Chapter 2

2

ALICE

I n the weeks since I started working in the pre-K program, I had seen many different parents pick up our young students. None of them had caught my attention like the guy who'd just buzzed in for Cara. Then again, none of the other dads were even remotely as attractive as this one.

The man talking to the head of the program was huge—about a foot taller than me and a good sixty or seventy pounds heavier. It was all pure muscle, though. And lots of ink.

Add in his dark hair, short beard, and piercing green eyes, and he was a guy any woman would notice. Even one whose focus should be on the little girl she was walking out to meet him.

"Be professional," I mumbled under my breath.

Cara tilted her head back and looked up at me with eyes the same color as the man's. "What'd you say?"

"Nothing, sweetie." I flashed her a soft smile and squeezed her hand.

Her lips curved into an answering grin, but then her gaze darted toward the front desk, and she yanked her hand from mine and raced forward. My heart melted when the man crouched down so she could throw herself into his arms. His deep voice sent a delicious shiver down my spine when he murmured, "Hey there, Carebear. Did you have a good day at school?"

Cara nodded. "Uh-huh."

He tickled her ribs, and her giggle filled the air, making all of us smile. "I thought your mama wanted you to start using yes instead."

Cara's shoulder slumped…and mine did too, right along with her. But for an entirely different reason. It was a much-needed reminder that not only was it unprofessional to lust after one of the dads of my students, but it was also totally wrong since the man had a wife and child.

"Yes," Cara huffed.

"Well, at least I can tell her you know how to say it if she asks."

One of the other teachers called my boss's name, and Nora excused herself, leaving me alone with Cara and her dad. His gaze moved from her retreating figure to me, and there was no missing the flare of interest in his green orbs. Lifting Cara into his arms, he cradled her against his broad chest as he smirked at me. Seeing this guy—who was ridiculously masculine—holding her so carefully had my ovaries close to spontaneously combusting.

He kept his gaze locked on mine as he walked toward me instead of the door. "Thanks for bringing Cara out to me. I'm Grady Walsh. What's your name, gorgeous?"

It was just my luck that the first guy to bring my dormant libido to life was already taken…and that when my body finally decided to react to someone, he was the kind of man to hit on his daughter's teacher even though he was taken. Even worse, he did it right in front of her.

Unfortunately, I had to be polite since I couldn't afford to lose my first real job just after I'd started it. Flashing him an insincere smile, I answered, "I'm Alice Payne, one of Cara's teachers."

Cara squealed, "She's my favowit."

"Favorite," Grady corrected with a gentle tug on her ponytail.

"Uh-huh," she mumbled. Her eyes widened, and then she switched her reply. "Yes."

She was so adorable that we both laughed. But my humor turned to a mixture of lust and anger when he murmured, "Don't blame you one bit for that. I just met Miss Alice, and she's already my favorite teacher here, too."

"Mm-hmm," I hummed instead of thanking him for the compliment.

He winked at me, and I had to straighten my spine to stop myself from reacting to the shiver that went down it. "Which is why I want to take you to dinner tonight."

"Sorry, but no." My apology was insincere but was also better than what I would have said if keeping my job didn't depend on being polite.

"We can go out tomorrow instead if that doesn't work for you," he offered.

Crossing my arms against my chest, I shook my head. His gaze dropped to my boobs, and I realized the position propped them up and made them look even bigger. But I refused to back down, so I didn't drop my hands to my sides. Instead, I said, "I didn't turn you down because I have plans tonight. I just don't want to go out with you."

Only because he was off-limits, but I wasn't about to share that part with him.

His very kissable lips curved into a panty-melting grin. "C'mon, gorgeous. You can't tell me you don't feel the pull between us."

"I would never get involved with a married man."

"Then it's a damn good thing I'm not married because I plan to get very involved with you." My lips parted in a gasp of surprise, but before I could reply, he added, "No girlfriend either."

I wasn't expecting that reply, but although relief coursed through my veins, I still couldn't accept his invitation. "I…um…can't date the parent of one of my students, either."

"That's not a problem, gorgeous." His attention shifted to Cara. "Who am I, sweetie?"

"Unca Gray!" she shrieked, patting his bearded cheeks with her tiny palms.

My eyes widened as I gaped at him. "You're her uncle, not her dad?"

He nodded. "Yup."

"Oh."

"You got any other excuses you want to toss my way?" he asked.

"Nope." I shook my head. "I guess there's no reason I can't go out with you tomorrow."

His brows drew together. "No dinner tonight?"

"Sorry, we have a staff meeting after all the kids are picked up, and my boss is feeding us since we're stuck staying late," I explained, irritated that I already had plans when I'd like nothing more than to have dinner with Grady now that I knew there wasn't anything standing in the way of us dating.

Cara wiggled in his arms, and he lifted her higher against his chest. "You free all day tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Good." He rubbed his chin against the top of Cara's head. "I gotta get her out to the Jeep before she wiggles free, but I'll call you to set up our date for tomorrow."

As he turned toward the door, I asked, "How are you going to do that when I haven't given you my number?"

He flashed me a smirk over his shoulder. "Don't worry, gorgeous. Finding your number is the perfect chance to use some of my skills to impress you."

I had a feeling his other skills were the ones I was going to like best. The thought of what those big hands of his could do to me made my cheeks fill with heat, making him chuckle. Luckily, he didn't say anything else before he walked out the door, or else my blush would've deepened enough that I couldn't explain it away as just being warm if one of my coworkers asked.

I was so focused on watching his butt as he walked away that I missed the leather vest on his back until a feminine voice drawled, "You know he's an Iron Rogue, right?"

"Pardon?" I asked, whirling around to gawk at Britney. She was one of the teacher's aides for a different class, and she'd never even bothered to say hello to me before now. She was close friends with Jessica, who was an aide in the same class as me. They took their lunch break at the same time and didn't really talk to anyone else except our boss.

Cocking her hip, she arched a perfectly penciled brow. "That guy you were drooling over. He's in the Iron Rogues MC."

"What's that?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes with a huff. "Are you for real? The Iron Rogues are the motorcycle club who runs Old Bridge. Didn't you see the patch on his cut?"

"Cut?" I echoed, feeling even more confused by her answer.

"Yeah, the leather vest he wore announces to the world that he's in the club." She gave me a look of utter disdain. "And not just any member—he's one of their enforcers."

I still had no clue what she was talking about. My hometown didn't have a biker club, not unless you counted the middle school kids who rode around causing trouble on their bicycles. "Um…okay."

"Get ready to crash and burn on your date." She shook her head with a laugh. "There's no way a guy who earned himself Deviant as a road name will remain interested in you for more than five minutes."

Britney hadn't struck me as a girl's girl, so I found it hard to believe that Britney was looking out for me. But that didn't make it easy to shake off her warning. Not when Grady was clearly way out of my league. What had I been thinking to agree to go out with him for my very first date ever?