Free Least Likely to Fall in Love by Cheryl Harper Page A

was still processing it. All circuits were busy at this point.
    Finally, she sighed. “I don’t want to get up in the morning and run into Principal Mason in the bathroom, you know?” The revulsion on her face was dramatic. He’d laugh about it. Later.
    And she was pretty clear. It wasn’t time to start dating yet, no matter what parts of his body told him it was past time. Way past time.
    She huffed. “But that’s not fair, is it? I guess…If you want to…” She scratched her forehead. “Ask someone out then.”
    But not Lindy. That was the answer he was getting. And that should make him happy.
    Lindy’d nearly ripped his heart out on the turf beside the field house. Working his way through her fortified defenses would be a nightmare and require patience he didn’t have. Besides that, he already carried the guilt of the stupid shit he’d done as a kid. If he did manage to talk his way around her objections and then hurt her again, he’d have to face the fact that he was just an awful person, not a decent man who’d made bad decisions.
    But when he thought about the way it felt to hold her next to him, her sweet flowery smell, how she fit, and never, ever kissing her, he was sad. Morose. Deflated. He’d have to get out the thesaurus to find other words because sad didn’t cut it. If he didn’t pursue her, he’d be missing something special. Then he realized that she was absolutely right. This wasn’t a romantic comedy. She’d deserved better as a girl. She deserved only the best now.
    Unfortunately, coming home, facing his history and his mistakes, reminded him that he didn’t qualify as the best in any way.
    Maddie was staring hard out the side window. And the fact was that he already had something special, something better than he deserved. His relationship with his daughter was more important than anything else.
    Daydreaming about Lindy was just wishful thinking, a way to answer his guilty conscience or something. He’d just open his eyes and spend some time assessing his options. There were other women, plenty of women who wouldn’t leave finger-shaped bruises in the middle of his chest if he got too close or make him lie awake at night with his past mistakes on a constant loop.
    He’d had a chance to know Lindy. If he’d done the right thing then, everything now would be different.
    But he hadn’t. And the truth was that, no matter what he wanted, staying away from Principal Mason was better for her. And he was man enough to do the right thing now. As he finished the short drive home, he pondered all the words he knew for sad. Despondent was a good one.
     

Chapter Five
    Lindy had done her best all week not to think about the confronting Ryan behind the field house. Every time she had a quiet moment, the memory of his arms and Ryan Myers close enough to touch would sack her like she was a slow-moving quarterback. If he’d leaned closer or moved faster, she might know what it was like to kiss Ryan today.
    School was good for distraction. Whether it was a good day or a bad day, there were always a million phone calls and enough paperwork to keep three principals busy. Unfortunately, it was just an average week. There was no good reason to cancel her appointment with Maddie, no matter how badly she wanted to. And she couldn’t be selfish enough to choose avoiding the past over helping Maddie. So here they were again.
    “Thanks so much for pitching in to help out with the new artwork, Maddie. I know Coach Ford is pretty happy about all the work that we accomplished over the weekend.”
    Maddie worried a loose thread on her jacket cuff but didn’t answer.
    “How have your classes been this week?” Lindy had no idea whether it was her own discomfort alone, but the air in the office was disappearing rapidly. Getting help with the conversation would pump in some oxygen.
    Instead, Maddie shrugged a shoulder. “Fine.”
    “How’d the Spanish test go?” Lindy rolled her pen across the desk and