Island Affair (Keys to Love #1)(104)
Yazmine knelt down to Maria’s eye level, flashing her a genuine smile brimming with warmth. An uncomfortable pang rippled through him as he wondered what it would be like to have Yazmine smile at him in the same welcoming way.
He cut the thought off before it went any further, his sense of self-preservation sharpened in the years since his divorce.
“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Ms. Yazmine told Maria. “Even better, I love seeing you so excited about dancing.” She tapped Maria’s nose gently, eliciting a giggle Tomás hadn’t heard often enough in the two months since he’d moved them out of Chicago and into the more family-friendly suburbs forty-five minutes northwest of the city.
Right now, he didn’t quite know what to make of Yazmine Fernandez. Her engaging smile and lithe body captivated him. Her subtle reprimand rankled. But he’d kiss the ground she walked on if she helped his daughter shake off her recently acquired reticence. He missed Maria’s spunkiness.
Nothing he’d tried, not an impromptu trip to the zoo or an afternoon picnic in Grant Park, had helped. She’d been outgoing and talkative in her old kindergarten class. Here in Oakton, she’d withdrawn and still wasn’t quite comfortable with others.
“I’m gonna be a famous dancer just like you.” Maria’s brown eyes lit up like Christmas morning.
“Sounds like a good plan. Why don’t you go grab a quick drink from the fountain while I chat with your papá?”
“Okay!” Maria skipped off and Yazmine rose with a grace she’d undoubtedly acquired from a million or so dance classes.
“You’re great with her,” Tomás said.
“She’s a pleasure to have in class. All my students are.”
Alluring and comfortable with kids.
Stepping closer to the desk, Yazmine picked up a white binder. “Actually, I’ve found that any problems I encounter teaching are few and far between.” She flicked a quick glance his way. “And rarely involve the children themselves.”
There it was again, the hint of admonition from her. It pricked his conscience, making him feel like a front-runner for Worst Father of the Year.
Damn. He tightened his jaw, uncertain whom he was annoyed with more. Her for making the assumption or himself for having to admit that she might have a point.
“I take it you see me as one of those problems.”
“I don’t mean it to sound that way.” Yazmine’s chest rose and fell on a sigh. “Maria really wants to perform this routine in the Christmas show. Honestly, I’d love for the two of you to share that experience. But if you check the attendance sheet, I’m not sure it’s going to be possible.”
Yazmine leaned toward him so he could peer at the open binder with her. The scent of violets wafted in the air, tickling his nose. Unable to resist, he dragged in a deep breath, filling his lungs with her tantalizing perfume.
“Even though this is a special performance, the Hanson Academy of Dance attendance policy still applies. If a dancer had this many absences in a class for another number, we’d pull him from the show.” Yazmine tapped the page in front of them.
He followed her pink-tipped finger from his neatly printed name across the row of spaces that should have been checked off to indicate his attendance. The blank spaces were glaring proof of his parental short-comings.
The violets enveloping him withered, choked by the remorse settling around him like a toxic mushroom cloud.
“I’m doing my best.” The words were more of a muttered curse, pushed through his gritted teeth.
“Please, you don’t have to defend yourself to me.” Yazmine pressed the open binder to her chest, concern blanketing her face. “Maria’s the one who needs to know that this is important to you.”
He gave her a curt nod, not trusting his voice to betray his growing frustration. Maybe he wasn’t doing such a class-act job at parenting, but with his nanny’s help he’d learn. Get better. He and Maria would be fine. Failure was not an option.
“Look, I shouldn’t have—” Yazmine broke off. Her lips pulled down with resignation. “I simply want you to be aware of the situation. That’s all.”
Tomás was tempted to walk away, but he kept his feet firmly planted. He hadn’t run from anything in his entire life. Now was not the time to start. No way would a simple father-daughter dance or an appealing yet prickly instructor get the best of him. Maria depended on him.
“Why don’t we see how it goes today, and then we’ll take it from there,” Yazmine offered as the students returned.
Maria skip-hopped into the room. With a sweet grin that instantly relaxed his shoulders, she waved him over to join her in the back line of dancers. The breath-stealing tightness in his chest instantly eased. At the same time, his resolve to do his best for her hardened like quick-drying cement.
“Deal.”
Yazmine blinked at his brusque tone.
“Don’t worry. I can do this,” he assured her, softening his words with a smile. “I won’t let my daughter, or you, down.” He made a silly face at Maria and she giggled and, that easily, wrapped him around her finger a little tighter.
From the moment he’d held her tiny squirming body in his arms, he’d vowed to do whatever it took to make his baby girl happy. Nothing would change that.