Chapter 8
Luca’s bright eyes swept from Shomari’s face back to Lizette’s while she tried to get her bearings. Now, if only her heart would behave and stop imitating the speed of a runaway train.
Emily, who walked into the lab behind Luca, swallowed a smile and looked away.
Lizette couldn’t blame her. She probably looked the same way she felt, like a wild animal about to be run over by a speeding vehicle.
On her way past Luca, she rubbed his head.
“No, I wasn’t kissing him. I was falling, and he helped me stay on my feet. ”
His gaze turned suspicious, but he said, “Okay.”
Thankfully, Emily intervened. “Remember, you wanted to ask Uncle Shomari a question.”
“Yes.” He waved while Lizette hurried to the door. “Bye, Auntie.”
Glad to escape, she went straight to her office.
Luca was a darling, but prone to asking awkward questions.
His mom, Regina, and Zack were engaged six months after they met when he was overseeing the daycare while Lizette was away at a workshop.
Luca was back with her for the holidays since his mom ran a catering business, and this was her busy season.
Behind the desk, Lizette called Miss Whorms to figure out a new date and time for their meeting.
At the end of the call, she was still unsatisfied because the consultant would not commit to meeting this week.
Sighing, Lizette rose from the seat. What was she going to do?
Applying to run a school required a substantial amount of paperwork, which she couldn’t bring herself to sit still long enough to complete while managing Wintertime.
Besides, she despised filling out forms. She tugged at one of her twists and paced the room, plotting her next move.
She’d have to find someone else to assist with the process.
She closed the door because if she left it open, the little ones tended to wander in to say hello.
Having resigned herself to what only she could do, she opened the filing cabinet and pulled out the paperwork she needed. Time crept by, and she was absorbed in studying the proposal she’d started when someone tapped at the door.
“Come.”
Shomari stepped inside and approached the desk. “You didn’t give me a schedule, so I came to ask about the next session.”
Pointing to the seat, she said, “How did this one go?”
His ready grin startled her, and she reached for a pen which she spun between her fingers. Only the greatest restraint prevented her from licking her lips at the memory of their almost-kiss. The cotton candy in her brain cleared when he answered.
“It was interesting.” He raised both eyebrows and chuckled. “They really are sponges and soak up everything you give them. And they never stop asking questions.”
“Wait until your daughter gets to that stage.”
“Natanya isn’t talkative. Not yet, anyway.”
Her gaze fell to the sheets in front of her, and Lizette released a little sigh.
“I haven’t had time to type up the schedule for you as yet.
” She replaced another pen that her hand had displaced from the side of the desk.
“There’s a progress form I’ll ask you to complete for each child.
You can fill those in until it’s time for the next session, which is in roughly forty-five minutes. ”
“Why so long between sessions?”
“We clean and disinfect for each new group.” She grimaced playfully. “And it gives you a chance to complete the forms and regroup.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
When she looked at the desk and sighed a second time, he frowned and then asked, “Is it my imagination, or are you stressing a little bit?”
“You guessed right.”
Pointing to the scattered papers, he said, “What’s the issue?”
“There’s a project document I must complete.”
She might have imagined it, but Shomari’s eyes brightened as he sat forward. “What kind?”
“For Wintertime. I want to expand it into a prep school.”
His slow smile and continuous nod reminded her of Zack’s reaction when he approved of something she did. “So, back to your problem. What is it?”
“I’ve been trying to meet with a consultant to get me on track. There’s data I need to present to the Ministry of Education, but it’s like trying to hit a moving target to settle on a time and date with her.”
“Is there an overview of what you need to present?”
When she said yes, he held out one hand. “Do you mind me taking a look?”
“Not at all.” She handed him the file and moved on to scan an email on her laptop. From time to time, her gaze strayed to him. While reading, he sometimes frowned and spoke under his breath—all of this, while she wondered why it seemed their earlier close contact hadn’t affected him.
Shomari startled her when he spoke. “I can help with this.”
Intrigued, she asked, “Really?”
“Yes, ma’am, this is one of the things I’m good at, preparing project documents and such. I used to help my sister during the summers. Preparing business plans and helping people to apply for loans, et cetera, is what my sister does for a living.”
As a realist, Lizette figured when something was too good to believe, it usually was, but right now she was so over the business of tracking down an unreliable consultant that she’d take help where she found it.
“Okay. What do I need to do?”
“First, do you have the guidelines the education ministry requires?”
“It’s at the back end of what you’re holding.”
“And do you have the document you started working on?”
His quiet assurance boosted her morale and she quickly found and opened the file, then spun the laptop toward him. “It’s on the screen.”
While he scanned the list of conditions to be fulfilled, Lizette kept her gaze on him.
If he were as capable as the twins said, then she might be in luck.
Nobody knew more than she did how much help she needed.
If she didn’t submit the proposal by year-end, the education ministry wouldn’t be able to review and approve it in time for her to start operations by next year’s Christmas term.
“Okay, so let’s do the requirements in the same order as the ministry document, you agree?”
“Fine by me.”
He reached across the desk to hand her the file. “You’re going to read the headings, starting with the compliance requirements.”
“You’re a bit bossy,” she said, looking up from the page.
“So I’ve been told,” he quipped. “Now get on with it.”
She laughed, then did what he asked. They fell into a rhythm until he entered all the necessary information.
After that, he continued tapping away at the keyboard while she left him for a quick tour of the building, which she did several times each day.
After her walk, she returned to the office while Shomari was in the middle of a phone call.
“I’m at work and cannot leave in the middle of the day.” Shomari tipped his head back and rubbed his forehead. “Frankly, I don’t care what you want. You should have thought of that when you went out of town and forgot about our daughter.”
Lizette didn’t know whether to stay or leave, but decided on her next move the moment Shomari shifted in the seat and saw her. His frown dissolved into an unreadable expression as she walked to the desk.
“This ends right now,” He said through his teeth. “I’ll call you at lunchtime.”
He listened while someone with a shrill tone continued speaking, then snapped, “That’s your choice.”
“Everything okay?” she asked in the awkward silence while she slid into her seat.
“Not quite, but my issues will work themselves out.” He stood and motioned to the laptop. “I went ahead and put some material in based on what I read and the little I know of Wintertime. You can fill in what I missed, and I’ll come back after my next session, if that’s okay.”
“That works … and thank you, since you don’t have to do this.”
When he smiled, Lizette was glad she was seated. A shiver ran through her body that would have surprised her on another day, but not this one, since she’d had the same reaction when his lips brushed hers earlier. The man packed a powerful punch, and he wasn’t even trying.
“If you give me the assessment sheets for the kids, I’ll get those done,” Shomari said, on standing.
She handed him a file from the desk, but didn’t release it when he held it.
“Thanks again.” She released the folder and added, “I really appreciate your help.”
His lips curled at one corner, and his deep-hazel irises darkened. “I appreciate you more.”
Shomari crossed to the door, started to speak, then changed his mind.
Their gazes locked, and the pulse at her throat fluttered and then kicked into a heavy drum beat until he cleared his throat. “Catch you later.”
She nodded, but couldn’t muster a word in response.