“The last day of summer vacation always sucks the most.” Adam Pallas rubbed his temples and stared at the paperwork before him. Each year he taught six sections of world history to the tenth-grade students, with one period of study hall or parking lot duty in the afternoon. Six sections worked fine for him. Three periods of classes in the morning, lunch, one class, a break, then two more. Easy.

The more he stared at the paperwork, the more his stomach lurched. Seven sections. No breaks. Did that make him a wuss, not wanting to teach all of them? Or simply overwhelmed? Usually he tackled the school year head on and dove into the thrills of world history. Maybe it was the changing of the leaves or the chill in the air. Or the fact that his dream girl had married someone else over the summer break that had fucked up his mood.

He stared off into space and let his mind wander to Tessa. All the times he’d tried, the chances he’d taken to ask her out, and for what? Nothing. Part of him still wasn’t happy she’d paired up with Graig Case. What does he have that I don't? Okay, so he was taller by a little and an athlete. He had blue eyes. What was it about women and blue-eyed men? He grumbled to himself. So he didn’t have blue eyes and wasn’t tall and muscled. He had strength in his body.

He sighed and opened his eyes. Although he wanted to hate her for choosing someone else, he didn’t. She had to follow her heart. If that meant Graig, then good for her. He’d never forget the way she’d smile at him or how they’d talk together after the staff meetings. He still liked her curves and admired her sense of stick-to-it-ness. But that didn’t mean she had to choose Graig.

She could’ve given Adam a chance.

He toyed with the papers in front of him. Did he regret chasing Tessa? Yes and no. Yes because he’d wasted time he could’ve used to pursue someone who might have cared about him. Well, no. Tessa cared. She just wasn’t interested in anything above a platonic relationship. But he didn’t regret putting himself out there. He’d been so damn shy most of his life. To step out and admit he liked someone was not his style. The fear used to eat him alive. He didn’t want to be a bachelor for the rest of his life. Settling down with a sweet girl and buying a house were his ideals for his future.

But he’d need a woman first. Right?

Did he need someone in his life to make him complete? Tessa certainly hadn’t been interested in the job. Would anyone else be?

The more he thought about his relationship situation, the more he wished he hadn’t given in to the angst so much. He snorted. Screw it. He didn’t need a woman or a house to be happy and he could definitely handle seven sections of history. So he’d only planned on six and only written up enough lessons for those six. He’d manage like he did with everything else.

Footsteps clunked on the industrial-grade tile. Adam glanced up from the papers on his desk. Melissa Murphy, English teacher and all-around good person, folded her arms and perched on the back of one of the chairs in the front row. Man, I would have liked to have had her for a student.

He gulped. What a thing to think! Christ. She was about his age and besides, she wasn’t interested in him. She liked men like Kevin McCombs. Hell, the last he knew she was still seeing Kevin. Adam gritted his teeth. Thinking about Kevin annoyed him. Kevin strutted around the school buildings and acted as if he owned the place. So the guy had done a stint on the school board…so what? He hadn’t been re-elected. Most of his proposals had been tossed out and the teachers’ association didn’t appreciate his pushy style. The good lord knew Adam wasn’t a fan of Kevin’s aggressiveness.

“I hear you’re stressed. Too much work?” She nodded to the stack of papers. “Can’t handle a full day?”

“I can.” He bit back a smile. He loved talking to Melissa. She perked him up when the rest of the world seemed to ignore him. If he were honest with himself, he looked forward to talking to her almost more than he had when he’d met up with Tessa. “I’ll rise to the occasion.”

“I’m sure you will.” She slid onto the seat as if she were one of his students. “I can see it in your eyes. You’re freaked out.” She waved her hand. “It’s nothing. You’re a pro.”

“I’ll do it.” He didn’t have much choice. He had a job and a contract ensuring he’d do it right.

“When I get really stressed, like this, I go for a run. We’ve got some time until the meeting. Why don’t we go for a run on the track? The football team’s out there, but they won’t care. What do you say?”

He’d always liked and respected her. He couldn’t turn down a chance to spend time with her, to reduce stress and feel better. Besides, if Tessa had moved on, then so could he.

“What do you say?” She tipped her head to the side.

“I say, heck yeah.” He tapped the papers together. He’d worry about the extra section later. So what if he’d have to make a few more copies and hunt down more textbooks? One of the other teachers would have them. “Let me peek into Kristin’s class and nab my books and we’ll go.”

“Sure.” She stood. “I’ll help.”

She’d help? “Cool.” His hands shook. He’d never been good with women. Talking to Melissa was just as easy as talking to Tessa. Melissa could joke with him and insult him, but he didn’t feel the sting of her words. Her jabs were meant to make him feel better. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. He’d spent plenty of time with her, but never so much a one-on-one situation. Being beside her, he smelled her perfume, or was it the scent of her shampoo? He’d better not lean in to check or she’d smack him.

He strolled through his classroom and out into the corridor. He’d finally made it to the history wing of the building. Being in the English hall had been fine, but if he needed to talk to another teacher, he had to go across the building. Now he just had to traverse the hallway.

With Melissa at his side, he knocked on Kristin’s door. “Hey, stranger. Now I understand why you offered me those books.”

Kristin nodded and didn’t look up from her papers. “Yeah.” She pointed across the room. “Over there. I boxed them.” Finally, she tore her attention from the typed pages. “I have no idea why, but Dennis gave me parking lot duty. Me? I haven’t done an extra like this in years.” A lock of her silvery blonde hair slipped from her clip. “I can use the break, though. I understand why you liked it so much. Hi, Missy.”

“Hi.” She waved her fingers, then picked up one of the boxes. “I’d guess Denny wanted to give you that break. You’ve got, what, three years until retirement?”

“Two.” Kristin scooted her chair and rounded the desk. “There are three boxes.” She handed Adam a binder. “This has all my notes in it. I don’t have any tenth graders this year, so if it helps, then more power to you. Valorie never shared her stuff with me when I was a young buck and I swore I’d never do that to another teacher.”

“Thanks.” Gee. Everyone wants to help. Adam picked up the second box. “I appreciate it. I’ll be back for the third one in a bit.”

“I’ll bring it down before I go.” She shooed him from the room. “Go have fun with Missy.”

“Kristin,” Melissa scolded. “We were going to run.” She soft-punched Adam on the arm. “I’ve got to whip this boy into shape. If he’s going to run with me, he’s going to get a workout.”

“Yeah.” All of a sudden, he felt silly and at a loss for words. A workout? Whip into shape? Damn. Would she actually kick his butt? Possible. She might look soft, but she had some serious strength in that small package.

He followed Melissa back to his classroom. Christ. Why had he lost his nerve? Because he liked her. Melissa Murphy was the attainable but sophisticated teacher all the kids both loved and hated. She knew how to be stern but still care about her students. She reminded him of Tessa, but darker-haired and more athletic. His feelings for Tessa were still there, but for the first time in a long time, he felt something new—hope. Not that Tessa would give up on her marriage and realize she belonged with him, but hope he’d turned the corner and could move on.

Possibly with Melissa.

“She’s called me Missy since I was a student here.” Melissa placed the box on Adam’s desk. “I’m going to change. Meet you at the track in fifteen?”

“Sounds good.” He watched her walk out of the room. Thank God he had his track suit in the car—just in case he ever wanted to go for a run. Maybe his luck had changed. He nodded. New year, new chances. Just what he needed. Time to forget the regrets of his past and make a new trail for the future. Right? He stopped in his tracks. Shit. He glanced down at his slight paunch. He hadn’t run in over four months and Melissa hadn’t been kidding. He’d gone soft.

Fifteen minutes and a wardrobe change later as he’d promised, Adam made his way through the back of the building and across the small courtyard to the edge of the running track. Melissa was waiting for him. The black spandex she wore curved around her body like a second skin. The bright pink splashed across her chest grabbed his attention. When the hell did she become so endowed? He mentally kicked himself. Duh. She’d been a curvy woman all along, but he hadn’t noticed. He could fall in love with a woman like Melissa.

Adam stood beside her and went through his battery of stretches. He couldn’t help but watch her flex and bend next to him. Would she be that limber in bed? His cock twitched and he stifled a groan. Heat centered in his groin. Dear God, he had to look away or he’d embarrass himself. He shifted upright and focused on the football players.

“Ready?” She swatted his forearm.

Adam fell into step beside her in an easy gait.

“So, what’s new in the life of Adam, besides being freaked about having an extra class?” Her ponytail swished as she jogged at his side. “New girlfriend? You deserve one.”

“No. I’m not seeing anyone. Tessa showed me she wasn’t interested for good.” He winced. He hadn’t planned on admitting that—again. “I thought she might be the one.”

“She’s happy.”

“But not with me.” And here he was thinking about another woman anyway. Their footsteps thumped on the rubber surface. He had to stop worrying about his regrets and move on to the now.

“Did you ever wonder if you tried too hard?” She glanced at him, then stared ahead again.

“No—yes.” Might as well be honest with her. “I tried way too hard and wanted too much from her. I know I shouldn’t have, but the chase was too good.” Kind of like chasing Melissa. Most women saw him and ran the other way, claiming he was a good friend or one of the guys, but not dating material.

“Sometimes women like a challenge. Sometimes they’re honest with you and you don’t see it.” She picked up her pace a bit, leaving him in her dust. “Bye.”

Adam watched her ass sway. His mouth watered. He’d chase her anywhere. He increased his speed and pulled up beside her. “I wanted more than she was rightfully willing to give. She was so lonely and I felt like I had to be the knight in shining armor—not her knight, but the knight. I understand now why she didn’t accept, but at the time I couldn’t see it. All I saw was her needing me.”

“I hear you.” Melissa grinned.

“You hear me on what? You’re with Kevin.”

“Loneliness sucks and wanting something that can’t happen…I get you on both counts. Kevin and I are never going to work out. I think we’re sailing along great, then he gets all weird. I know one of his daughters was in my class last year and he acted like it was nothing until now. His ex-wife used to come in and raise hell. I don’t know. I guess with Kevin, I’m alone in the relationship.”

“So dump him and find another man. You’ve got lots of guys who want to date you.” Like most of the male staff of the school. Hell, the students talked about her like she was a piece of meat—stern and demanding, but a piece of meat.

“You do realize two of those guys I hang around with are my brothers.” She slowed down. “As for Kevin…I’m getting tired of being left behind.”

Adam stopped in his tracks. “Wait, how does Kevin McCombs not count? You were engaged to him for what—a year? Someone told me you two were still an item.”

“It was a colossal mistake that I keep revisiting.” She bent over and wrapped her hands around her knees. “We split, then get back together, then split again. It’s like one screwed-up goodbye scene that we haven’t found an end for.”

“Oh.” Adam ambled over to her and stretched his shoulders. “I’m sorry I brought him up.”

Melissa stood and rested her hands on her hips. She glanced at concession stands, then turned her back on the field. Adam noticed they were standing at the farthest point from the high school building.

“Some people are great on paper but crap in real life. That’s what Kevin and I were…are.” She stared toward the ground. “Getting engaged to him was my biggest mistake. He’s a parent and I’m a teacher. Not a good mix. I thought we’d be able to overlook it. He couldn’t. I ended up giving ninety percent and he called his ten in. Sad.”

Adam wanted to pry. He wanted to know everything about the relationship and the break-up so that in case he and Melissa actually tried dating, he’d know what not to do. Instead of speaking, he stayed quiet and listened to the sound of their breathing.

“Look, the guy embarrassed the hell out of me and then acted like he was the jilted party, yet I took him back. No more. I don’t mind joshing among friends, but public embarrassment is not cool.” She finally looked up at him. Her eyes shimmered and the blush across her cheeks swept down her neck. “Gee, this is awkward. All this was supposed to make you feel better. I wasn’t supposed to ramble on.”

Adam reached out, hesitant to touch her. She was his friend and sounded like she needed consoling. What the hell. He snagged her in a hug and stroked her hair. “You helped more than you realize.” He stifled a chuckle. “Chasing Tessa was a pipe dream and I’ve been turning the situation over in my mind. I knew she wasn’t interested, but the game was too much fun to stop. She was my mystery girl—kind of.” He loved the way she felt in his embrace, so small and curvy. The more he talked about Tessa, the more he realized he wanted Melissa. “But now I’m confident it’s time to move on. I’m meant for something else besides chasing.”

Melissa rested her head on his shoulder and didn’t pull away from him. “Mystery isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, but then again, neither is reality.”

This time he did chuckle. “I got a life lesson out of the experience.” Besides, holding Melissa cemented to him the fact that there was way more to life than chasing a mystery.

“What was the lesson? Don’t push people?” She tipped her head and stared up at him.

“Know your limits.” Adam rubbed her back. God knew the longer she lingered in his arms, the more likely he was to embarrass himself, but he didn’t care. He liked the way she cradled against him. “I’m guessing you could use that lesson, too? If Kevin isn’t working out, then don’t be afraid to cut him loose for good. You’ll feel better.” So would he. Melissa deserved better than Kevin, the pompous jerk.

“You’re right.” She still didn’t pull away. “We should really go back in.”

“Probably.” He wanted to kiss her. Was that pushing things too far?

“We should do this after school,” Melissa murmured.

He paused. Do what? Kiss? Hell, yeah, he wanted to kiss her. But he wasn’t sure if she was truly done with her boyfriend. She stared at him and he fought the urge to squirm. She wanted an answer. Adam nodded. “I’m game.” For running and so much more. The electricity between him and Melissa couldn’t be a fluke.

“I’ll hold you to that.” She wriggled from his grasp. A new sparkle lit in her eyes and she smiled again. Melissa poked him hard in the chest. “Catch me if you can.” She spun on her heel and sprinted away from him.

“You bet.” He started after her, his spirit renewed. “You certainly bet.”