II

Allie’s [POV]

I tried not to roll my eyes. “Of course, you would notice that. And just because someone isn’t wearing a wedding ring, it doesn’t mean that they’re not married.”

“I got the distinct feeling that he wasn’t, though.” She sighed. “Not that you want to get involved with a man who has a child. That’s a whole Pandora’s box that’s probably better left untouched.”

“Kind of ironic coming from someone who did exactly that,” I said, though of course she had a point. If she had never gotten involved with Bill, he never would have tried to come into my bedroom when I was a teenager.

“Allie, I don’t want you to think I’m not supportive of your decisions,” Mom said. “It’s just that I can’t help but worry about you alone up here. I mean, you’re living in a house all by yourself! What if you need help with something?”

“Like what? Opening a jar of pickles? I lived alone when I was in Boston, too, Mom, and I somehow managed just fine.” It was when I was living with her and Bill that things weren’t so great, but I didn’t bring that up.

“So what have you got planned, other than work?” my mother asked. “Not that there’s much to do around here.”

“Well, work is a pretty big one,” I said. “I definitely want to get settled into my job, and I’ll probably do a little exploring. I need to set up some appointments once my insurance goes through. I haven’t been to the dentist in like a year.”

“You’ve got good teeth. Do you floss?”

“Yes.”

“That’s more important than brushing, you know.”

“It is?”

“Absolutely. Especially as you get older. Just ask your dentist. He’ll tell you I’m right.”

“I need to make an appointment for a physical, too.”

“That’s a good idea. You definitely want to take care of your health. When was the last time you had an annual? That’s probably even more important than the dentist, you know.”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “They both seem pretty important.”

“Well. It’s more important once you’ve become sexually active...” My mother let the sentence die off, waiting to see if I would confirm or deny anything.

“Still not,” I said. “And still don’t feel like having this conversation with you, either.”

Ever since I’d turned 18 (I guess the age that my mother had decided a girl should have lost her virginity by), my mom had been pestering me about the fact that I still had not had sex. At first, it had been something like a joke, something she gave me a good-natured hard time over, but now it seemed more as though she was actually concerned.

She squinted at me. “You’re getting a little old, aren’t you, Allie? There aren’t many 24-year-old virgins left in the world, you know.”

“I haven’t met the right guy, I guess.” I decided not to mention that for the past couple of days, it had been burning when I peed. Dr. Google was telling me that it was probably a urinary tract infection, but if that was the case, I would likely need a prescription for an antibiotic.

My mother gave me a grim look. “Well, other than your neighbor over there, I wouldn’t say you’re going to have that many prospects around here.”

I was a little nervous about my first day at the Learning Center, though not as nervous as I’d been at some of my other jobs. I’d had a phone interview with Becca, the executive director, and then I’d driven up for two days to meet with the Kris, the lead teacher, and Amy, the other teacher, a short girl with thick brown hair and pretty blue eyes. They were regular, down-to-earth people who really enjoyed their work, and that made me feel at ease. The kids were all great, too, and I was looking forward to getting to know them.

The center had big windows, wide hallways, and white walls covered with student artwork. That was one of my favorite parts of working with kids this age—their imaginations were so great.

I was across the room, reading a story to a small group of girls when I saw Cole dropping off Declan. He was talking with Kris, but he looked right at me and gave a little nod. I looked back down at the book without acknowledging him, though Declan came bounding over and wriggled his way onto my lap. When I looked back over to the entrance, Cole was gone.

The first day passed quickly, as first days often do. I’d been hired as a teacher, though for today, I played more the role of assistant and observed the routines, tried to learn all the kids’ names, helped with setting up activities, and then cleaned up after them. Summer would be starting soon, but most, if not all, of the kids would be returning for the summer program.

“So how do you think your first day went?” Amy asked that afternoon, once all the kids had been picked up. We were going around the classroom, making sure there were no blocks, LEGOs, or MagnaTiles that hadn’t been put away.

“It went pretty smoothly,” I said. “Everyone here is great.”

“You did awesome,” she said. “I’m so psyched that you’re working here. Don’t get me wrong—I think the world of Becca and Kris—but it’s nice to have someone closer to my age. How old are you?”

“I’m 24.”

She grinned. “Me too! You didn’t grow up around here, though, did you?”

“No, I grew up in Boston.”

She widened her eyes. “Oh, the city! I knew it. I could just tell that you weren’t from one of these small towns. And I totally mean that as a compliment.”

I could just see my mother smirking as if she had been there to overhear that comment.

“Well, thank you,” I said. “Though I moved here because I really needed to get away from the city. And you know what? I like it a lot so far.”

“It gets kind of boring. I should know—I’ve lived here my whole life. But...” She paused, grinning. “I heard you live near one of our students. Declan told me the other day. He’s very chatty and couldn’t wait to tell us that he and his dad lived next to the newest teacher here.”

“He’s adorable,” I said. “I met him the other day. He’s my next-door neighbor.”

The grin widened. “So you’ve seen Cole, then.” I could tell by the sparkle in those blue eyes of hers that she had a thing for him.

“Yeah,” I said. “He seems nice, too.”

“I wouldn’t talk about this if Becca or Kris were around, and I know it’s wicked unprofessional, but I think Cole is just gorgeous. And if you think it’s wrong of me to think so, just tell me, and I won’t keep talking about it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with thinking someone’s hot,” I said. “I’m certainly not going to tell you otherwise.”

“So... What’s it like being his neighbor? Is he, like, out there mowing his lawn without his shirt on?”

“I’ve only talked to him that one time, actually,” I said. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“I bet you’ll have plenty more opportunities to talk to him! I’ve bumped into him in town and stuff before.”

“So…there’s no girlfriend or anything? Declan’s mom?”

Amy shook her head. “No. And you know, I’ve heard a couple of different things about what happened there; I’ve never asked him about it, obviously. That would be so weird, like, Hi, you’re here to pick up Declan, but before I let you sign him out, why don’t you tell me what the story is with his mother?” She giggled. “Talk about awkward!”

“What are some of the things you heard?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Hmm, let’s see. I heard that Declan’s mother cheated on Cole a bunch, but she was the love of his life, so he kept taking her back, and then she finally ran off with this guy, another doctor, but older. I’ve heard different variations of that one from a couple of people. I also heard that his super well-off parents didn’t like the mom because she was from a working-class family, so after she had the baby, they basically paid her off.”

I frowned. “That’s terrible. And hopefully not true.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I believe that one. It sounds like such a soap opera or something! But it is a little weird, don’t you think? That it’s just him?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shrugging. “It’s not that weird. The single parent thing is pretty common.”

“I just mean that a guy that good-looking, you’d think he’d be with someone.”

“Just because you’re good-looking doesn’t mean you’re not a complete asshole,” I said. Amy had a slightly horrified look on her face. “I’m not saying that he’s an asshole,” I added quickly. “From what I know, he seems pretty nice. I’m just saying that being good-looking doesn’t mean you’re always going to be with someone. That’s all.”

“Right,” she said, though she gave me a funny look like she thought maybe I didn’t know what I was talking about after all.