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“I’m Rylan’s father, Tanner Green.” A man’s large hand engulfed mine with a firm grip.

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My eyes were drawn to the scruff lining his jaw. Then to his blue eyes brought out by the soft blue-checked flannel shirt he wore rolled up, revealing strong forearms with a light dusting of hair. His shirt hung open over a gray Henley he paired with dark wash jeans. His clothes did nothing to hide his defined chest, straining biceps, and muscular thighs. Everything about this man was large and sexy. I swallowed, trying to focus on his words and not the fact that I was drawn to this man physically. Rylan … right. The latest addition to the six-thirty p.m. ballet class—the sweet blonde who wore black instead of a pink leotard and no tutu. “Sadie Cole. Nice to meet you, Mr. Green.”

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It wasn’t my imagination that he stiffened when I’d said my name. For the first time in a long time, I was attracted to someone, but it was always the same—my reputation in this town preceded me. He knew how I was fired from my last job, about that incident in high school, or that our family was trouble in general.

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Tanner squatted down to be level with Rylan. “Can you play with Zoe for a minute so I can talk to your teacher?”

 

My heart squeezed at the sweet way he’d gone to his daughter’s level to speak to her at the same time my stomach dropped. Here it is. He was going to tell me how he couldn’t trust me around his daughter or some other nonsense. No one had told me that to my face, but I’d heard comments in the waiting room—what was Kristen thinking allowing Sadie to work with little kids? As if what happened when I was a younger meant I was bad influence.

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“Okay, Daddy.” Rylan smiled before running over to Zoe.

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Tanner rose to his full height. “Sorry, I don’t want to keep you.”

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When his warm blue eyes settled on me, I burned hot wondering if he’d ask for a refund or to transfer Rylan to another class—one where I wasn’t the teacher.

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“It’s fine.” But I was hungry and wanted to go home, even though home wasn’t much of a sanctuary for me.

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“Rylan’s mother signed her up for these classes.” He paused and I knew there was a bigger issue when his forehead wrinkled. “But Rylan doesn’t like them.”

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“She seemed okay in class.” I racked my brain to determine if I’d missed something. I tried hard to engage the girls and I was pretty good at figuring out which ones were shy, reluctant, outgoing, or didn’t want to be there.

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“On the way here, she complained that she didn’t want to come.” He looked around presumably to make sure no one was listening and lowered his voice. “She hates princesses and those fluffy skirt things the other girls wear.”

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I smiled at this large masculine man trying to describe pink tulle. “You mean, tutus?”

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Tanner nodded. “Her mother, Bree, wants her to be a dancer because she was.”

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That wasn’t uncommon. Lots of moms signed their daughters up for dance because they’d enjoyed it as a child. “This isn’t a princess class, but there’s usually an element of princesses in all of the beginner classes. Most girls enjoy it.”

I chewed my lip looking at Rylan in her black leotard and thought about how she’d closed her eyes when the music started and moved her body to the beat. “Maybe she’d be happier in the hip-hop class? She seemed to enjoy music and dancing to the beat.”

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His lips curled up. “I’d be willing to try it out.”

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My heart fluttered from the combination of his smile and his desire to ensure his daughter was happy. “Let me check the schedule.” I moved over to the front counter pulling up the computer calendar Kristen kept, happy to discover there was one spot available. “The only opening is on Tuesdays.”

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“Does someone else teach it?”

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I stiffened. “I’m the only hip-hop teacher.”

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Tanner studied me carefully as if he was uncertain about something. He glanced over at Rylan who was still playing with Zoe. “Okay.”

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