Chapter 22
Reed
Even though we walked silently down the hall, I was consumed by Cienna’s presence next to mine. Her scent clung to me, her warmth emanated to me, and the sound of her heels as she walked. Turned. Me. On. So. Much.
Why?
We walked into a large room with young children singing on risers. Fuck, is Abi supposed to be here? I thought this was a parent-only thing. Shit.
Looking closer, I noticed the children were much older.
Phew. Surely, Cici would have mentioned it if she had noticed Abi missing tonight, right?
My sigh must have been audible, because Cici turned to me and whispered, “Enjoy.” With a coy smile over her shoulder, she walked toward the front of the room, leaving me standing there clueless and cringing.
As I scanned the room for an open seat, a familiar face waved at me and patted the seat next to hers.
I responded with a reserved smile, wishing I could pretend I hadn’t made eye contact with her so I could continue to search for an empty seat.
But no. She saw me. And as much as I hated to admit it, I needed to be on her good side.
Jill fucking Trumaine. I knew I’d run into her again at some point, but ugh. I waited for the singing to stop, and as parents emphatically applauded their kids, waving and blowing kisses, I reluctantly made my way to Jill. It took extreme effort to keep the resignation off my face.
As I slid by seated people to get to my spot, Cici’s voice filled the room. For a moment, my head snapped to the front where she stood. My body froze, captivated by her speaking, awkwardly keeping my ass right in some dude’s face.
After a throat cleared behind me, I finally kept moving.
My focus continued to ricochet between Cici and navigating down the row.
I had admired her earlier, in the classroom, and as we walked down the hall.
But her presence was something altogether different when she was dressed in her work clothes, her hair pinned professionally, standing confidently before everyone.
Her voice was assured, no sign of the sweet, meek woman who tapped on my shoulder at the bar months ago.
Just as I sat, she darted her eyes to me as if she’d felt my gaze.
“Hey, stranger.” Jill’s voice was syrupy-sweet as she rubbed my arm. I flinched internally as Cici’s eyes bounced back and forth between us, her posture giving nothing away. As quickly as if it didn’t happen, her focus shifted back to her audience.
With a plastered smile on my face, I nodded at Jill.
I should be appreciative of the distraction from Cici.
There was already a spot for her in my mind before I ran into her on the first day of school.
She was among the what-ifs I would occasionally spiral through.
But now… Now her presence had pulled that longing to the forefront of my mind, and that led to nothing good.
“Been a while since we had a studly PTA dad join us.” Jill tugged on my shirt and gave me a playful nudge before she turned her attention back to the front of the room. The word dad lingered and rubbed somewhere near my ribcage.
Cici bowed her head, graciousness written all over her face. “I’m honored to be your PTA chairperson and help guide your vision for this year as I represent our educators.”
Oh.
From my left, I heard a “pfft.” Jill leaned in close, nearly grazing my shoulder, and whispered, “No shock she’s a PTA chair.”
I could practically hear her condescending eye roll.
“She’s the principal’s favorite no matter what she does.
” She moved back into her own space, and I dropped my chin, trying to guard my reaction.
Irritation trickled through me, and I wanted to recoil from her breath still sticking to my neck.
I chose not to respond in hopes of negating the topic, but she leaned back in.
“Everyone knows she was put in this role to flash her around the board as the next candidate for principal.” Her scoff was extra breathy, making my stomach roll.
I hung my head under the guise of taking in her information. Guilt at not speaking up in Cici’s defense scratched in my chest, but I quietly cleared my throat and diverted my full attention back to the front of the room. Take a fucking hint, Jill.
“As your chair, I will not only be the voice of the teaching staff, but I will also be your support for getting you whatever you need. Within reason, Elaine.” She pointed at a woman in the front row whose hand had shot up, and laughed.
“We cannot have a dad auction night no matter how many times you petition for that.”
The crowd roared with laughter at her charisma—at how she shined. This was her domain, and I was taken by this version of her, proud of her, and holy hell, turned the fuck on by her. Her assuredness was sexy as hell. One hundred percent confidence boner.
“So with that, I want to welcome our PTA president to get this meeting officially started.”
With a pat on my knee, Jill rose from her seat and winked down at me before walking toward the front. Jill was the president. The one woman I wished I could avoid like the plague was the one woman I needed to be in good standing with.
Don’t get me wrong, Jill was hot. Smoking hot, honestly.
She had that recently divorced hunger in her eyes that could be both alluring and terrifying.
I was first subjected to her appetite when she greeted me on the first day of school to welcome me on behalf of the PTA.
As she showed me to Abigail’s classroom everyone we walked by waved, smiled, or stopped to compliment her on this or that.
It was obvious she carried clout here, and I’d have to stay in her good graces.
And with the level of flirtatiousness being thrown my way, I could guess what those good graces entailed.
Jill approached the podium like a reigning homecoming queen, gracing her court with her presence.
She was a few pageant smiles away from a parade wave.
Cienna passed the mic to her and walked to the side of the room.
She stood with her arms crossed, not in an uptight, off-putting position, but with a relaxed, attentive posture.
A loud chime sounded from my pocket, alerting me—and everyone else in the vicinity—that I had received a text.
I shot an apologetic look to those around me and glanced at Cienna.
We made eye contact, and I swallowed hard, then tore my gaze from hers to my phone screen, clicking the sound to mute. I’d read the text from my boss later.
As I closed my screen, Abi’s bright green eyes flashed in the background photo of her and Caroline.
Emotions briefly flooded me, but then I steeled myself once again.
Those green eyes were a reminder of why I was here.
Not to ogle a lost lust but to do whatever I needed to ensure Abi was where she should be. At this school. In her home. With me.
“Now, onto the new and exciting! Our first event of the school year, and I’m certain with all these eager faces, we will have some great ideas flowing tonight.
And with the help of Ms. Vilotta, I’m sure we will have a successful year.
” Jill turned her head to Cienna, her smile fading briefly.
Cienna smiled sweetly, either not noticing Jill’s change in expression or ignoring it.
Jill plastered on her pageant face once more and continued.
I tried my hardest, but I could only focus so much on the group’s discussion.
Thoughts of all sorts flooded my mind—Cienna staring up at me while we danced, Abi’s hand in mine as we walked to school on her first day, the warmth in Caroline’s smile the day she introduced me to my niece.
The terrifying thought of losing her to my parents.
The longing I felt when I was in Cienna’s presence, and the effect she had on me, even though, relatively speaking, we barely knew each other.
“It might seem cliché, but what about a daddy-daughter dance?” a voice from the crowd suggested.
My thoughts strayed to Caroline and heartbreaking memories from years back.
Then to Abi. Fatherless. Always. She would feel left out, and that broke my heart.
The same feeling would hit on Mother’s Day, and I had to push down the swelling in my throat that threatened to choke me.
Without any forethought, I cleared my throat and spoke out of turn as I stood.
“The idea of a dance is really nice, but I want to point out that not every child has a ‘daddy.’” I used air quotes to emphasize this term.
“That kind of leaves some heartbroken kids left out, don’t you think?
” There were no nods. No hums. Awkward silence rang out instead.
Of course. These families were whole. At least outwardly.
Feet shifting uncomfortably, I was about to sit back down, when Cici’s voice filled the silence.
“Some of you might remember that last year during Mother’s Day, the teachers were encouraged to use the phrase ‘Special Person’s Day’ in order to be inclusive of diverse families.
” She turned her attention to Jill, who blinked a few times, then nodded back.
Turning back to us, Cienna captured her audience. “I think Mr. Marsh brings up an important point, and perhaps this is an opportunity to introduce this way of celebrating family members.”
She had me fixated on her every word, every move. Her hands didn’t fiddle the way they had so many times when we met. Her smile was genuine, and her words held conviction. She glanced my way, and I swallowed and held her gaze.
“Well, Ms. Vilotta, it seems that you and Mr. Marsh are on the same wavelength with this idea.” As poised as Jill’s voice was, her lips puckered as if her words were sour. “I’d like to suggest that the two of you chair this first event. We’d love a male presence on the PTA board.”
I had barely let my attention veer to acknowledge Jill before it snapped right back to Cici.
Her face was neutral, but her cheeks pinkened and her lower lip sunk in a tiny bit.
Getting the slightest reaction from her kicked something up inside me, making my heart race.
I let my lips form a smile in her direction, then turned back to Jill, inclining my chin. “Sure.”
Cienna was quiet until Jill turned back to her, waiting for her response. She nodded slowly and repeated my sentiment. “Sure.” Then she pulled her shoulders back. “I mean, yes, of course.”