by Laura Ann
“Oh honey, we’ve gained some major eye candy this year.”
Piper snorted and covered her mouth. The rest of the teachers at the table were also snickering.
“I’m sure there is more to them than just their looks.” A sweet voice floated through the group.
Leave it to precious, little Charlotte. She was the sweetest person Piper had ever met. With white blonde hair and blue eyes, she exuded a sweet elegance that drew in people like bees to nectar.
“Maybe so,” Rory answered, “but I wouldn’t mind a little hands-on experimentation.” She grinned coyly.
Laughter floated around the table. Piper shook her head. Rory was always saying outrageous things. She told Piper it was her experiment in human relations, saying anything and everything that hit her mind, no filter attached. She claimed you could tell a lot about people by how they responded to her comments.
“Oh Nash! You’re so funny!” A high, tinkling laugh broke through the noise of the room.
Piper snapped her head towards the sound. There sat Miranda, her chair scooted closer than appropriate at Nash’s side. With her hand resting on his forearm, she was smiling widely, showing off her pearly whites.
For his part, Nash didn’t look amused or interested. He stared straight ahead, his elbows resting on the table as he continued to chew his sandwich. Turning his head, his eyes locked onto Piper.
Silently gasping, his gaze held her captive. He seemed to see her very soul and instead of screaming for release, her heart tried to pound in his direction, pulling her unwillingly to him.
She sucked in a shaky breath when he turned back around to Miranda, who was caressing his arm and speaking to him. Piper scowled at the display, but immediately berated herself. He’s a caveman. Why would I care if he got together with Miss Perfect Legs?
She had to stifle a giggle, however, when Nash grunted at Miranda and went back to eating his sandwich. He seemed completely unmoved by her forwardness. Piper quickly turned back to lunch in order to hide her grin.
Looking up, she realized the whole table of women were staring at her. “What?” She mumbled, her mouth full of food.
“That man looked like he wanted to eat you alive!” Rory whispered. “In a good way!”
A table of heads nodded in agreement.
“What? You guys are crazy,” Piper replied.
Lucy leaned in close. “Deny it all you want, but every single one of us saw him give you the predatory eye.”
“That is ridiculous,” Piper whispered back. “I delivered books to him just this morning and the guy was a total scumbag. The only word he said the whole time was ‘short,’ making fun of my height. The rest of the time he just grunted. Those are not the actions of a man who finds me attractive.”
“Got under your skin, huh?” Rory smirked.
Piper glared, but Rory’s smile only widened.
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