Wilde for You
The sexiest man Cricket Wilde never forgot, Tucker Manning, is now an assistant principal…and her boss! One look at him and this science teacher is dying to test if that long-ago chemistry is still there. But he's gone from Mr. Sizzling to Mr. Strictly-By- The-Book. There's nothing that Cricket likes more than bending the rules, and Tucker's cool facade makes her determined to melt the ice. And after a few stolen kisses, it looks as if his inner hottie is making a comeback.If his little secret gets out, everything Tucker has worked so hard for will come crashing down…including his career plans. Too bad there's no way that he can resist Cricket's wild sexiness. Once they hit the sheets, he's tossing caution to the wind just to be with her. So when word of their private affair leaks out, will Tucker reveal the one thing that will keep them together in bedded bliss?
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âThis is killing me, Cricket,â he whispered
He put his other hand to her cheek, cupping her face in both hands now.
You mean the you-know?â she asked.
âYes,â Tucker said, tilting his head. âWe canât do this.â He moved in.
âNo, we canât,â she said, standing on her toes, tipping up her mouth. It was as if some terrific force field pulled them together.
âThis would be bad.â
âI know,â she said, moving closer. âVery bad.â As desperate as she was for his mouth, for that hot, dissolving feeling, she would not be the one who kissed first. She couldnât be. He was married. Unhappily, according to his wife, but still. He had to be the one to make the first move.
He wouldnât do it, she saw.
But she definitely would. With that thought, she grabbed his face and pulled his lips to hers.
Dear Reader,
Cricket and Tuckerâs story is dear to me because itâs set in a school. As a former teacher, I felt as though I was living and breathing Copper Corners High on every page I wrote. I even started to have teacher anxiety dreamsâyou know, where itâs the end of the year and you realize youâve forgotten to teach reading to your second graders? Needless to say, I related to Cricketâs idealism and her insecurity about teaching, which is a very difficult job.
What I love about Cricket and Tucker is how much they want to do the right thing, even when they are doing it all wrong. Ever been there? Had good intentions, but fouled up anyway? For these two, the issue is being honest with themselves about who they are and what they really want. They have so much heart and so much passion for each other and their work. Just thinking about them makes me sigh. These two really got to me. I hold their story close to my heart. I hope they get to you, too.
Iâd love to hear from you! Write me at [email protected]. For news of upcoming books, please drop by my Web site, www.dawnatkins.com.
My very best to you,
Dawn Atkins
Books by Dawn Atkins
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
871âTHE COWBOY FLING
895âLIPSTICK ON HIS COLLAR
945âROOMâ¦BUT NOT BORED!
HARLEQUIN BLAZE
93âFRIENDLY PERSUASION
HARLEQUIN DUETS
77âANCHOR THAT MAN!
91âWEDDING FOR ONE/TATTOO FOR TWO
HARLEQUIN FLIPSIDE
11âA PERFECT LIFE?
To the dedicated teachers of Arizona, who daily make a difference. You humble me.
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank Jenn MacColl, whose rain-forest classroom inspired me to write Cricketâs story. Jenn, an accomplished teacher, shares Cricketâs absolute commitment to her students. Jenn, my son and I thank you. I also want to thank all the teachers in my lifeâpast and present. You do indeed touch the future. The endangered-owl controversy in this book is fictional, although pygmy owls are, in fact, endangered and live only in southern Arizona and northern Mexico.
Contents
1
IF HE GOT THE JOB, heâd forget women, Tucker Manning vowed, soaping up in the shower. He would be absolutely dedicated. Completely committed. No distractions. No hobbies. No sidetracks.
And no women.
He scrubbed his face, then shoved it under the spray to rinse. Steam rose around him, hot as his conviction.
He needed this jobâassistant principal at Copper Corners Highâif he was ever to get the one heâd lost.
Lost because of a moment of insanity with a woman who reminded him of someone he couldnât forget. A moment witnessed by three members of the freshman girlsâ volleyball team, whoâd stumbled on him and Melissa in the equipment roomâ¦on the vault benchâ¦working outâ¦of their clothes.
Who knew the girls practiced so late?
So, if he got this job, no more women. He scrubbed between his toes, hot water peppering his back, the shower air lush and thick as a jungle.
âTuuuuck-er, Iâm lonely,â Julie, the woman heâd been seeing for the last month, called to him. He sighed, letting the water sluice down his body. Okay, maybe one more woman. Except she lived hereâPhoenixâover two hours away from Copper Corners, which was barely a cactus clump off the highway south of Tucson. If he was truly dedicated, heâd have no time for road trips. Or Julie.
Heâd stay nose to the grindstone. Just for the two or three years he had to wait for another chance at the position at Western Sun High, when the guy whoâd gotten the job retired.
He needed that time to prove to Ben Alton, the principal and his friend, that he had what it took to be a good administrator. An administrator who knew how to keep his head on straightâ¦and his zipper zipped.
The turndown still stung. Tucker hated to lose, but, worse, heâd let Ben downâdisappointed the man whoâd turned him around back when Tuck was in high school.
The whole reason Tucker had come back to Western Sun with his English degree from the University of Arizona was to work for Ben, whoâd become the principal and been given the difficult task of guiding the school through the growing pains that came with a changing neighborhood. Once on the faculty, Tucker had started on his administrator credential, so he could work side by side with his mentor.
