Choosing to believe that Daniel was truly interested in her daughter's welfare and hadn't meant to insult her, she gave his question serious thought. Sydney knew all the good friends that Cassie hung out with, along with their parents, and though the girls had normal teenage issues that they occasionally dealt with, everything was fine for the time being. She regularly checked her daughter's e-mails and text messages to make sure Cassie wasn't doing something she wasn't supposed to, and she stayed on top of her extracurricular activities and her whereabouts. So, other than a regular fifteen-year-old attitude that came with frequent mood swings, there wasn't anything abnormal or troubling about her daughter's behavior.
Sydney shook her head. "I honestly can't think of anything that has changed or is out of the ordinary for Cass."
"Then it's possible that this is just a bump in the road, so to speak, and we'll just have to get things back on track again."
"What do you recommend I do?" she asked, unwilling to walk out of his classroom without some kind of proactive plan in place for her daughter. "I can get her a private tutor, if you think that's necessary."
"No, not yet I don't." He picked up the papers and slipped them back into Cassie's file. "At this point, I wanted to make sure you were aware of the problem. So, before I recommend you hiring a tutor, I'd first like to try and work through this with Cassie myself."
"Okay." She was fine with that. Despite running her own business, anything beyond basic math was out of her realm of comprehension, and that included algebra. She wouldn't be much help to Cassie at all.
"I tutor my own students on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons," he went on, meeting her gaze from across the table. "I'd like to have Cassie come in on those days so I can work with her one-on-one, which most of my students don't get during class time because we only have an hour to review the day's work. By working directly with her, I can get a solid idea of how she's doing and make a better evaluation of the situation. I can find out if she's truly struggling in the class, or if something else is going on that needs to be addressed."
Of course, Sydney's mind conjured up all kinds of worst-case scenarios. Like drugs. Depression. Hooking up with a horny boy who said all the right things to flatter a girl, but only wanted one thing from her: sex.
Panic made Sydney's heart race. She'd like to think that as Cassie's mother she would be aware of, or at least notice, such extreme activities, but she was far from being that stupid or naive.
"What else would be going on?" she asked.
"Hopefully, nothing too serious or dramatic." He must have seen the stricken look on her face, because his own expression softened with understanding. "Look, I know Cassie well enough to know she's a good kid. But, she's a teenager, and she's at the age where there's a lot of peer pressure and outside distractions that can interfere with schoolwork. Unfortunately, I see it happen all the time."
Sydney's stomach clenched. "Well, I'll definitely be having a talk with Cassie when I get home today and see if I can find out what's going on."
"That would be good," he said, encouraging her with an easy smile. "But don't push too hard for answers, or go searching for trouble where there is none. It could be as simple as her needing extra help in math."
That said, he stood and walked back to a tall filing cabinet, where he put away Cassie's academic folder. While she accepted his input, she'd like to think she could handle her own child, without any extra advice from him. After all, she knew Cassie and her personality best.
Figuring their parent-teacher conference was over, she stood, too, and stopped in front of his desk before leaving. "I appreciate you staying on top of Cassie."
He turned back around. "It's not a problem. It's my job to make sure each student does their absolute best in my class." He came around to where she was still standing, and tipped his head, regarding her curiously. "By the way… can I ask you a personal question? It's something I've wondered since the first time I met you last year."
"Uh, sure," she said with a carefree shrug, though after his inquiry about Cassie's father, she couldn't help but feel cautious about what was currently on his mind.
His warm gaze traveled over her face, taking in her features, then lingered on her lips a few extra seconds before he raised his brown eyes back to hers. "How old are you?"
Another question she absolutely hated. Especially when she knew it related to being Cassie's mother. "Why does it matter?"
He shook his head and laughed. "Are you always so defensive about everything?"
"Are you always so nosy about people's personal life?" she shot right back.
"No, not normally," he said with a sexy grin that told her that he was purely interested in just her personal life, which completely unnerved her. "Most of my kids' parents are in their mid-thirties to forties. You, on the other hand, look young enough to be Cassie's sister, not her mother."
The man had a way of throwing her off balance, with his direct questions, the too-charming way he had of dealing with her brash replies and personality, and the undeniable interest in his gaze that struck a spark of restless excitement deep inside her belly.
Jee-sus. She was starting to lust after a buttoned-up, conservative teacher. Un-freakin'-belivable.
"I'm twenty-nine," she said, not at all surprised at the disbelief she saw pass across his expression when he made the quick mental calculations that told him how young she'd been when Cassie had been born.
She was certain her announcement had just put a huge damper on his interest, just as she'd intended. She'd come across a few nice guys like Daniel Barnett over the years, and her past indiscretion resulting in a child born out of wedlock when she was only fourteen never failed to make them back off, and fast. At least when it came to anything more than a brief affair. Which proved that when it came to polished, educated men, she was the type of woman they slept with, but didn't take home to meet Mom and Dad.
"I guess I was right, wasn't I?" he said, a good dose of humor chasing away his initial shock. "You are young enough to be Cassie's sister."
She rolled her eyes at his flattery. "You should have been a politician instead of a teacher."
"That definitely would have made my parents happier," he said meaningfully, but his grin never wavered.
His comment again told her too much about his family and his way of life. She adjusted the strap of her purse over her shoulder and decided it was time for her to leave. "I should be going."
"I'm done here, too." He rounded his desk, tossed some papers into a leather briefcase, and snapped it shut. "I'll walk out with you."
Her point had been to get far away from this man who provoked way too many unexplained feelings within her. However, saying, "I'd rather you didn't" was too rude, so she waited for him to join her at the back of the class, and together they headed out of the building, a surprisingly comfortable silence settling between them.
Walking side by side as they passed through the campus to the parking lot, she was acutely aware of just how tall he was, how masculine. The cool, crisp afternoon breeze ruffling through her long, unbound auburn curls also tousled Daniel's short honey-blond hair, giving him a mussed, unkempt look she found much too appealing.
There were only a few cars left in the lot, and she started toward her ten-year-old Honda Accord. The vehicle was old and used, but it was completely paid for and ran like a dream, and that's all she cared about. When Daniel continued to follow her, she cast him a sidelong glance filled with amusement. Undoubtedly, he'd been raised a gentleman, and that included walking a woman to her vehicle. "I think I can make it to my car on my own from here."
"Actually, my car is right over there," he said, and pointed to a vehicle that was parked just beyond hers-a sporty Volvo convertible coupe that most people wouldn't be able to afford on a teacher's salary. "And, there's something I wanted to ask you."