by Claire Adams
“I didn’t know I was whistling,” I said, telling the truth. Since waking up, I had an extra pep in my step. And the two cups of coffee helped keep me going that morning.
“You were,” she said. “Loudly.”
I chuckled and pressed a kiss to her head. She hugged my leg and stayed there for only a moment before going to the table. I reached into the refrigerator for milk for her.
“Did you have fun last night?” she asked.
I stiffened and then I realized she meant on my date with Kimberly.
“It was all right,” I said, holding back the urge to cringe in front of her. Gina would undoubtedly tell Jess about my reaction to the date and Kimberly was Jess’s friend. Though Jess hadn’t been loyal to her friend last night.
“You are going out again?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’m not sure.”
Gina frowned. “That’s sad. But I think you will find someone, Daddy. Does Jess have another friend?”
This kid was too smart for her age. I picked up the plate of cooling waffles and brought them over to the table. Food always distracted Gina and this time was no different. She dug her fork into one of the waffles, and I helped her get it onto her plate.
“What did you do with Jess last night?” I asked, not wanting to talk about my part of the evening.
“We watched that doggie movie. And then we played dress up and had a tea party!” She nibbled on a bite of her breakfast.
“You had tea before bed?” Gina was potty-trained but having a lot of any drink before bed was usually a sign of wet sheets.
“It was pretend tea, Daddy,” she said. Her tone had a hint of a teenage attitude clipped onto it.
She had no idea how much trouble she was going to cause me when she was older. I reached over and tickled her side. She laughed. And I held onto that sound. I would refer to it when she was going on dates with boys.
I shivered and started eating my food. “Uncle Brandon is back.”
“Can we see him?” Gina asked, bouncing in her chair.
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll give him a call this morning. I’m sure he has something special for you from his vacation.”
“Present! Present!” she chanted.
I smirked. “Only if you finish your breakfast first.”
That was all the motivation she needed.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated that afternoon. At the park, I was able to shed my jacket with the warmer temperature. I tossed the jacket on the bench on the outskirts of the playground. Gina took off for the slide, her favorite thing to do there. She could slide for an entire day if it were up to her. I stayed back, keeping a good eye on her without encroaching on her fun.
I scanned the area, looking for Brandon. He had a tendency to arrive at places whenever he felt like it. Something that annoyed the hell out of Amelia and myself.
I’d stopped looking for him after five minutes and sat on one of the benches watching Gina. Gina had played for almost a half-hour before Brandon arrived.
“Sorry I’m late,” Brandon said, yawning.
“Did you just wake up?” I asked. It was after one o’clock.
“I’m on a different time zone,” he said.
His whole life was on a different time zone. I shook hands with him. In his other hand was a small bag, undoubtedly a present for Gina. She was far too busy with sliding to see that her honorary uncle had shown up.
I didn’t interrupt her. I needed to talk to someone about Jess. Even though I was sure Brandon would see this as a step forward in getting me together with someone.
“So, last night,” I started.
“Oh, that’s right,” he said, chucking me in the arm. “You had a date. How did it go?”
A slow smile spread across my mouth.
“Dude, you got laid!” Brandon said, loud enough for the surrounding parents to hear. Since there were mostly moms and nannies, I got a lot of dirty looks.
“Keep it down, man,” I said.
“Was she super flexible?” Brandon asked.
“Who, Jess?”
“You went out with a girl named Jess?” Brandon asked, confused.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I went out with Jess’s friend, Kimberly. The date didn’t go well. So, when I came home, Jess was there, and we had some wine, and one thing led to another…”
“Wait,” he said, crossing his arms. “Kimberly was the yoga teacher?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t sleep with her?”
“No, I slept with Jess.” Why wasn’t he catching on? Maybe he’d been the wrong person to talk about this with.
“What happened on the date?” Brandon asked.
I sighed. “She was only into the fact that I have money. And she flirted with every other guy we came in contact with.”
“Did she want to sleep with you?” he asked.
I recalled her attempt to feel me up in the car. “I’m pretty sure she did.”
“And she was attractive?”
“Yeah,” I said, unsure of where he was going with this line of questioning.
“So, instead, you denied an easy lay and went home and slept with your nanny?”
“That’s not how it went,” I said, cutting a glance toward Gina. She was far enough away from me not to hear the conversation. But that didn’t stop me from lowering my voice.
“Then how did it go?” Brandon asked.
“Like I was saying, we shared a bottle of wine. We got to talking. She’s sweet and funny. And incredibly sexy. And it just happened.”
Brandon didn’t say anything at first.
I rolled my shoulders, feeling the tension in my muscles. “What?”
“That sounds like a bad choice on your part.”
His reaction surprised me. “What are you talking about? You’re always trying to fix me up.”
“Not with your employees.”
“She’s not—I mean, technically she works for me, but it’s not like I’m sleeping with one of my real employees.”
“Do you pay her every week?”
I had nothing to say to that.
“She’s your employee,” he said with finality. “And mixing your lives together is only going to make things complicated.”
“That’s what she said last night after we…you know,” I told him.
“She’s smart, then,” he said. “You? Not so much.”
I knew he was kidding, but my good mood was shattered completely at that moment. Now I worried that Jess would leave us because of what we’d done. Granted, the both of us were to blame, but I had been the one to initiate it.
“It won’t happen again,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets.
Brandon clapped a hand on my back. “We all make mistakes. At the very least, she got you on a date. Now, Amelia has this friend—”
“No,” I said. “I’m not going on any more dates.” I saw how my first one ended and I didn’t want to be tempted with a repeat.
“Don’t quit after one bad date,” Brandon said. “You know how many chicks I went out with before I met Amelia?”
“We were young then,” I said.
“Don’t age us, man. We’re still in our prime.”
Considering I went to bed early every night and worked my ass off, I didn’t feel like I was in my prime.
“Uncle Brandon!” Gina said, running in our direction.
“There’s my favorite niece,” Brandon said, pulling her into a hug.
“Here I am!”
He spun her around, and she giggled, the same way she did with Jess. I frowned. If Jess left us, it would have devastating consequences.
That night, when putting Gina to bed, she wiggled around under her sheets like a worm.
“How did the playground not rid you of all this energy?” I asked.
“Jess is coming tomorrow,” she said with a big grin.
I laughed. “Jess is coming tomorrow. You just saw her yesterday.”
; “But tomorrow we’re starting a quilt!”
“A quilt?”
Gina nodded and then let out a big yawn. Even if her little body was going a mile and minute, her head had the right idea. She needed to sleep. She’d yawned all through dinner and somehow managed to get this little burst of energy going before bedtime.
“Jess and her mom used to make quilts together.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“We’re going to get some fabric tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see it when it’s done.”
“That won’t be for a while, but maybe sometimes you can sleep with it.”
“That’s so nice of you,” I said and kissed her forehead.
She reached up and turned my head so she could kiss my cheek. “Thank you for picking Jess as my nanny.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
Gina turned around and spread out, lying on her stomach. I covered her with the duvet. I liked that Gina had Jess in her life. Already I saw a difference in my daughter with Jess’s influence. I would do anything to keep Jess around for Gina. And I didn’t much mind having her in my life too.
Chapter Fourteen
Jess
I white-knuckled my steering wheel during the whole ride over to Noah’s on Monday morning. Yesterday had been a waste of a day. Although, I needed it, especially because my mind whirred with the possibilities of the consequences of our actions. I ate junk food and binge-watched trashy television until my stomach was full and my brain was mush.
My indecision on the matter wasn’t resolved by the time I got to Noah’s home. After parking my car in the driveway, I sat there for a moment, collecting myself.
You can do this. You have to do this.
I had no other choice. I couldn’t give up on Gina because of my misstep. I would talk everything over with Noah, and then we would forget about sleeping together.
At least I would try. Even though I’d left him on Saturday night, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. I could have stayed, and I was sure he wouldn’t have minded.
The memory of him touching my face, my chest, and everywhere else came back to me. A wave of tingles rippled over my skin, and I held onto that last bit before burying it deep inside of me. I had to keep my wits for the unknown reaction from Noah that I was about to face.
For once, I wished that Noah left later in the morning, preferably when Gina was awake. At least at that point she could be the buffer between us. I stared at the clock on my dashboard and knew that I had to go inside. If Noah was upset about what had happened and that I was late, it wouldn’t make the situation any easier.
I marched up to the door, confident that I would have a job at the end of the day.
Inside, I heard Noah moving around in the kitchen. I closed the door louder than I normally would have to alert him that I was in the house.
I tightened the scarf around my neck, covering myself up so there he would in no way think I was trying to seduce him. I’d never intended that the first time. Once again, a delicious thread of pleasure moved through me, settling between my legs.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts before entering the kitchen.
“Good morning,” I said cheerfully.
Noah turned. He cradled a mug of coffee in his hands. “Morning.”
We stood there for a moment, not meeting each other’s eyes. A pit widened in my stomach. This was as awkward as I imagined.
“How was the rest of your weekend?” Noah asked, sipping from his mug.
I let out a slow breath. His eyes locked on mine over the rim of his cup. They flashed in the same way they did on Saturday night.
“Not bad,” I said. “You?”
“Gina and I went to the park and met up with a friend.”
A female friend?
“That sounds like fun,” I said, rubbing my sweaty palm against my jeans.
“Yeah, he gave Gina a handmade doll he bought on one of the islands during his vacation.”
Did he sense my need for a gender clarification? “That’s lovely,” I said. “I can’t wait to see it.”
He nodded. “Gina loves it. I’m sure it will be the first thing you see when she gets up.”
“Great,” I said.
Noah finished his coffee and placed the mug in the dishwasher. “Thanks for setting up the quilt activity.”
“It’s no problem. I’ve been meaning to do another one for some time.”
Noah crossed the room and stood in front of me. His green eyes were darker this morning. Probably because there wasn’t much light in the room. “She’s really excited about it.”
I slowly inhaled, smelling a hint of his cologne. The scent memory catapulted me back to Saturday night.
“Well,” he said with a small smirk. “I should get going.”
“Yeah,” I said as I exhaled. I needed him out of my sight or I was going to go crazy with need. Would this feeling ever go away? It wasn’t completely his fault that this was awkward. I had wanted to have sex with him. And I was the one who left that night. What would have happened if I stayed? Did he think of me more than his nanny after that night? Or did he agree that this was a bad idea? It was clear we weren’t going to talk about it at that moment. But I built up a list of questions in my mind for when we did have that discussion when we had more time to hash it all out.
I waited until the front door closed and I heard the engine of his car before I headed into the kitchen to start on Gina’s breakfast.
With her dislike for most vegetables, I chopped spinach and added it to her oatmeal. It was a trick I’d learned in one of my earlier nanny jobs. Sadly, that job only worked out for about two weeks when the family moved across the country.
When I finished preparing the breakfast, I put the oatmeal in two bowls to allow it to cool before going upstairs.
Gina was still in bed when I opened the door. Her little eyes cracked open and then widened like saucers. “Jess!” She jumped out of bed and ran over to me, hugging my legs.
“Good morning, little tacker. Ready for breakfast?”
“I’m hungry!” she said in a deep voice. The reference to the dinosaur cartoon character from one of her favorite shows made me smile. She hugged her new doll against her body and took my hand, marching down to the kitchen with me.
At first, Gina glanced suspiciously at her oatmeal, but when I started eating it, she dug right in. Kids are much smarter than we give them credit for, so I held my breath as she ate, fully expecting her to know that I sneaked something healthy into her meal.
“Your dad told me your uncle got you this doll?”
“I love her!” she said then kissed the doll. I loved how affectionate she was. “Her name is Sally.”
“That’s a pretty name,” I said. “What else did you do yesterday?”
“Did Daddy tell you about his date?” Gina asked, completely ignoring my question.
“Um, not really,” I said.
“He told me that he’s not going out with your friend anymore.”
“Oh.”
“He was in a good mood yesterday.”
“He was?” I asked. Even after the awkward goodbye we shared, he had been in a good mood? After this morning and his nonchalant attitude about everything, I had no idea what to think. But hearing he had been in a good mood helped improve mine as well. I tried to hide my smile with a sip from my mug. With Gina reporting to me about Noah’s mood, I was sure she’d say something to him if I reacted too much either way.
“Yeah. He was smiling like you are.”
I wiped the smile from my face. I thought I hid it enough, but Gina was observant. Almost too much sometimes.
Gina sighed. “Do you have any other friends for Daddy?”
I almost choked on my oatmeal. “I don’t.” Like hell was I going to set him up ever again. Especially after sleeping with him.
“Oh,” she said.
“These things aren’t to be rushed,” I said, trying to cheer her up. “I’m
sure someone will come along.”
She nodded and focused on her meal again.
Later that morning, we stopped by the record shop on the way to the fabric store. Tuckering Gina out early would help get her down for a nap easier that afternoon and then I could focus on preparing the quilt for us. When we entered the store, Gina ran over to Sierra, who was behind the counter, painting her nails.
Gina almost knocked over a bowl of lollies on the counter. With my quick reflexes from working with kids, I was able to grab it before they scattered all over the counter and floor.
“Can I have one?” Gina asked me.
“No,” I said firmly. “Not before lunch.”
“Oh, come on,” Sierra said.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
Sierra ignored me and spoke to Gina. “Give me a second, and I’ll get you the record.”
There was no one else in the shop that morning, so we had the place to ourselves. I desperately wanted to tell Sierra about everything that happened this weekend. It wasn’t a conversation to be told through text. And Gina would be busy dancing in a few moments so we could quickly chat.
Sierra came around the counter, waving one hand out at her side to air dry the nail polish.
Something crinkled, and I saw Sierra slip Gina one of the lollies.
I gritted my teeth. At least I was sticking firmly to my answer.
After setting up the record for Gina, Sierra went back to the counter, and I leaned against it, watching Gina.
“I said no candy,” I said to her.
“But I’m the fun one,” she said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes.
“How did your weekend turn out?” Sierra asked. “I couldn’t believe I was stuck here both days. I’m going to have a chat with Harold about the schedule.”