The Principal’s Forbidden Desire:
About
I got called to the principal’s office.
By the time the door closed, I’d forgotten every rule about professional boundaries.
Nathan Brooks isn’t just the head of Salt Bay Elementary.
He’s my best friend, Maren’s father, and the man who kissed me like he never wanted to stop.
His son sits in the front row of my first-grade class.
I have landed a teaching job in my hometown, back in the halls where my friendships were forged.
We tell ourselves it was one time.
But then, we have dinner out of town, where no one knows us.
His hand finds mine and doesn’t let go.
What starts in secrecy turns into stolen weekends and long nights that feel anything but temporary.
But Salt Bay notices everything.
A glance held too long.
A door that closes a second too fast.
Because loving him might be reckless.
But losing my best friend, the man I love, and the small hand that fits perfectly in mine?
That’s a risk I’m not sure I can survive.
Praise for this book
5 out of 5 stars. Oliver gets the win for best scene-steal.
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2026
Format: Kindle
Nathan lost his wife seven years ago. He has an adult daughter, Maren, and a seven-year-old son, Oliver. And he’s got a thing for Maren’s best friend, Maya, who is going to be the first grade teacher at the elementary school where he is the principal. He’s known Maya for many years, but now he’s finally seeing her as a woman, and not just his daughter’s friend.Maya is equally attracted to Nathan, but starting a relationship would be tricky at best, as he’s in a position of power. It’s almost cute how they keep trying to talk each other out of being together, and continually failing. When it becomes too real to deny…well, you’ll just have to read the book.
Oliver is the biggest scene stealer in the book. Every time he opens his mouth, he wins your heart. He’s basically seven going on seventeen, but he’s even more stable than a seventeen-year-old. His observations are gold, his logic is sound, and he just wants his dad, and Maya, to be happy.
There is a twenty-year age gap between Nathan and Maya; this is not something that bothers me. Love is love is love, and as long as you’re a legal adult who has consented to such a relationship, I don’t have a single problem with that gap. She’s in her thirties, and she has a good head on her shoulders.
This book did make me teary more than once, and that’s not a problem, it’s a feature. Especially with how easily Oliver picks up on the love between Nathan and Maya, and is just waiting for them to figure it out.
I really enjoyed this story, and I should note that there are some steamy scenes, but I wouldn’t call them salacious or anything. It was just the coming together of two people who love each other. In any case, come for the romance, stay for the Oliver, and you might even learn a thing or two from that kid’s many intellectual pursuits.