Hot for the Younger Man (The Single Moms of San Camanez: The Vino Vixens #4)

CHAPTER ONE

Naomi

“What do you think he’s going to be like?” my cousin, Raina, asked me as she pulled into a parking spot at the elementary school. Our other two cousins, Gabrielle and Danica, were in the backseat.

“I honestly think anybody is going to be better than the fuckwad we had before,” I said, opening the front passenger door and stepping out. “Ding-dong, the ding-dong’s gone. Off the island and out of our lives for good.”

“All thanks to our badass cousin doing her super lawyering,” Danica said, rubbing Gabrielle on the back. The four of us fell into two-by-two formations as we, and a bunch of other parents, made our way toward the front door of the school.

The new principal had arrived when the old one, a horrible human being in every single way, finally retired—after Gabrielle essentially forced him to.

And, this new principal, by the name of Lennox Paul, had politely emailed all the parents and invited us to an informal meet and greet with him the night before his first day at the school.

So, of course, we were all eager beavers to get a glimpse of the new administrator and see what kind of principal our kiddos would be getting.

But as I said before, nearly anybody besides maybe Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer would be better than Otto Pickford.

Several vehicle doors closed behind us, followed by a “Hey!”.

Raina instantly spun around, her face lighting up when her boyfriend, Jagger McEvoy, made his way to catch up to us. He still had a slight limp after an incident earlier this year that had caused his knee to shatter, but he was moving faster and didn’t have a grimace on his bearded face anymore.

He looped an arm around my redheaded cousin and kissed the side of her head.

“You don’t have any kids,” Gabrielle said to him. “Why are you here?”

He jerked his head back and made a face of mild indignation.

“I have six nieces and nephews, and Marco is basically my stepson, and all your kids are basically my stepnieces and nephews. I’m heavily invested in who is going to help shape the great minds of tomorrow.

” He smirked, then whispered out of the side of his mouth, “I’m also hella curious. ”

His brothers were right behind us, and we all funneled into the school and made our way toward the gymnasium together.

The island was so small that I knew every face in the crowd. I waved at Julianne Millican, who was one of the women that co-owned Twisted Sister Cider. She sat with a couple of the other single moms who she owned the orchard and cidery with.

Danica waved at Cameron Arendelle, who co-owned Hardwood Distillery with three other single dads. His daughter Francesca was good friends with Danica’s daughter Sam, after bonding over their love of animals, particularly horses.

We managed to find four seats all together, but Jagger had to sit behind us with his brothers.

The last time all the parents congregated in the gym like this, Gabrielle’s daughter, Laurel, was one of several students reading an essay about someone they admired.

Obviously, Laurel wrote about her mother.

But then she went further to tell her mother that she needed to stop being stubborn and go to Maverick—since at that time, she and Maverick had broken up.

I glanced across Danica at Gabrielle. “This bringing back memories, Gabs?”

My cousin rolled her eyes. “You mean when my child and my cousins all announced to half the island that I needed to go chase down the man—fifteen years younger than me—who I was in love with, because I was stupid and let him go?”

Raina, Danica, all the McEvoys, and I said, “Yes,” at the same time.

Gabrielle smirked, and a gentleness entered her amber eyes. “Yeah, it is.”

The gym echoed with the sound of a hundred different conversations all at once. It was overstimulating, but when I glanced at my smartwatch, it said that the meeting with the new principal was going to start in two minutes.

A wave out of the corner of my eye pulled my attention.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Raina murmured beside me. “She doesn’t have any kids at this school.”

As if she heard Raina speak out of the side of her mouth, Jolene Dandy, also known as “The Island Mouth,” and a woman well into her seventies, stopped in front of us, even though we were three rows back from the front.

“Hi, Jolene,” Gabrielle said in her sweetest voice. “What brings you here?”

The old bird puffed up her chest a little in her green and blue patchwork jacket.

Her coppery-brown eyes were sharp, and while not unkind, held a level of arrogance—not confidence—that tended to rub a lot of people the wrong way.

“While I may not have children at the school any longer, I am a member of the Island Elders Council, as well as a concerned citizen. I would very much like to know who we have joining the island, the school, and therefore, in charge of the children’s education. ”

“A pinecone for a principal would be better than the yellow-mustached waste of skin we had before,” Jagger murmured behind us.

Jolene’s eyes went wide. “Well, let’s hope the new administrator is a bit more animated than a pinecone.”

She nodded to all of us, then went off to find a seat.

“That woman is …” I shook my head. “She’s something special, isn’t she?”

My daughter Honor’s teacher waved at me, and I waved back. She took a seat in a chair next to my son Austin’s teacher. The front row was obviously reserved for the instructors.

Without anything in the gymnasium changing, an odd hush fell over everyone, and the clunking sound of the big gym door from the vestibule echoed like a gong.

Heads all swiveled at the same time as a tall man in dark-wash jeans, a sky-blue polo, and two full sleeves of tattoos came confidently marching across the gym to stand in front of us.

His hair was dark, short, and nicely trimmed, and he had a scar extending up from his lip, which meant he was probably born with a cleft palate that was repaired as an infant.

But it was the gentleness and warmth in his brown eyes that really got me.

He smiled warmly at all of us as he took his place in front of a sea of curious parents.

“Welcome, everyone,” he boomed, his voice deep but not raspy. It was more like he was speaking all the way from his toes and using every molecule of oxygen in his lungs.

My chest clenched.

“Thank you so much for indulging me in this meeting. My name is Lennox Paul, and I will be the new principal at San Camanez Elementary. While I understand the circumstances of my predecessor’s departure are somewhat controversial, I’d rather not discuss or dwell on them at all.

I am here to facilitate the smoothest transition possible for you and your children. ”

Raina elbowed me. “He’s cute. On the young side, but cute.” She glanced past me and Danica toward Gabrielle. “You can give Nay pointers on how to bag a younger guy.”

Gabrielle simply flipped Raina the bird, then sat back in her seat.

“While I may look young to all of you, I want you to know that I am qualified not only to teach, but to be your children’s principal.

I have a bachelor’s degree in education from Florida State, as well as a master’s degree in special education from Georgia State.

I am also a father myself. I love children and understanding the different ways that they learn.

No two children—no two people—learn the same way, and it is up to us as administrators and educators to help each individual child reach their full potential by figuring out what makes them tick and absorb the information best. I have taught in both Florida and Georgia in elementary schools, and while this is my first role as a principal, I am very much ready and excited to take on this new challenge. ”

“Do you think he’s married?” Raina asked.

“Shhh,” Danica scolded, glaring at our youngest cousin.

Raina rolled her eyes.

I was barely paying attention to them; I was too … mesmerized by the handsome, articulate, educated man in front of us.

His gaze fell directly on me, and my cheeks grew warm. His smile only made them get hotter because it felt like he was smiling right at me. And only at me.

“I believe in full transparency and an open-door policy,” he went on.

“My door will always be open to you and your children. If I have to deal with certain behaviors, I will always bring in an impartial party to act as a witness—like an office administrator or another teacher. Your child will never be singled out or brought into a room without another adult present.”

“What a weird thing to say,” one of the McEvoys murmured. “I mean … that’s … good, I guess. But it’s also weird.”

A hand shot up in the crowd. “Why are you making that part of your campaign promise?” a parent I recognized asked. She and her husband owned a bed-and-breakfast on the north side of the island.

Lennox simply smiled. “I was made aware that my predecessor had a tendency to bring children into rooms without another adult present, shut the door, and threaten them.”

My cousins and I all exchanged knowing looks. Yeah, Otto had done just that to our children. Where did Lennox Paul get his information though?

“And I just want to let you all know that your children’s safety and well-being will always be my absolute number one priority.

They shouldn’t dread coming to school. They shouldn’t fear their principal.

” He snorted in a cute way. “My daughter, when she was younger, actually said that, ‘A principal is a prince who is your pal.’” Several parents chuckled.

“And while I have no royal blood, I do want your children to see me as a friend. As a safe adult they can trust. We will be implementing a soft start in the mornings as well. The bell may ring at eight-thirty, but as long as you get here, that’s what matters.

I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to get out the door on time sometimes.

Kids are … wonderfully, and annoyingly, unpredictable. Even if they thrive on routine.”

More chuckles in the gym.