Shadowing the Teacher (Perfect Pairs Book 3) Read Free Page A

thanks, Travis.”
    He picked up a glass bottle of Pepsi, twisted the lid, and poured her a drink in the tall tumbler. “Laura and Ash are out the back with my sisters if you were wanting to catch up with them?”
    Sam’s belly fluttered with excitement as she thanked Travis for the drink and took the few steps outside and into the fresh air. Summer smells of flowers and trees surrounded her. She closed her eyes and tilted her face up into the sun.
    The heat spread over her skin, light filling up her insides and calming her down. She’d been worried about what would happen today, that she’d be pushed into meeting people who wouldn't accept her or love her as her own family did, but she shouldn't have worried. This was her family.
    “Sam! Sam!”
    Samantha opened her eyes and looked towards the female voices calling her name.
    “Hey!” She bounced down the stairs and ran straight for her cousins. Laura’s belly was round and protruding, and so beautiful it made her heart clench with envy. Sam wrapped her arms around Laura’s shoulders, careful of not squashing the baby bump. “Just beautiful.” She rubbed Laura’s hard belly and smiled at her cousin.
    “It's so good to see you Sam! I was so upset we couldn’t make it last night.”
    Sam tilted her head at Laura, noticing the grey tinge to her cousin’s skin. “Ashleigh said you guys were sick?”
    Laura nodded and took a sip of her water. “Yeah, Brandon brought some sort of gastro bug home from his work, and Tyler and I were really sick for the past few days. We’re better now, but I didn’t feel quite up to everything last night.”
    “I can imagine.” Sam agreed, nodding her head wholeheartedly. She could justify missing a wedding when you were vomiting, but she couldn’t actually imagine being pregnant and sick. She was jealous of Laura’s big belly, she had to admit. She’d wanted a baby for as long as she could remember, but the man had to come first.
    “So, anyone special in your life, Sam?” Ash asked from beside Laura.
    Sam took a long sip of the cold drink she held and swallowed with relish. She hadn't realized she was so thirsty.
    “Nothing to report on yet.” And that was technically true, although not wholly so. She didn’t know why she was avoiding the questions about her love life, but it probably came down to the fact that she didn’t want to answer the questions as to why she hadn’t brought him with her.
    “But everything else is good with you?” Laura asked, rubbing her belly again in a hypnotic way that made Sam want to reach out and mimic the movement.
    “Yeah, everything’s great really. Work’s good. I’ve just bought a house actually.”
    “Fantastic.” Her two married cousins chirped at her, and Sam struggled to pull a smile up on her face. Despite the advances in her own life, new house, great career, awesome friends, she was slowly being left behind, but she didn’t want to just settle for anyone. She wanted to find true love to pair up, but her need for a family and love was beginning to gnaw at her.
    Someone called out Ash’s name, and she looked up towards the house, waving at them frantically. “Oh, my mother-in-law’s here. I better rush. I’ll see you guys later on.”
    Sam nodded and kissed her newly married cousin, Ash hurrying away. There was a warm glow around the woman Sam had never seen look anything but lackluster.
    “I never thought I’d see the day Ashleigh looked that happy.”
    Laura sighed beside her. “Me neither. It’s so good. So … come sit down and tell me more about everything.”
    Sam laughed as she was led to a cluster of chairs and began regaling Laura with stories of her students, her parents, and her string of failed dates. It wasn’t a marriage to two men, a massive property, and a baby on the way. But her life still made her happy.
    ****
    Reid looked down at his trembling, pale hands, barely recognizing the implements that used to help him build homes. They stood outside