The Back-Up Plan Read Free Page A

words were all that sputtered out of her mouth.
    “You were expecting someone about this tall.” He indicated the middle of his impossibly wide chest. “Gray hair, maybe?”
    Certain his amused state resulted from her gaping mouth, Donna snapped it shut. She had to say something. But what? “I’m sorry,” she replied wanly. “I thought that...that you were a woman.”
    “Well...” He grinned rather wickedly now. “Last time I checked I was definitely a man.”
    Her cheeks were on fire with embarrassment and no small amount of frustration. “I just assumed a kindergarten teacher would be a woman,” she defended.
    “No one told you otherwise?” The urge to laugh out loud was written all over his handsome face.
    “She didn’t—I mean...I had no idea.” Flustered, she felt like giving herself a bop upside the head for behaving like a school girl herself. No, no, on second thought, if anybody deserved to be bopped, it was Patty. They would be talking…soon.
    Dear sister Patty had some serious explaining to do. Not only had she not mentioned his being a man, Melissa hadn’t mentioned it, either. How—better yet, why—had it been kept a secret? Donna had a sneaking suspicion she would not like the answer.
    Hank Bradley’s big hand reached for the one she’d failed to extend. Before she could sidestep the gesture, long fingers curled around hers. Like last night, his touch prompted a startling tingle that licked a path up her arm and tipped her completely off balance.
    The clamoring voices of the children snapped her back to attention. She summoned her best attempt at a professional bearing and opted to start over. “I’m Donna Jacobs. Melissa’s mother.”
    “Ah, so that’s your name. And all this time I thought it’d be Cinderella.”
    He flashed another of those devastating smiles and she felt her knees go weak. He gave her hand a final squeeze before letting go. Did this man have any idea how sexy he was? Whoa! Get a grip. This guy was so not her type. Besides, he was Melissa’s teacher.
    Oh, God, this man is your daughter’s teacher .
    “Was there something I could do for you this morning, Ms. Jacobs?”
    She forced her eyes to focus on his, despite the havoc those baby blues played with her equilibrium. “I’m here about the discipline slip.”
    “I see.” He glanced in the direction of the restless children and then back to her. “Just give me a minute to get the kids started on something.”
    “Of course.” She managed a tight smile.
    “Just don’t take off on me,” he called over one broad shoulder as he strode across the room.
    A new flush of embarrassment rushed up her throat and across her cheeks. What in the world? She hadn’t reacted like this to a good-looking man since...she couldn’t even remember when. But then extreme stress often caused uncharacteristic behavior. Pressure and stress had been her constant companions for the last six months.
    No matter the reason, she had to be getting pretty desperate to be attracted to a man who personified the term jock. You couldn’t trust them as far as you could throw them. This one would be no different. And this one, unfortunately, was in a position to have a great deal of influence on the most important person in her life—her child. This was not good.
    Maybe that was prejudiced of her but she had her reasons.
    She watched, still half in denial, as the man handed out colorful, wooden puzzles to his little students. He patiently answered the barrage of questions fired at him. When can we go outside? Is it time for lunch yet? Do we have to do our ABC’s today?
    Donna tried again to shake the disbelief as she drifted in the direction of his desk. This was too weird. Whoever heard of a kindergarten teacher like this? The man looked like the jolly green giant next to the five-year-olds. Only he wasn’t green, he was...gorgeous.
    He swaggered back to where she waited and she was helpless to look away. How could simply walking across