by Molly McLain
It was probably overkill, but he could never be too cautious when it came to the safety and well-being of his daughter. “You wouldn’t mind?”
She laughed. No doubt at his ridiculousness. “Not at all. I can do the paperwork first thing on Monday.”
“Actually, I was hoping you could start Monday morning.” He grabbed his phone and tapped it against his leg. “I have some connections at the police department. We could probably run a prelim tonight, if you’re sure.”
Her knowing grin was like a stroke to his libido, reminding him just how long it had been since he’d been in the company of a woman who truly got him. It was sexy as hell and completely dangerous. “Make your call, Tony. Your daughter and I have more giggling to do.”
Confident he’d get shit from his cousin Mark, he called his friend Rob instead. The guy was on second shift desk duty since he’d had rotator cuff surgery a few weeks ago. He’d probably jump at the chance to do something other than filing and sticking his thumb up his ass.
“Hey, Rob, it’s Tony. I need a favor.”
“Can’t bail you out, man. It’s a conflict of interest.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “I’m not in jail, asshole. I need you to run a background check on a potential babysitter.”
“I can’t do that without consent of the party being checked, man. You know that.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Tony handed his cell phone off to Nicole. “Can you give this clown permission and whatever else he needs?”
She looked at him like he was an excessive fool but took the phone anyway and gave Rob her vital info. Then she promised to stop by to sign the paperwork next week. Offering the phone back, she stuck out her tongue. “There. Now brace yourself to be bored to death.”
With this woman, that was highly unlikely. He already found her more interesting than he had a woman in months.
He cleared his throat and fled to the kitchen, hiding his embarrassment at being an overprotective freak. “What ya got, Rob?”
“She sounds hot, man. Please tell me she’s not really the babysitter. And if she is, tell me she’s wearing tube socks and white cotton panties.”
Tony scrubbed a hand along his jaw. “They allow you on the force with that twisted mind?”
A moment of silence filled the airway and then Rob coughed. “Okay, so this background check looks totally fine. Social security number, date of birth and address history match up. She’s got a nursing license in Colorado just like she said and the only police contact was a minor traffic violation. Colorado court system says the only time she’d been in front of a judge was for a divorce.”
A divorce? No shit. “When was that?”
Rob, the pervy fucker, snickered. “Sorry, but I’m failing to see how that’s relevant to her babysitting skills.”
“When?”
“And you think I’m messed up,” Rob muttered. “Six years ago. Some guy named Derek.”
Six years ago she would have been twenty-one. Which meant, unless she was one of those creepy child brides, she hadn’t been married for very long. Interesting, but not something he planned to bring to the discussion table, because Rob was right—as her potential employer, it was none of his business.
“That’s it? Nothing else I should know?”
“Nope. She’s clean as a whistle.” A low chuckled sounded in Tony’s ear. “Y’all have fun, eh? But at least put the kiddo to bed before you break her in.”
“Bastard,” Tony sneered. Two things were running through his mind. One, there’d be no breaking in. Two, other than his physical response to her, he had no reason not to hire Nicole.
He glanced down at the party she and Brianna were having on the living room floor, lying head to head on their bellies. Nicole oohed and aahed over the hands and knees rocking thing Bri was doing and his daughter gurgled with delight every time Nicole encouraged her.
How the hell he was gonna remain sane through this was beyond him, but it had to be done. Because his daughter friggin’ loved Nicole.
“Bri’s gonna crawl any day now and your house has a lot of stairs. Do you have baby gates?” he asked.
Nicole’s gaze jerked to his and another pleased smile spread across her face. “No, but I can get some tomorrow.”
“Or you could just come here to watch Bri.”
Eyebrows raised, she pushed back to sit on her heels. “Ten minutes ago you didn’t want me to hold her and now you’re inviting me into your home five days a week?”
“Sometimes I work on Saturday too. Is that going to be problem?”
She scraped her teeth along her lips then shook her head. “No. Not at all.”
He wasn’t convinced, but who was he to question her availability? If she didn’t want the hours, it was her responsibility to say so. They needed to discuss money next, so he rattled off a weekly wage slightly higher than he paid Mrs. R.—she was coming to him every morning, after all—and her pretty eyes lit up like stars.
“Are you serious? For babysitting?”
“You have credentials. Or at least your resume says you do.”
A faint color tinged her cheeks. “I’m legit. I promise.”
He didn’t doubt that.
It was the ability to control his baser urges and keep things between them professional that he second-guessed; especially when Nicole leaned forward to set the toy in front of Brianna and her sweater fell off one shoulder, revealing a lacy black bra strap and a nice expanse of juicy cleavage. She moved quickly to correct herself, but not before the eyeful of curves sent all his blood rushing to his groin.
He swallowed hard. “I’ve gotta be out the door by 6:30 on Monday morning.”
She flashed a bright grin. “Then I’ll be here by 6:15.”
Chapter Six
Monday morning came quickly, but then maybe it just seemed that way because his laundry was still piled up and there were now even more dishes in the sink.
Being a single father definitely left him aching for more hours in the day. Not that he’d ever utilized his free time to clean before Brianna had come along—he’d spent it tossing back beer and throwing around a football, or sitting on someone’s couch, pissing and moaning about shitty ref calls on TV.
These days, he watched the Bronco games at home, alone, with a two-beer limit, because if something happened to Bri, he was the only one there to take care of her or to drive her to the doctor. He had to be at-the-ready around the clock and that left little to no time for putting reality aside.
He glanced down at his daughter, still sound asleep in her crib. A lock of dark hair fell over her forehead and her pale pink lips twitched, adorably drinking from an imaginary bottle in her sleep. Bringing her light fleece blanket up to her chest, he tucked her in and snuck out of the room before his presence woke her up.
Because he’d always gotten her up and out the door to Mrs. R.’s on days he worked, he was a bit worried about how Bri might react to waking up to Nicole. Still, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he poured milk into a bowl of Cheerios.
He sure as hell wouldn’t mind waking up to Nicole. In fact, he had this morning. And yesterday, too. She hadn’t been far from his mind since she walked into his life and stole the starring role in his fantasies.
Only she wasn’t here for him—she was here for Bri.
“Dumbass,” he chided himself, sticking the spoon his mouth and wolfing down the cereal as he stood, gazing blindly out the window above the sink. Nicole trotted across the street a few minutes later and he cursed his dick when it immediately perked up.
He wasn’t an old, married man, salivating over a too-young girl, but there was still something illicit about imagining the babysitter’s hair spread out over his pillow or her lips wrapped around his cock. He and Nicole needed to have a working relationship built on respect and trust, and anything more than strictly business had the potential to hinder that. Frankly, he needed Nicole professionally way more than he needed her in his bed—even in his imagination.
Swallowing his last bite, he rinsed out the bowl and went to the door. When he opened it he had to bite back a growl of approval. Nicole was dressed in another pair of clingy black leggings that hit her mid-calf and a bright blue hoodie that made her eyes look as big and as wide as the ocean. Her golden blonde hair was braided again and he had the sudden urge to tug out the rubber band, unweave the locks and wind his hands in the sexy mess.
Boundaries, Dunn, boundaries.
“Good morning,” she said in a hushed voice. “I know it looks like I brought the whole house, but it’s really just a couple books.”
Tony blinked and, for the first time noticed the big, stripped bag draped over her shoulder. It was wider than she was. She also held two to-go cups from Cedar Street Brew.
“A couple?” Stepping aside, he let her pass by, because...well, coffee. And she smelled amazing. Like something warm and sugary.
She kicked off her tennis shoes—there was room because he’d at least managed to clean up the mountain of boots—and comfortably made her way into the kitchen in her socks. He followed after. Not watching the soft sway of her ass.
“Since I can’t go through Gran’s things here, I figured I’d catch up on my reading. I just don’t know where to start.” She let the bag slide from her shoulder to his table and then she spun and held out one of the cups to him like it was some kind of prize. Which it more or less was, because he was out of coffee creamer and, since he couldn’t stand it black, he’d gone without this morning.
“Thanks. Did you walk all the way to Cedar Street this morning?”
“Uh huh. It was a good workout.”
Like she needed to work out. “How much do I owe you?”
Nicole tipped her head to the side and pursed her lips. “I thought maybe we could try out the friends thing, too. Consider it a token of goodwill.”
Friends didn’t look at each other’s asses. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” They enjoyed a moment of silence while they both sipped. “So Bri’s still sleeping?”
“She had a rough night last night, so she might be down for a while yet. I think I saw a tooth breaking through on the bottom.” Nicole made an excited face that made him grin. “There’s baby Tylenol in the medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom...” He paused and scrubbed a hand down his face. “I haven’t shown you around yet, have I?”
“No, but it’s not a huge house. I won’t get lost.”
Probably not, but that wasn’t polite. And he should at least show her how to work the thermostat.
“Come on.” He nodded over his shoulder. “It’ll only take a minute.”
***
“You have a gym.” Her heart raced at the sight of the treadmill and all the weight lifting equipment set up in Tony’s basement. A question spurred, but they were still getting to know each other, so she bit her tongue.
One corner of his mouth turned up proudly. The space suited him, with his big, hard body and all. He probably spent hours down here every week. “I’d love to add an elliptical to beef up on the cardio, especially over the winter, but this works for now. Better than running to the gym in Cameron every morning.”
“You work out every morning?” Damn. She sucked in her stomach and held her breath.
“Old habit, I guess. Stems back to my days in the Corp.”
No way. “The Marine Corp?”
He stuck his thumbs in his pockets. “That summer you spent here? We never met because I was at Pendleton.”
“Oh.” She looked him up and down, biting her lip. With his strong posture and tendency toward stoicism, he’d given off a military vibe from the start. This news shouldn’t have surprised her. Shouldn’t have made him sexier, either.
She eyed the bottom half of the tattoo on his bicep, where she could just make out the words Semper Fi in a swirly font. Her father had the same promise on his shoulder. “My dad was a Marine, too. He served in Desert Storm.”
“No shit?” A quick grin slashed across Tony’s handsome face. And just like that the scale of trust tipped in her favor. “Wait, your dad was James Keller, right?”
“Yes, why?”
“They put up a new veterans’ memorial downtown last month. His name is on it. He must’ve grown up here.”
She nodded, praying her didn’t ask why her last name was different. “Are you listed too?” she asked.
Tony glanced at the floor and ran a hand around the back of his neck. His forearm and bicep muscles corded with the movement and she breathed discreetly through the instantaneous hot flash. “Yeah, I spent seven months in Afghanistan five years ago.”
Forgoing restraint, she reached out and grazed her fingers along his other arm. “Thank you for that.”
He wouldn’t meet her eye, just shook his head and quickly dropped the subject. “Listen, I’ve gotta get to work, but you’re more than welcome to use my equipment if working out is your thing. I bring Bri down with me if she’s up early enough. She’s happy to sit in her bouncy thing over there and watch. She’s also a big hard rock fan. Crank a little Godsmack on the iPod and she’s good for a cool hour.”
She’d noticed the red and yellow circular bouncer with toys mounted on the tray sitting over in the corner. Could this man be any more adorable? “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all. In fact, if you want, come over earlier tomorrow morning and we can work out together. I could use a spotter.”
Tony lifting weights? Muscles flexing on purpose? “Yeah, maybe.” But probably not. She’d embarrass herself by staring at all that sexiness.
“You look like you take care of your body.” He gave her a generous once-over and she swore the temperature in the room went up twenty degrees. “I bet you’re one of those women who walks into the gym in close to nothing and sends all the dudes running to add more weights to their machine.”
“Pretty sure that’s never happened.”
“That they let you see, anyway.” He smiled again and she was pretty sure it was because he could see the blush on her cheeks. “I really have to go. I’ll check in later. Otherwise, you have my number. Call if something comes up.”
When they made their way back upstairs, Brianna was babbling in her crib and, though Tony checked his watch and groaned, he ducked into her room anyway, picked her up, and kissed all over her chunky little face.
“Good morning, baby girl,” he said sweetly, then, “Oh shit. Literally. Up her back.” He held her at arms’ length, nose turned up.
Nicole laughed and quickly took Bri off his hands. “Get out of here. I got this.”
“You sure?”
“You’re paying me to be. Now get.”
“I think I’m going to like having you around.”
She grinned. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
***
Brianna was one of the sweetest babies Nicole ever met. She was definitely the cutest. Probably because she looked so much like her dad.
Nicole slipped away from the little beauty, fast asleep in her playpen, and made her way to the laundry room to fold her sixth—no, seventh—load of laundry for the day. Tony would probably kill her, but she noticed this morning during the tour that he could stand the extra help and she didn’t mind a little flack in the name of doing a good deed.
She’d put Brianna’s things away, as well as the towels and other linens, but she was on her second load of Tony’s things from the bathroom hamper and she’d yet to work up the courage to take the piles to his bedroom. He’d shown her the room this morning, so it wasn’t like it was off-limits—it was just a hot man’s personal space. She might be tempted to peek around a bit. Sit on the bed. Stick her face in his pillow and inhale.
There was also something incredibly intimate about spending time in his home. Seeing the “human” side of him, like the box of Cheerios he’d left out on the counter this morning.
Who would’ve ever thought she’d find a man even more attractive because he ate Cheerios?
<
br /> Giving herself a mental shake, she stacked the last of Tony’s clothes on the dryer. If finding a man more appealing because he ate healthy cereal was what she’d been reduced to, she needed to get out more.
With a sigh, she wandered back to the living room and dropped down on the couch, picking up the book she’d finally decided on. The heroine was new to town like she was, but Vivian was already sleeping with Jake, the hot bartender down the street. Hmm. She should take Ally up on that drink she’d mentioned. Maybe she’d find a Tony look-a-like.
She bit her lips against another lusty smile as her phone rang. Probably the man himself with another of his on-the-hour check-ins.
Only it wasn’t Tony’s name on the screen—it was her ex-husband’s.
Derek hadn’t called in two weeks, so she’d hoped he’d become bored with his psycho-pestering habits. No such luck apparently.
She let the call go to voice mail, but he didn’t leave a message. And five minutes later he called again. And again. And again. Until she wanted to scream and time-capsule herself back to high school and the first time she’d ever agreed to go out with him.
Teeth clenched, she swiped to answer. “Shouldn’t you be at practice?”
“What the hell kind of greeting is that?” Derek said in that degrading tone he was so good at.
“The kind a woman gives her ex-husband when he keeps calling despite being told not to.”
“Ah, come on, Nic, you know you wanna talk to me. You wouldn’t have answered if you didn’t.”
“No, I answered because you’d keep calling if I didn’t.”
He grunted. “Yeah? Or maybe you picked up because you just spent a couple grand breaking your lease and you realize my offer a few months back was actually a pretty good deal.”
“I’d rather sleep in a bed of snakes than take your money. And how do you know about the lease anyway?”
A deep, nerve-grating chuckle filled the air space between her end of the line and his. “You wound me, sweetheart. And your mother loves me, you know that.”
No, her mother loved his fame and the few moments during his and Nicole’s short marriage when the spotlight had reflected on her face as well. “I told you I needed space, Derek. I meant it.”