He blinked, surprised at the unusual sharp edge of lust. He focused on her green eyes, noticing, in this light, tiny flecks of blue and gray in them. He had to do more than sketch her, he needed color, maybe soft pastels.
“Did you get a lot of work done?” Lauren asked.
“Yes,” he said just so she wouldn’t feel like she’d made all this effort for nothing.
She beamed and his whole world lit up with sunshine. “Good.”
He looked away, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Of course his world was lit with sunshine. It was a sunny day. “Have you been pushing her in the car for the last couple of hours?”
“Has it been that long?” she asked, brushing the bead of sweat from her neck.
“Yeah. Unless you did something before this.”
She rocked back on her heels. “No wonder my feet are sore.”
“Lauren—”
“It’s okay. I needed the exercise.” She put a hand to her lower back and arched. She was tall, slender, graceful. Her breasts full, her hips narrow, long, long legs. He wanted to do more than sketch her. He wanted to touch.
“I’m not sure you really did need the exercise,” he murmured. His gaze trailed back up to her face. “You could’ve come inside.”
She straightened, hands on her hips. “I wanted to let you get some work done.”
“I did. And then I took a nap. You should’ve come back in. Don’t wear yourself out.”
“I wouldn’t want to disturb your nap either.”
Viv honked the horn three times. He bent down to Viv and held out his palm. “Fifty bucks for gas.” She slapped his hand with invisible money.
Lauren went on. “Besides, for a while there, Viv was pushing the car with Dolly, so she was the one getting the exercise.”
He was sure Lauren walked right alongside her. He straightened and pulled out his cell. “Hold on. I’m going to see if my dad’s home.” He called his dad, got the go-ahead, and hung up. “My dad lives across town. We’ll go visit and then, if you’re comfortable hanging out there, you can take her to visit whenever you want without me.”
“I’m sure I’ll be comfortable,” Lauren said. “I know your dad from when Mad lived at home. We hung out there sometimes.”
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into his dad’s driveway. Lauren got Viv and walked hand in hand with her to the front door.
His dad, tall and still fit at fifty-four with dark brown hair and some gray interspersed on the sides, answered with a smile that made his brown eyes crinkle at the corners. “There’s my favorite girl!” he exclaimed to Viv.
Lauren picked up Viv and handed her over to his dad just like Alex would’ve done so his dad didn’t have to bend down.
His dad smiled at Lauren as they stepped inside. “Nice to see you again, Lauren. I heard you were helping out this summer.”
“Nice to see you too, Mr. Campbell.” Lauren smiled sweetly. “I’m happy to help out. Viv is awesomesauce.” She sang the last word and gave Viv a high five.
His dad studied Lauren for a moment. Alex was sure his dad was seeing that same angelic quality he did. “Call me Joe, please.”
“Okay,” Lauren said. “If you don’t mind.”
“I insist,” his dad said. He turned and studied Alex with his sharp cop gaze. “You’re looking a lot better than the last time I saw you. Did the two-year molars come in?”
“Almost,” Alex said. “I got my first good night’s sleep last night thanks to Lauren’s help.”
Lauren blushed, and he suddenly realized that sounded dirty. He hadn’t meant Lauren helped him with anything to do with bed. Before he could explain, Lauren jumped in.
“It was nothing,” she said. “I just helped with the baby medicine.”
“M&M,” Viv told his dad.
“Oh, is that what they call medicine these days?” his dad asked.
“Grape medicine, then M&M,” Lauren explained.
“That’ll do the trick,” his dad said.
They ended up staying for dinner. His dad ordered a pizza. Viv just ate the cheese, but she was plenty happy to have so many adults doting on her. His dad kept watching Lauren and how good she was with Viv. It was hard to miss the bond that had formed so quickly.
The moment Lauren excused herself for the bathroom, his dad turned to him. “She’s a keeper. Don’t let her slip away.”
Alex shook his head. “It’s just for the summer. She teaches second grade.” He glanced at Viv playing with a small rainbow slinky toy Lauren had in her purse. Lauren had given it to her just as Viv finished eating, buying the adults the time they needed to finish dinner.
“Shame she can’t be with Viv year-round,” his dad said. “She’s fantastic with her.”
He inclined his head. “I got lucky. She’s completely overqualified for a nanny job.” He rattled off her impressive credentials.
“She still single?”
He flushed. Seriously? His dad was going there? Then he remembered Lauren had signed up for Hailey’s silly love service. He didn’t like to think of sweet Lauren out with some loser like that guy who kept a snake and rats.
“I don’t know,” Alex bit out. “It’s none of my business.”
“Uh-huh.”
He stood, busying himself wetting a paper towel and then cleaning up Viv’s messy face and hands as she sat in her high chair. He had to clean the slinky too.
Lauren returned.
“So Alex tells me you’re single,” his dad said.
Alex stiffened.
Lauren blushed furiously and shot Alex a questioning look. Alex just shook his head. Finally she took her seat and replied, “I guess he told you about Make Love Bloom (TM)?”
Alex made a slashing motion across his throat that Lauren didn’t notice. She was looking to his sneaky dad.
His dad smiled widely. “Tell me more. Is this one of those Hailey matchmaking schemes?”
Lauren started to fill him in, beginning with the fact that it was a legitimate service with a trademark and everything when Alex cleared his throat. She stopped and turned to him. “What?”
“We should get going. I don’t want it to get too late before I do the whole bed-bath routine. Trying to keep Viv to an earlier bedtime now.”
Lauren stood. “Oh, of course.” She turned to his dad. “Thanks so much for dinner, Joe.”
“No problem,” his dad said, smiling like he’d won the lottery. “Stop by tomorrow same time. I’ll show you some of Viv’s favorite games.”
“Football!” Viv shouted from her high chair. She threw the slinky like a football. It wobbled in the air and crashed halfway across the room. She had a good arm.
His dad fist-bumped Viv and ruffled her hair. “That’s my girl. We’ll teach Lauren all the best stuff.”
“Okay, we’ll see you then,” Lauren said cheerfully as she got Viv out of her high chair. She held Viv on her hip.
“Bye-bye!” Viv said.
His dad leaned in and Viv gave his cheek a noisy kiss.
“Thanks for dinner, Dad,” Alex said, his voice trailing off as he watched Viv pop a thumb in her mouth and lean her head on Lauren’s shoulder. No reaching for Daddy? No calling for him? Lauren headed for the door.
His dad clapped a hand on his shoulder, startling him. “Real good to see you all. Real good.”
“Yeah, bye.” He followed them out the door, still not used to the way Viv seemed so content with Lauren so quickly. Probably all kids were like that with Lauren. She was like a supernanny or something.
At the car, he waited behind Lauren while she put Viv into her booster seat, wanting to check that she did the seat belt right. She turned and walked right into him with a startled cry. He caught her around the waist to steady her, suddenly aware of her breasts pressed into his chest. Her head lifted, her green eyes soft on his.
“Sorry,” he whispered because she was so close. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered back.
<
br /> His fingers tightened around her waist even as he told himself to let go. “I was just going to check the seat belt.”
She nodded so close that her lips nearly touched his. He felt her soft breath and gazed at her parted lips. He found himself slowly lowering his head, irresistibly drawn in. Her breath hitched and the blood rushed through his veins, waking him to long-neglected need.
“Go!” a little voice ordered, snapping him back to reality.
He jerked back, dropping his hold on Lauren, who quickly skirted around him and got in the car. What the hell was he doing? He’d almost kissed Lauren. He checked Viv’s seat belt and it was fine. Viv was sucking her thumb and twirling her hair, nearly asleep. He quietly shut the door.
He took a deep calming breath. He couldn’t screw things up by lusting for the nanny. She was fantastic with Viv. He was just starting to get himself back together—all thanks to Lauren.
He got in the car and turned to Lauren, who was staring straight ahead, not even blinking. He opened his mouth, had no idea what to say, and started the car instead, backing out of the driveway.
Viv fell asleep before he’d even left his dad’s block. Lauren was so quiet he feared he’d crossed the line.
He glanced over at Lauren. “You okay?”
She nodded, her smile tight.
He let it go. It wouldn’t happen again, he told himself. “You must’ve done a good job wearing Viv out.”
“I try. Truthfully, I’m a little worn out too.”
He felt guilty over the huge effort she’d made just for him to get a little work done and nap. “It’s late,” he said. “You’re two hours into overtime. You can come late one day or leave early to make up for it.”
“Don’t be silly. I got a free dinner out of it. I’m fine.”
“I’m starting to believe you have supernanny powers,” he said, only half joking.
She laughed. “I love kids. And I guess they love me too.”
He stopped at a stop sign and turned to her. “Viv sure does.”
She met his gaze steadily. “That’s partly why I decided to get serious about finding Mr. Right this summer. I’d like to have the husband before the kids.”
No. The voice in his head spoke up loud and clear. He kept his mouth shut. He had no right to tell her no to finding her Mr. Right.
She stared at him for a moment, searching his features, seeming to be waiting for him to say something before giving up and facing front. “You probably think it’s stupid to have a plan, but—”
“Not if it’s what you want,” he said gruffly. He hit the accelerator. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to have a husband and kids. She absolutely deserved that. Mostly he felt dread because he knew she’d find that. Anyone could see what a catch she was as a future mother of their children—sweet, smart, patient, and, though he wished he didn’t notice, beautiful in a wholesome angelic way. That had never been his type and he wasn’t sure why it drew him in so much now. Was it just because she seemed to adore Viv as much as he did?
He was already dreading when the summer ended and his little girl didn’t have Lauren in her life. He knew it wasn’t fair to ask Lauren to stick around. He had nothing to offer her. When it came to loving anyone but his daughter, that was a hard stop.
Chapter Eight
The next afternoon, Lauren had to talk Alex down as she prepared to take Viv to Joe’s house. He was hovering instead of working or napping like he should’ve been. “Alex,” she said gently, “I’ve got this.”
She took the diaper bag from him and set the strap over her shoulder.
“Call me for any reason,” Alex said anxiously. “You have my number, right?”
“You gave it to me the day you interviewed me.” She put a hand on his arm in a reassuring gesture and met hard muscle that went taut before he pulled away.
She ignored the sting that provoked. He’d almost kissed her yesterday, she was sure of it. She was also sure he understood she was looking for a relationship. Clearly, he wasn’t. Therefore, they would remain friends. Coworkers for the summer. Obviously he agreed that was the best course of action because he’d been careful to keep his distance from the moment she’d arrived this morning.
She swallowed and pasted on a smile. “It’ll just be for a couple of hours. Don’t forget I’m certified for pediatric first aid and CPR.”
His mouth crooked to the side. “I remember.”
“Come on, Viv,” she said, “let’s roll.”
“Roll!” Viv hollered. “Bye, Daddy!” She didn’t look back.
Lauren glanced back to see Alex looked a little stunned and then hurt flashed in his eyes. This little outing had been a big deal to him. Viv venturing out without him.
She bent down to Viv. “Give Daddy a hug goodbye.”
Viv ran back and hugged Alex’s legs.
He ruffled her hair. “Have fun, pumpkin.”
“Bye-bye!” Viv ran back to Lauren.
Alex slowly backed away.
Lauren took Viv by the hand and gave Alex a wink. “We’ll see you after your boring nap.” She figured it’d be easier on Viv if she thought nothing fun was happening at home.
“Bye,” he said, sounding very forlorn.
She almost felt guilty, but it was just a short trip to visit Viv’s grandfather. Alex would be okay. She wanted to give him the space he needed to get his life back on track, whether that meant catching up on work or sleep or whatever he needed.
She was just buckling Viv into her booster seat when a masculine voice behind her made her jump and hit her head on the top of the car.
“Just checking if you have her blanket,” Alex said.
Lauren rubbed the back of her head and turned to him. “It’s in the diaper bag, right?” She patted the bag over her shoulder.
He peered inside the bag. “Yeah.”
She left the car door open until she could turn on the air-conditioning. “She’ll be fine. I promise.” She made a small crisscross over her heart.
He stared at her heart. “She’s my everything,” he said quietly.
“And you’re hers, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more people in there, right?” He met her eyes and she saw that old pain and sorrow there. “I say this as a friend, Alex, you need to give her a little freedom. Just a little.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, okay.” He dropped his hand and leaned toward Viv. “Have fun with Miss Lauren.”
“Mommy,” Viv said loud and clear.
Lauren froze and exchanged a shocked look with Alex.
“No,” Alex said tightly, “she’s not your mommy. Your mommy is sleeping with the angels in heaven.”
“Mommy,” Viv said stubbornly.
Alex paled.
Lauren shook her head and smiled at Viv. “You can call me Super L and I’ll call you Princess Kei-Kei.” She tapped her on the nose.
Viv beamed. “Kei-Kei!”
Lauren shot Alex a sympathetic look, knowing how he mourned the loss of Tammy. His return look wasn’t sad like she thought it would be. He looked somewhere between shock and wonder. He took a step back.
She carefully shut the car door, making sure Viv didn’t stick out an arm or leg at the last minute. She turned to Alex. “Sometimes my students slip and call me mommy too. Like when they’re tired or upset. It’s no big deal.”
His voice came out hoarse. “She’s never called anyone mommy before.”
She bit her lip. Maybe Viv really wanted a mom now that she was old enough to realize she didn’t have one. “I’m sorry. I know it’s hard for you to hear after—”
“No, it’s okay. You handled it great. Thanks, Super L.”
She smiled, glad he wasn’t dwelling on the awkward mommy moment. “No problem.”
She got in the car and blasted the air conditioner, still flushed from all the awkwardness. She pulled into the street and glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure Alex had gone back inside. He was just standing there, watching th
em drive away.
In the backseat, Viv started singing the Princess Kei-Kei and the Elves theme song at the top of her lungs. Lauren smiled to herself and joined in.
Joe greeted them like long-lost family when they arrived, bowling her over with his enthusiasm. “Welcome! Come in, come in. So glad you could make it.”
Lauren stepped inside and lifted Viv to give him a kiss. Joe surprised her by kissing her cheek too. Then he rubbed his hands together. “So what should we do first, Miss Vivian? Tee-ball or football?”
“Football!” Viv exclaimed.
“Let’s go,” Joe said, gesturing them toward the back door. Once outside, Joe opened a shed and handed Viv a little kid football helmet.
She put it on and grinned. “Football,” she told Lauren.
“You look so professional,” Lauren said, pulling out her cell phone and snapping a picture. “Like a real football player.”
Joe handed Viv a toddler-sized football. He quickly backed up a few steps and Viv fired a perfect spiral pass at him. He caught it and pretended his hand burned. “Woo, Viv! Bringing the heat!”
He lobbed the ball back in an easy underhand pass and Viv fired it back. Lauren texted the picture to Alex with the caption, Future Hall of Famer.
He texted back immediately. Adorable.
She watched Viv and Joe toss the ball a few more times before Joe called to her, “Go long.”
She stood there, unsure what to do.
“Run!” Viv shouted.
She ran half the length of the yard. Joe tossed her the football and she bobbled it. Viv charged forward and grabbed it, passing it back to Joe. They played pass the football for a while until Viv took off her helmet and headed for the shed. Apparently that was the cue for the next game. Viv emerged with a plastic bat.
“Time for tee-ball,” Joe announced, putting back the football stuff and bringing out the plastic tee and two large plastic softballs.
He set it up and Lauren watched Viv whack both the ball and the stand, drop her bat, and race from tree to tree in the pattern of a crooked baseball diamond. Lauren snapped a picture of the tee on the ground and texted Alex. Power swing took out ball & tee.
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