into the suitcase. I couldn't deny the fact that I was envious of their relationship. Alina and Bryce were perfect together. Them together just made sense. It was never like that for me and any of my previous boyfriends. But I wasn't exactly sure why I was envious. It wasn't like I had been looking for a relationship recently. I was focusing on my job. It's the middle of the summer, liar.
I shook away the thought and quickly left the hotel room. I needed to get back into that limo before my stupid friends got me sent to prison.
Chapter 2
Daphne
Before leaving the hotel, I tried to discretely look both ways. The limo was still sitting there, and there didn't appear to be any cops around. It seemed like the coast was clear. And if I didn't leave soon, the judgy girl at the check-in desk would surely call the police.
I opened the door and walked as quickly as I could toward the limo.
"Daphne?" a man said from behind me.
I'm too young to die! "Nope, wrong person." I picked up my pace.
"Daphne! Wait!"
I felt a hand land on my shoulder, and it nearly caused me to scream. Not that screaming at the cops would help anything.
"It's Rick. Justin's father. We met at that lacrosse game?"
Rick? I turned my head and looked up at him. "Oh." I laughed. "Rick, right. It's good to see you again." I did remember him. One of my coworkers had gotten sick and I had to work the food stand at the lacrosse game. I avoided school sports like the plague. Mostly because people usually assumed I was a student instead of a teacher. Which wasn't really a problem, but I wanted my students to respect me. Not flirt with me.
But during that lacrosse game, no students had flirted with me because Rick had been too busy monopolizing my time. I had made sure to tell him right away that I was a teacher. I remembered going through my mental checklist. He was intelligent, had a good job, and was definitely handsome. He had a few gray hairs that somehow made him look even sexier and more distinguished. But there were two red flags. One - he was quite a bit older than me. Two - he was one of my students' fathers. The first issue wouldn't have mattered so much if the second wasn't such a huge deal breaker. I would never date any of my students' parents. Ever. It was completely unprofessional.
He smiled. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to spook you."
"Oh, yeah, I'm great. I'm just...in a hurry." I looked over at the limo. I was sure my friends were all watching me. Except for Alina. Since she had a pillowcase on her head for some ridiculous reason.
"I see. Heading out of town?"
"Yup," I said lamely. It wasn't like I could tell him where I was going, because I had no idea. "How's Justin?"
"He's good. Studying for his SATs."
"That's great. It's such a shame when kids don't use their minds all summer." Well, I certainly sound like a boring grown up.
He smiled. "I couldn't agree more. Actually, I'm glad I ran into you. I know that you don't date your students' parents. But it is summer. Technically, Justin isn't your student right now."
I laughed awkwardly. So he wants a casual summer fling? There was red flag number three. "I'm sorry Rick, but I really don't think it would be a good idea for us to go out."
"Please don't tell me it's because Justin has a crush on you? You know kids, it's fleeting."
What the fuck? Red flag number four. I laughed awkwardly again. "No, it has nothing to do with that." Well, maybe it does a little now.