“Like what?” Because this was interesting. She wasn’t talking about sports, but education and meeting needs that could be done everywhere. In every city of our country and hell, even suburbs and small rural towns similar to the one I grew up in.

“I graduated college with a teaching degree in early education. When I had to do my student teaching, I chose one of the poorest schools in Boston.”

“You chose that?”

“Yeah. I had some options on what schools had openings, but most of them were private schools or upper middle-class suburbs. I grew up in the city but had never really lived or seen the poorer side outside homeless people on the street. So I figured, why not?”

Why not. She said it with a shrug and such nonchalance. Like every major heiress in the world would simply walk willingly into one of the poorest schools in a major city.

“You’re something else,” I told her, and by the way she blushed, I figured she knew how impressed I was.

Our server came, and we ordered several small plates each. I’d be fed on the plane later by our team’s chef with lots of protein and whole grains to keep us healthy for tomorrow’s game, so I kept it light, knowing I wouldn’t get a normal workout in before we flew out.

Once Pierre refilled my water and left us, I gestured for Emmersyn to continue.

“Tell me more. What’s your starting point? What’s your ultimate goal?”

She blushed again, and pressed her lips together, gazed out to the fountains while they danced to “Bad Romance.”

Fitting, I figured, and hoped she wasn’t thinking the same thing I was. Were we a bad romance? Hell, so far, we weren’t a romance at all, we were more likely to end up being a cautionary tale.

She cleared her throat and gathered her courage, rolling back her shoulders and meeting my gaze dead on. “Eventually, I’d like to run charter schools. Fully funded, with all the technology private schools get. Chromebooks and laptops, smart boards in every room. I’d supply them with hotspots, or anything else so those who couldn’t afford Wi-Fi could still get access at their homes. All three meals a day would be included, uniforms paid for, for every student. They’d have updated textbooks, supplies on hand. Basically, I want every student to have access to the same technology and teachers I did. And I don’t want teachers spending their own personal income on extra supplies for their classrooms.

Her eyes glazed over as she spoke and my heart thumped an erratic rhythm.

And all I wanted to do was lean forward, slam my mouth to hers and when she was breathless for me, ask how I could help.

“They’d be lucky kids,” I said, a thickness growing in my throat.

“Yeah, well, I need to start small, I think, grow to that with connections and working toward that. That’s why Heather mentioned the donation drives and things. But schools have already started and Lincoln and I weren’t supposed to be married until Christmas anyway, so I had time to think. If I can get access earlier though, I like the idea of a toy drive. I did a lot of volunteering in Boston, working with organizations that were similar and have several contacts already, but now, I don’t know if I’d want to go back there. Not with the way things are…” She trailed off, and I again had the urge to punch that piece of shit baby Powers in the face and then leave my own shoe print on his hip.