seventeen and headed for sunshine. L.A. I worked odd jobs for a while and ended up doing some stunt work as a favor to a friend and before I knew it, I was in movies.”

She remembered the bones of his story from those early days when she used to scour People and Us Weekly looking for information about him, in the days before the internet would have put all those details at her fingertips. But, of course, she couldn’t tell him that.

“What about you?” he asked. “What led you to teaching?”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I love children. I always have.” She smiled. “I was the world’s best babysitter because I could have done it all day for free just for the fun of it and everyone knew it. There is something so magical about early childhood, the innocence and the wonder and the sheer delight of it. I love watching them grow and start to test life. Setting them on a path to discover the world of possibilities waiting for them.”

Her voice trailed off and she flushed. “I’m sorry. I’m rambling again.”

“Not at all. I could listen to you all night.”

Her gaze flashed to his and the heat in the midnight depths sent those nerves twirling through her insides again. She swallowed hard and had time only to wonder if this could possibly be real, when his mouth captured hers.

Fifteen

ASHLEY FROZE, the breath caught in her throat and her pulse thundered in her ears.

Oh. Oh, my. His kiss was unbearably soft, almost tender, and she leaned into it, into him. Her hands rested on the hard muscles of his chest and she could feel the jump of his heartbeat beneath her fingertips. His arms slid around her, pulling her close, and she surrendered to the magic and wonder of his kiss.

She could definitely fall hard for this man.

His kiss suddenly deepened, his tongue licking at the corner of her mouth, and she lost any chance at coherent thought for several long, drugging moments.

“Okay, get ready!” she suddenly heard Ruby call from inside the house and the two of them sprang apart, both breathing hard, just as the girl burst through the door in all her finery.

What in the hell was he doing?

He invites the woman to dinner to talk about his daughter’s problems in school then ends up dumping his life story on her before all but jumping her on his back deck.

The crazy thing was, he wanted to do it all over again. The kissing part, anyway. Justin could still taste her on his lips, that subtle, sweetly erotic taste of raspberry and cream and Ashley.

It was crazy. He knew it was impossible, but he ached to taste her again.

Focus, he chided himself and jerked his attention back to the conversation between Ruby and her teacher.

“See how twirly it is?” Ruby exclaimed, her arms wide as she did circles around the living room, where they had adjourned since there was more light to show off the sparkles.

Justin wasn’t sure he was prepared for this primpy stage to start. Ruby was showing all the signs of someone who would be seriously girlie and he had no idea how to handle the rest of it. Just thinking about makeup and boyfriends and hair spray made him break into a cold sweat.

At least he had a few more years before he had to worry about that.

“You look just like a princess,” Ashley assured Ruby. Her color was high, he saw, and she didn’t look at him as she spoke.

Ruby preened, oblivious to the tension between them. “I’m going to wear it to a wedding. My friend Sierra’s mom is getting married next month and we’re going to Hawaii for it and I get to swim in the ocean and maybe see a dolphin.”

She had been delirious with excitement about the whole thing, from the moment Natalie Brooks invited them along. Nat was his first leading lady and one of the few people he stayed in touch with in Hollywood.

“I don’t get to be the flower girl because Sierra does,” Ruby went on, “but I can wear my new dress and maybe have a lei, too.”

Ashley gave a smile that looked forced and he would have given just about anything to know what was running through her head right about now. “How fun,” she murmured. “You and your father will have to take lots of pictures so you can bring them back for the rest of the class to see.”

“Okay. I will.” She looked thrilled at the idea for just a moment before she frowned and her excitement slipped away. “Um, I’ll have to see. I’ll probably forget.”

Right. Ruby remembered the names and birthdays and favorite colors of everyone she had ever met. This sudden reluctance was part of whatever game she had been playing at school. He sighed, knowing the time for socializing was over.

“Ruby, if you’re done showing off your new dress, we need to talk about what’s happening in school. You know that’s why Miss Barnes is here.”

Panic flared in her eyes suddenly, and she started edging for the stairs. “I better go change out of my dress before I get it all dirty.”

“Come back here,” he said, his voice stern. “We’re going to sit down right now and discuss how you’ve been acting.”

Sixteen

“DO I HAVE TO?” Ruby asked, looking suddenly miserable.

“Yeah, you do, shortcake.”

“You’ll be mad.”

“Probably. But we still have to talk about it.”

She perched on the edge of a leather ottoman, her hands tightly folded on her lap. He sighed, not sure where to start.

“I thought you loved school,” he finally said. “You talk about it all the time. But Miss Barnes says you’re not doing your work and you’re not participating in class. What’s going on?”

“I was just pretending I didn’t like school,” she said, her voice small. She lifted her gaze to give her teacher a look of earnest entreaty. “I really do, Miss Barnes. I promise. I love playtime

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