I love that she asks, that she’s excited about this business opportunity.
I let the door fall behind her, take her hand, and bring her to the couch. When I sit next to her, our knees touch. “He wants to be in business together. That means I’m the lucky son of a bitch who gets to give him money,” I say, then laugh at that statement. “Gabriel truly is in the driver’s seat.”
“He is amazingly talented. It’s a wise choice, Simon. For both of you. You guys just get each other. You’re the business smarts that he needs to balance his artistic soul.”
I smile at the compliment. “Thank you. Not gonna lie—I’m pretty damn excited. This is exactly the sort of deal I’ve wanted to make. He’s got all these plans for growing the business. He has vision, and I think he can become a true rock-star chef.”
“And you get to be a part of that,” she says, pride in her voice, admiration in her eyes. The support she shows warms my bones. I’m so damn lucky to have a chance with a woman like her.
“You predicted it,” I say, reminding her of what she’d said after the dinner with him in the Village.
She shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “I had a good feeling, but I also believed in you.”
“But you know it wouldn’t have happened without you, Abby.” Keeping my eyes on hers, I squeeze her fingers. “You played a huge part, teaching me the right phrases, helping me to converse with them. You were a key part of this.”
I brush my lips to her temple, her cheek, her mouth. She parts her lips, and my heart thumps hard against my chest. I kiss her, slow and tender, savoring every second of her touch. Her kiss is everything good in the world.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble earlier,” she says when we break the kiss. “When I opened the door for Miriam.”
Shaking my head, I press my finger to her lips. “Don’t apologize, beautiful. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
She lightly pushes my hand away. “I want to say this,” she says, her voice strong, reminding me that she’s no pushover. “I need you to understand why I did it. I wanted to surprise you naked. I had this image of you opening the door, seeing me with nothing on, and feeling I was your gift.”
My skin heats up all over, and a million naughty thoughts fight their way to the front of my brain. “You are a gift,” I say softly, reaching for her, threading my hand through her blond curls. She sighs sexily as I touch her, and that small sound is such a relief. Maybe there was a part of me that was worried that she’d be scared away. But Abby’s not like that. She’s tough. She’s strong. And she has a heart that’s willing to let me in, baggage and all.
She presses her palms to my chest, giving a light push. Her eyes are intense. “That’s what I want to be to you. A gift.”
“You are. You absolutely are.” I tilt my head, studying her face. I inch back. “Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ in that statement?”
She takes a breath and lets it out. “Because. There is.”
My heart craters. Shit. After last night, after today, after all these months—I don’t want to lose her. “What is it?” I ask, dread in my tone.
She doesn’t let go of me, though. Her hands travel up my chest to my shoulders, then into my hair. Ah, that’s better. Fuck dread. Whatever is coming, we can handle it, as long as her hands are on me.
“Here’s the thing . . . I love you, and I love your daughter, but I don’t think I can work for you anymore.”
I frown. Her words barely compute. “Why? I thought we talked about this last night? That we were going to find a way for this all to work.”
She raises her chin. “We did talk about it. At night. After amazing sex,” she says, playing with the ends of my hair. “When we were all dopey and happy.”
“The sex will be amazing again, so just be prepared for more of that.”
She runs her fingers down my neck, making me shudder. “I know. I know it’ll be incredible.”
“Jesus Christ, you’re driving me crazy with every little touch.” My voice is practically a growl.
“That’s my point,” she says, as her fingers travel over my shoulders and down my arms. “I want to touch you like this. But Simon, I don’t feel right being your lover and your employee. It’s not what I want for myself.”
“But,” I say, stumbling on words. My muscles tense, and worry thrums through me even as she draws lazy circles on my biceps. “What do you want?”
She tilts her head like a curious cat. “Don’t you get it?”
“No. Spell it out.”
“I want to be with you, silly. I want to run my hands in your hair and down your arms. I love you, and I want to go to dinner with you, and the movies, and send naughty text messages, and take showers together and learn exactly how top-notch the rating is when it’s you and me in the shower.” Her words thrill me and turn me on. Then she melts me when she says, “And I love your daughter.”
She takes a beat then adds, “But I can’t be your employee, and you can’t pay me if you want to make love to me. So if you want me in your life, this is how you can have me. I’ll be yours, and I’ll be with you as your girlfriend, and with Hayden as her father’s girlfriend. But I can’t work for you.”
And hell if I don’t fall deeper into love with her this second. My heart leaps out of my chest into her hands. She is so goddamn giving, so loving. I press a kiss to her forehead. “You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever known, but I can’t let you do that.”
“But you can’t stop me, either.”
“I know. That’s the issue. I can’t stop you from quitting. But this feels unfair. Unfair to you.” This bothers me immensely. There has always been an imbalance of power between us. I’ve been her boss. She’s been my employee. But now, if she’s cutting that thread to make the sacrifice for us as a couple, the power tips even more unfairly in my direction.
She’s losing her job. For me. “This is crazy. I don’t want you to be without work. I have enough money. I’ve made plenty already. You shouldn’t be the one to lose her job.”
“It’s okay. I’ll find another one soon enough, and I’ll stay until you find someone else. I’m not going to leave you in the lurch with Hayden. But I can’t be the person I want to be if I work for you and sleep with you and spend my nights with you. And I want to do things together with you and your girl, as a couple.”
I cup her cheeks, getting lost in those beautiful eyes. “I want to do all those things with you. But I don’t want you to be the one who gives up a job. I want to take care of you.”
She smiles but shakes her head. “I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can. Your fierceness and your independence are what I love about you. But you’ve got to see that I want to help.”
I can’t let Abby bear all the burden. But I don’t know how to fix this, either, and that drives me crazy. For a few seconds I toss around a number of alternatives in my head, then like ten tons of obvious falling from the sky, the answer is crystal clear. I know what I need to do, and how to fix this for her. “I’m not the kind of man who’s going to let the woman he loves take the leap alone.”
“Okay,” she says slowly. “And that means what?”
“Do you trust me?”
She nods.
“I know how to make deals. And I have one in mind. Give me a bit to work this out.”
She fiddles with the rolled-up cuffs of my shirt. “I can’t wait to hear what you have up your sleeve.” Then she plays with the collar. “But I’ll say this. I do think it’s going to be really weird for you to have another nanny.”
I laugh.
She’s right on that account. But not if I hire the right one.
26
Abby
* * *
A new student enters my Spanish class the next morning.
I do a double take then nod a silent hello. His face is familiar, and so is his smile.
He answers the questions I pose during class. He answers them perfectly.
Because he’s fluent.
At the end of the lesson when my other students leave, Gabriel strides up to me and extends his hand. “So good to see you again, Abby.”
“And you, as well, Gabriel,” I say as I gather up my class notes and materials. “But I didn’t think you needed a class.”
He shrugs impishly. “I don’t.”
“Exactly,” I say with a grin. “So what brings you here?”
He strokes his chin. “My new investor had an idea that I think might be rather brilliant.”
I arch an eyebrow as I slide my purse strap up my shoulder. “Your new investor is rather bright.”
“He is. And he reminded me that all these expansion plans are well and good . . . but that I might need some training for my employees.”
“And what sort of training would that be?”
“I will need someone who is good at teaching,” he says, sweeping his arm toward the now-empty classroom. “Someone who can help all my current and future employees attain fluency in the languages required to do business in my multi-national company and my restaurants around the world.”
My smile spreads, widening across my face. I had a feeling that was what Simon was up to—using his deal-making skills to make something magical happen for me. Something on my own terms.
“That’s why I came here today. To see if you’re as good with teaching as I suspected.”
“And your conclusion?”
“You’re even better,” he says, then takes a beat. “I know you hold classes and tutor, but I would love to offer you contract work teaching languages at my company, if you’re able to fit it into your schedule.”
His excitement is infectious. His offer is enticing. It’s exactly the type of work I love. “It seems I have more time than I did recently, so I’d love to hear more about what you have in mind.”
I leave the classroom with Gabriel, and we head out for coffee and to talk more about his plans. I’ll certainly miss taking care of Hayden all day, but she’s starting kindergarten in a few months, and this seems like the perfect next job for me. Simon might have played a role as the matchmaker, but I don’t doubt my skills and talent are what seal the deal.
And that’s how I like to roll.
Besides, I’ll be seeing plenty more of Hayden and Simon, and in a whole new way.
Simon
* * *
A few days later, Harper nabs a spare, thrusts her arms in the air, then high-fives Abby.
Nick drops his forehead in his palm and shakes his head. “Damn. I will never beat her.”
He raises his face and shrugs as the guy next to us launches an emerald green ball that rips down the lane.
“She’s just too good,” I say. We’re at the bowling alley that Harper and Nick love, and Abby stole me away from work for an early evening game of guys versus girls. Hayden is with Madison at one of those do-it-yourself pottery places.
“I swear Harper was a bowling pro in a past life.”
“And I’m convinced I played centerfield for the Yankees in another life,” I say, and Nick laughs.
I steal a glance at my watch.
Nick taps the screen where he’s keeping score. “You gotta go? Or think you can nail a strike with that once-was-an-outfielder arm to win for us?”
I grin. “I’ll do my best.”
I grab the bowling ball and send it rolling along the hard wood in a smooth line, knocking down all ten pins. Nick pumps a fist. “Dude, I need you on my team, like, forever.”
I blow on my fingers, too hot to handle. “And on that note, I need to pick up Hayden.”
Abby walks over and wraps her hand around my arm. “Thanks for joining us.”
Nick scratches his chin and seems deep in thought for a moment. “Hey man, if you ever need someone to watch your kid so you guys can go out, Harper and I would be happy to help.”
Harper nods enthusiastically, and Abby smiles as wide as I’ve ever seen. As for me? Well, the offer is a shot of sunshine straight in the heart. There once was a time when I figured I wouldn’t fit in with her friends—that I’d be the odd man out.
Instead, the opposite has happened. So, I accept his offer for Friday night. By then, I should have everything in place to tell Abby my plan.
Tyler raises his beer glass. “You’re really going to do it?”
I nod and repeat, “I’m really going to do it.”
He tips his glass to mine and clinks. We’re at Speakeasy, a swank bar in midtown that his cousin’s wife runs. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you. A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”
Tyler downs a gulp of his pale ale as music plays from the speakers above us. “Damn straight. And this might be the ballsiest, coolest move you’ve ever made, Travers.”
I beam, pride bursting in my chest. “I think so, too.” I take a thirsty drink of my beer then set down the glass. “And by the way, your plan to win back Delaney is one hundred percent certified insane.”
Tyler laughs and nods as a pair of women in slouchy tops and skinny jeans walk past us, one of them checking out my friend. He wiggles his eyebrows in their direction. “It is insane. Especially since I could, you know, start over with someone new.”
“You could, but that’s not what you want.”
He shakes his head with a sigh. “Not at all. I’m getting her back.”
“I won’t bet against you, even though I’ve got a hundred-dollar bill that says you won’t make it through the front door.”
He offers his hand to shake. “Oh, ye of little faith. You’re on.”
After we seal the bet, I down more of the beer then point to our drinks. “In case you’re wondering, I did use the hundred I won from you for these brews.”
He crinkles his nose. “Dude, this is my cousin’s wife’s bar. I’m going to lose my lunch, knowing where that’s been.”
“I deposited it, dickhead. That was a credit card I used for these.”
“Then you infected some poor bank employee,” he says, shaking his head as if he’s disappointed with me.
“I’m the worst. Simply the worst.”
“You’re the worst,” he agrees. Then he takes a deep breath and nods a few times, as if he’s thinking about something. “Your plan is epic, man.”
And in a few hours, after Abby finishes her day with Hayden, I’ll take her out and tell her.
“Thank you. And yours might very well prove to be epic, too.”
He raises a glass one more time. “To our epic selves.”
“And to the women who’ll have us.”
“Bless those angels,” Tyler adds.
Angels, indeed. That’s a perfect way to describe my Abby.
27
Abby
* * *
That night, Harper pretends to make a pencil go through her nose and come out her ear. Hayden’s eyes widen, and she claps several times.
“Again! Again! Do it again, and teach me, please!”
Nick laughs from his spot on the couch. “She never reveals the secrets of her tricks.”
Harper waggles her hands in a now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t style. “He’s right. But I’ll gladly do it again.”
As my magician friend shows off more sleight-of-hand, I grab my purse from the coffee table. Meanwhile, Nick draws a cartoon of a pirate, as per Hayden’s request. The magician and the cartoonist—I can’t think of better jobs for a pair of babysitting friends to have.
“Now, don’t let her trick you into thinking she can stay up late,” Simon tells Harper as he wraps an arm around his daughter’s little shoulder. “This little lady has an eight o’clock bedtime.”
Harper winks at Hayden, then nods solemnly at Simon. “I’d never do that. We’ll make sure she goes to bed on time, and we’ll make doubly sure that she doesn’t eat any of the mint chocolate-chip ice cream that we didn’t bring.”
“We have ice cream? You didn’t tell me that,” Nick says, playing along with Harper.
“Wha
t about Skittles?” Hayden asks. “I love Skittles, too.”
Harper waves a hand behind Hayden’s ear and produces a mini bag of Skittles. Hayden claps, and Simon shrugs happily. “Have all the sugar you want,” he says to his girl, then to Harper and Nick, “And you guys have fun when she’s bouncing off the walls.”
“We absolutely will,” Harper says.
I was blown away when Nick had offered to babysit at the bowling alley. Harper had seconded him and later told me, “I don’t want your relationship with His Hotness to be dependent on when his ex-wife has the kid. If you want to have a date during the week, you can count on us to help out with Hayden.”
It was simply an offer we couldn’t refuse. Simon’s sister Kristy has offered to babysit for us, too, and I’m sure we’ll lean on her some night soon.
Simon says thank you to Harper and Nick, and I love that he’s getting to know my friends better and hanging out with them, too. I want him to be a part of my “family” here in New York.
We leave and walk in the warm summer night to a new fusion-cuisine restaurant off Park Avenue, which Eduardo has been raving about.
After the meal, Simon raises a glass of wine and toasts to me then to us.
He clears his throat. “There’s something I want to tell you. It’s not bad, I swear,” he adds, with that smile I adore.
I run the toe of my black high heel along his leg under the table. “Better not be bad.”
“So,” he says, setting down his wine and clasping his hands together. “I found a new nanny.”
My eyes widen. “Already? You didn’t even let the body get cold.”
“Hey, now! You left me.”
“Who did you find? And how on earth did you pull that off so quickly? This is New York City. It’s not easy finding a good nanny, especially to replace, like, the best nanny ever,” I say, pointing at myself.
“That’s true. You’re a tough act to follow.”
The Sexy One Page 15