Flaws and All by Shana Burton Read Free Book Online Page A

can just call me Coach. Everyone does.” He looked her in the eyes. “But my real name is Jamarcus Vinson.”
    This guy’s name was Jamarcus. Crisis averted! Perhaps he was just one of those lookalikes that everyone is rumored to have. Then it dawned on her: Mark could just be short for Jamarcus.
    She swallowed. “Do you have a nickname? Jay or Marcus, perhaps?”
    He laughed. “The only person who calls me Jamarcus is my great-grandmother, and she’s ninety-six, so I let her get away with it. Most people just call me Mark.”
    Most people just call me Mark . The words echoed a thousand times in her head, and Lawson felt her body go limp.
    Mark caught Lawson just as she lost her bearing. “Are you all right?” he asked, propelling her back up.
    Lydia was alarmed. “Do you need me to buzz the office?”
    â€œNo, I’m all right,” Lawson insisted. “I just got really dizzy for a second.”
    â€œHere, sit down.” Mark ushered Lawson into his classroom and seated her at his desk. “Is that better?” She nodded.
    â€œI’ll get you some water,” offered Lydia and darted out of the room.
    Mark crouched down beside Lawson. “The first day can be a little overwhelming. Just take a couple of deep breaths and relax.”
    Lawson closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. “I don’t know what came over me.”
    Mark placed his hand over her forehead. “Have you eaten anything today?”
    â€œI was too nervous to eat.” Lawson couldn’t stop staring at him. Along with his dimpled smile. Mark had also given Namon his amber eyes and broad shoulders.
    â€œWell, we can’t have you passing out from starvation on your very first day. The first rule of teaching. . .” He opened his desk drawer and revealed an assortment of potato chips, snack cakes, cookies, and trail mix. “Never run out of snacks. Take whatever you want.”
    Lawson selected a small bag of crackers. “You’ve got quite a stash here.”
    â€œAny teacher worth his or her weight has one of these, but you can feel free to raid mine until you build up one of your own.”
    â€œThank you.” Lawson tried to open the wrapper, but she was trembling so badly that it slipped out of her hands.
    â€œHere, let me.” He tore open the bag and fed her one of the crackers.
    â€œI’m not that fragile. I can feed myself,” she said.
    â€œWell, as your mentor, my job is to take care of you, and I plan to do just that.” He smiled again, reminding her of what caused her to faint in the first place. “Do you have family around here?” he asked her. “Is there someone I can call to pick you up in case you’re too sick to drive home?”
    â€œYes, my family is here . . . I have a sister,” she sputtered, not knowing exactly what to say. “And a child . . .” A child— his child! A child he never knew existed.
    â€œYou look like you could keel over at any moment.”
    â€œI’ll manage.” Lawson tried to stand up, but swooned, still lightheaded.
    Mark helped her back to the chair. “I’m sure you’ll manage just fine eventually, but right now, you’re going to let me take care of you. You sit right there. I’ll be back with some aspirin.” His eyes met hers, and he flashed another grin.
    The smiled revealed it, and the name had confirmed it. There was no mistake about it: Lawson was staring into a pair of eyes that she hadn’t seen in fourteen years. She was looking at the face of her son’s father.

Chapter 7
    â€œIs he flirting with me? Do I want him to be?”
    â€” Sullivan Webb
    Â 
    Sullivan double-checked the address Charles had given her. She cringed when she discovered she was in the right place. The automotive center that Charles had sent her to was not the boutique service station she was expecting, but a run-down garage