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  Ms. Robinson’s long blonde hair looped into a bun at the back of her head, with strays falling on her long neck. She wore a tailored dark blue dress suit showing off her one fine leg that she probably used to stomp on young misbehaved students. Her blue eyes glowed as she leaned back and steepled her fingers in front of her.

  “That’s right, Mr. Calaway.” She grinned, her full lips beckoning his attention. “I’m Hope Robinson. It’s nice to meet you, finally.”

  “Finally? Oh, you mean because you’re new to the area. How do you like it so far?” Why am I so nervous? I talk with patients all the time, for crying out loud.

  He inspected her perfectly neat desk. Papers stacked high on the side of her computer, and a photo frame displayed a picture of two older people, most likely her parents. No pictures of a significant other, as far as he could tell. Why he looked for that, he didn’t know. Ah, hell, he did know. The spark of interest in this particular woman hit him like a bolt of lightning the minute he laid eyes on her.

  “Well, it’s perfect, actually. But, that’s not what I meant.”

  He shook his head to rid the imprudent thoughts and his gaze met hers. He swallowed as the sense of dread overwhelmed him again. “Then what did you mean?”

  She cleared her throat and jutted out her chin. “Jason has been given another detention.”

  “Another detention?” He sat up straight. “He’s had others?”

  “Well, yes. This is his third since school started.” She pulled out two forms from the folder in front of her. “Don’t you remember signing — ” She stopped when Colin frowned. “I’m guessing you didn’t see these previous detention slips, then.”

  Colin reached over and grabbed the two papers from her well-manicured hands, their fingers touching briefly, which caused a shudder he had to ignore. “I hate to say it, but these are not my signatures.” He ground his teeth together. “Looks like Jason has some explaining to do.” He shook his head and handed the detention slips back to her.

  Her jaw tightened. “I’m afraid so. And there is this third altercation.”

  “Ms. Robinson, I know you’ve heard it all before, but this is coming as a huge surprise. Jason has never been in trouble before.”

  Her lips straightened and she stared at him for three beats. A blush rose on her cheeks and then she looked down. “Sometimes middle school can be a big change for a student, among other things.”

  Colin crossed his arms. “What did Jason do?” He had to stop focusing on the principal’s long neck and that dip in the front of her blouse. What was going on with his son?

  Opening the file in front of her, she pointed at a paper filled with notes. “The first two detentions were for inappropriate language and throwing water on another student, hardly major disturbances.” She closed the file and titled her head to the side.

  “And this latest incident?”

  She straightened and folded her hands together. “Jason pushed a boy.”

  “He got into a fight? Where is he?”

  “It wasn’t a fight, although it almost escalated into one. Luckily, a teacher stopped him before it got out of control. He will need to stay after school on Thursday for detention, along with the other boy. Jason’s in class, but he’s aware I’ve called you to the school.”

  Colin scooted to the edge of his seat. “I don’t know what to think. This has never happened before.”

  She bent over her desk and placed her hand on top of his. “I understand. Since he’s never had any major trouble before, something must have changed recently and he doesn’t know how to deal with it. What do you think about the counselor speaking to him?”

  Their eyes met and for an instant, real concern shown in her face, mixed with something else. Interest. He couldn’t miss it. Her lashes batted against her cheeks and her pupils grew larger. Hell, even the feel of her hand made him want to reach over and take those fingertips that rubbed the top of his knuckles into his mouth.

  He shook his head and that seemed to wake her from her senses. When she pulled her hand back and sat up straighter, he spoke through a hoarse voice. “That’s a good idea, and I’ll talk to him tonight. Not just about the pushing, but about signing those forms, too.”

  Ms. Robinson stood, grabbed her cane and walked to his side. He took that as his cue to stand, too. She placed her hand on his arm. “Maybe he’s seeking attention. I suggest spending more quality time with him. Father and son time.”

  Of course. What other time would there be? After his wife died two years ago, there had been no one else. Father and son time occupied their days and nights, if they weren’t visiting Jason’s grandparents. Although the medical journal had published his research this past year, which kept him busy. Maybe the time away had sent Jason off the deep end. The pretty principal was right. He needed to spend more time with his kid.

  He glanced at her, an empty feeling in his stomach. “What do you suggest?”

  She reached toward her desk in front of him, brushing her own arm against his chest. She brought back a flier that sat on the corner of her desk. “There’s a Friendly Games Morning this Saturday. Sports like volleyball, soccer, but non-competitive. I bet Jason would love to attend, and if you go with him, he’d love it even more. Ideal father-son time right at your fingertips.”

  “Sounds perfect. Will you be there?” Now, why did he ask that? Maybe he wanted to see Ms. Robinson in some athletic shorts. He shook his head. Stop it, Colin. Get yourself together. Your son needs you.

  She brought the flier down to her side and looked at him in the eyes. The interest that radiated there wrapped him like a warm blanket. A message passed between them quickly, telling him she wanted to see him there too, and more than just for Jason’s sake. A few beats passed between them, her breathing quickened, then she slowly lifted up the flier. “It’s a school function, so of course I’ll be there.”

  Colin grabbed the information from her hand and smiled. “Even though he’ll be grounded, we’ll be there.” He pointed down at the walking cast. “What happened to your foot?”

  “Just a little mishap. Fractured my foot.”

  He smirked. “How will you play on Saturday with your foot in a walking cast?”

  She shrugged. “Lucky for me, the cast comes off tomorrow.”

  He raised an eyebrow and leaned in. He could smell her rosy perfume. “Who’s your doctor?”

  She lifted her eyes to meet his and bit her lip. After a moment, she shook her head and wobbled closer to the door. Obviously, their meeting had ended. “Dr. Patel. Why?”

  Now why did Rajan Patel always get the hot patients? “I’m an orthopedic surgeon. In fact, Dr. Patel and I work together at the clinic.”

  “I’ll be there tomorrow to get this beast off.” She reached for the doorknob but stopped. “Please speak to Jason. I want to be lenient with this case, but if it happens again, he will be suspended.”

  Those blue eyes struck him all the way to his toes. She must scare the middle school students to death. “I’ll speak to him, there will be consequences and no other incidents.”

  “Great to hear.” She smiled sweetly, looking at him from her lowered lashes. Then, she opened the door and escorted him out. “I’ll see Jason Thursday after school and both of you at the games on Saturday.”

  Colin nodded and shook her hand. “It was nice to meet you.”

  He looked into her sparkling eyes and time ceased. His pulse raced against his breastbone and he didn’t want to be anywhere else but there — staring at those eyes, hearing the intake of her breath, smelling her sexy perfume. Her inviting figure again called his attention, from head to toe, and when he looked up, a blush graced her cheeks. The connection was there, no doubt about it.

  Letting go of his hand, she cleared her throat and said, “It was a pleasure to meet you, too.” Then she teetered back to her office and shut the door.

  • • •

  Finally the day arrived. Four weeks in a walking cast definitely took some getting
used to. Only one and a half months into her new town, her new school, and she had dropped the huge storage unit’s lock onto her foot. Luckily, she had only a hairline fracture, but she hated walking the hallways with her big cast in everyone’s view. If she heard another “what happened” from an inquisitive parent, she would break her “I got it together” demeanor and scream.

  With a sigh, Hope sat on the examining table and looked at her cell phone. Her lunch break just finished, but she had informed her secretary that she’d return late. She had to meet with the athletic department to finalize the Friendly Games Morning plans, and there was an administrator’s meeting at five. But first, she had to take care of her foot.

  When she entered the clinic, Dr. Calaway’s name on the door triggered images of the concerned father from the day before. Her cheeks warmed as she recalled Dr. Calaway saying goodbye. Did she hold it together long enough? Hopefully he didn’t notice her rapid pulse and sweaty palms when she touched his arm. It had only been a small gesture to comfort him — one that turned her knees to mush and made her girly parts ding to life. Although he had been obviously nervous, a trait she usually found a turn-off, she found it endearing. His broad shoulders and smoldering green eyes didn’t hurt either. It had been a long time since she felt an immediate attraction to someone, not since Vincent. She was a little P.O’d it had to be with a student’s father, who was officially off limits.

  The door to the room opened and a voice called, “Hello, Ms. Robinson.”

  Hope blinked twice. Speak of the knee-wobbling, to-die-for devil. A new and unexpected warmth surged through her. “Dr. Calaway. What a surprise. Where’s Dr. Patel?”

  He scooted his wheeled chair up to the table and sat down. “To be honest, I looked up when you were coming so I could attend you.”

  The lower ping in her belly danced to life as his lips curled upward. She didn’t know what to say. His dark hair fell gently over his temple, and those green eyes stared at her. The white doctor’s coat fell across his strong shoulders perfectly and his tie hung over his chest in a way that made her want to reach forward and straighten it. Her heart pounded faster and she bit her bottom lip. “Okay, I mean, you could take my cast off too, right?”

  He hesitated, measuring her for a moment. “Right.” He smiled and put his pen in his breast pocket.

  She tried to throttle the dizzying current racing through her veins. With a deep breath, she observed the wall and pretended to read the poster about knee anatomy.

  “Um, right. Let’s see.” He opened her patient folder and studied it. “Looks like you’ve been in a cast for four weeks now.” He quirked an eyebrow. “When did you move here again?”

  “Six weeks ago. Great timing, huh?” She laughed under her breath, pulling her hair behind her ear.

  “Not an ideal way to start off in a new place, but you seem to be settling in well enough.” He patted the patient table next to where she sat. “Put your foot up.”

  She swiveled her foot over and laid back. “Did you talk to Jason?”

  “I tried. He didn’t feel like talking much last night, but at least he listened.” He rolled her capri pant leg up and eyed her cast. A wave of apprehension swept through her at his touch. But at the same time, his touch thrilled her. “So, can I call you Hope, since you’re my patient today?”

  “You can call me Hope, if I can call you Colin.”

  He grinned. “You know my name, then?”

  She pointed. She didn’t want to admit she looked it up after he left her office the day before. “It’s on your name tag.”

  “Of course.” He scooted his stool to the cabinets. “I think we can take this sucker off.” He pulled out a tiny cast saw. “Now, don’t be worried — ”

  “Dr. Calaway — ” She stopped when Colin raised his eyebrows at her. “Colin, you may not believe this, but I’ve had about ten casts since I was a little girl.”

  His eyes widened and he chuckled. “Really? You’re one of those then?” He put on goggles and plugged the saw in.

  “One of those?”

  “We call you our frequent flyers.” He laughed. A small dimple, one Hope found irresistibly cute, appeared next to his lips.

  She’d like to lean over and touch it … with her tongue.

  Whoa! She shook her head. Where did that come from?

  “Just lay back.”

  She’d like to lay back — with him on top of her. Geez, Hope, maybe you need to see a hormone specialist in another clinic. She rolled her eyes at herself and lay down with her hands behind her head. “How long have you been a doctor?”

  “If you include my residency, about eight years.” He smiled back at her and then leaned into her foot again. “Couldn’t find that in your file on Jason, could you?”

  The familiar vibration ran through her foot and she held back a laugh as the saw tickled. She knew the process well enough; in fact she had an arm cast nine months ago. She wouldn’t tell him that, though.

  “Not much of a file for Jason, actually, which is a good thing. Tells me he’s a good kid.” She chewed on her lower lip and stole a look at him. She also read that his mom had died two years ago, and understood that must be hard on a little boy and a dad who had to raise his son alone.

  “That’s reassuring.” His brows drew together as he worked. Even through the goggles, gold flecks radiated from his green eyes. “Almost all the way through. I’m at the padding … in … just … a … got it.” He turned the saw off and stretched the padding loose. “All right, let’s get that foot out.”

  She pushed herself up into a sitting position and placed her white foot in front of his face. A heat rose from her neck to her cheeks. This really wasn’t the most attractive position. Not that she needed to be attractive for him, of course. She tried to remove her foot from his view, but he grabbed her toes before she could take it away.

  He wiggled them gently and looked up at her face. “How does it feel?”

  She took a deep satisfying breath and smiled in approval. “Heavenly.”

  “You have a beautiful smile,” he said softly as his gaze met hers.

  Her skin tingled as her smile wavered. She could get used to seeing Dr. Calaway instead of Dr. Patel. “Thank you.”

  He scratched his chin and then stood up to place the tools back on the counter.

  Was he flirting with her? A slender delicate thread began to form between them. It didn’t hurt that his strong features held a certain sensuality, and that dimple — she never thought of dimples as sexy. Off-limits, she reminded herself, and she rolled her pant leg down. She straightened her shirt and capris while he washed his hands in the sink.

  When he turned around, he avoided her eyes this time and wrote in her file. “You need an X-ray to check if the fracture has healed completely.” He moved to her side and tapped her file on the edge of the table. “A nurse will get you in a moment.”

  When the X-ray was completed, Colin stepped back into the room with her results. This time he didn’t wear his jacket and the outlines of his shoulders strained against the fabric of his light blue-collared shirt. She wondered what he would look like shirtless with his stethoscope around his neck, gleaming on top of his sculpted pecs. She turned her back pretending to search in her purse for something, but really, she had to get herself into the right frame of mind.

  He held the X-ray up to the light. “All healed. Looks like you’re free to play some friendly games this Saturday.”

  She tried not to look at his face and pulled her other shoe from a plastic bag. “Great. I can’t wait.”

  With his green eyes gleaming and those dimples calling her name, he placed his hand on the table next to her. “So, I’ll see you at the games?”

  “I told you yesterday I’d be there.” She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear, willing herself to stop staring at his chiseled face.

  “Just making sure.” He leaned against the patient table and crossed his legs. “You’re not planning on breaking any other bones, are
you?” A flash of humor crossed his face.

  She became speechless. “Uh … ”

  “Hey, I’m just kidding.” He cocked his head to the side. “Take care of yourself, that’s all. Don’t push too hard.” He backed off the table, grabbed her purse and held it up for her.

  She reached for the purse and their eyes met, the gleam of interest startling her. A secret invitation passed between them — one that she wanted to accept. Damn, she wanted to. But, despite his pull, she couldn’t do it. This was a no-win situation. A principal should never date a parent.

  She took a deep breath and looked at her toes.

  His stance changed, straighter, taller, and he wiggled the bag. “Gonna take your purse?”

  “Oh yes. Um. Thanks.” She put it on her shoulder. Why did she act like a girl in the boy’s locker room? I’m a strong, independent woman. Get it together, Hope. Stand up straight, one foot in front of the other. Think of Dr. McSteamy later, not in front of him for goodness sake. “So, I’ll see you Saturday and … thank you.”

  He lifted a corner of his mouth, the dimple calling her name. “My pleasure.” He opened the door and left the room without looking back.

  To purchase this ebook and learn more about the author, click here.

  Praise for Breaking the Rules:

  “A sweetly satisfying love story. Ms. Dozier's heroine is charming, her hero is sexy as sin, and her dialogue is laugh out loud witty. And her love scenes? They strike the perfect chord between sweet and steamy, making Breaking The Rules the all around perfect winter read!”—USA Today Happy Every After

  “From the start of the book, it snags the reader in and I could not put it down.”—Once Upon a Book

  In the mood for more Crimson Romance?

  Check out Southern Hospitality by Amie Louellen at CrimsonRomance.com.