“You’re silly.”
“Thank you.” I flutter my eyelashes and fold my hands under my chin.
“I hope you stay.” Mia frowns.
“I plan on doing just that.”
“But everyone else leaves.”
The comment is so mournful, I want to reach out and pull her into a hug. I hold back, though. We’ve only just met.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Ask Daddy.” Mia turns away. “Let’s go. My dolls are waiting.”
“Ask Daddy?” I mouth as I follow her to her bedroom.
I’m not sure what that comment is supposed to mean—it’s a pretty precocious one for a six-year-old. One thing is certain, though: I don’t think my time in this household will be boring in the least.
Chapter 8
Benjamin
I grip the steering wheel tighter and lean forward in my seat, trees flying by the window. A woman walking a dog gives me a sour look, making me look down at my speed.
Shit. Way too fast for a residential area.
Lightening my foot on the pedal, I force myself to relax against the leather seat. How long was I speeding for?
I can’t say, exactly, but probably since I got into the car. All day long, I’ve been looking forward to getting home. I can’t kid myself when it comes to why.
I want to see Jayne.
Just to look at her—not to touch. Putting anything other than my gaze on her is strictly forbidden, and I won’t forget that.
It seems five minutes couldn’t go by today without my thoughts jumping to her. Every time I had a spare moment to myself or experienced a lull in a conversation, my brain went right back to that thick, red hair and bright, blue eyes.
And that ass…holy shit. I’d only been able to get a quick peek at her backside, but I didn’t need to spend all day staring at it to know the girl was extremely well-toned.
Sighing, I enter my code into the gate and pull up the driveway.
Good thing she’s a lesbian, I think grimly as I park in the garage.
Not that that knowledge does anything to stop my wicked fantasies. If anything, it only makes them worse, because now I’m wondering if Jayne’s wife is as hot as her.
I open the door leading from the garage and into the hallway. Eddie is already there, ready to take my briefcase and put it in my home office.
“Hi Eddie. Where are Mia and Jayne?” I ask.
“The dining room, sir.”
“Right.” My mouth goes dry, and I lick my lips.
Without another look in Eddie’s direction, I walk through the kitchen, across the hall, and into the long dining room. It’s a massive one, meant for entertaining more than anything else, and I usually only use it when guests are over.
Mia and Jayne sit at the end of the table, construction paper and various art supplies spread out in front of them. Jayne looks up as I enter, and my skin instantly grows hotter.
She’s redone her hair since I left, and now it’s in a messy bun on top of her head. Little wavy strands falls around her eyes and chin, perfectly framing her face. For a moment, I forget to breathe.
“Hi,” she says, pulling me back to reality. “How was your day?”
“Daddy, look,” Mia says before I can answer. She holds up a tiny snowman made from cotton balls and swabs.
“That’s so cute, honey,” I tell her.
“It’s my homework.”
“On Saturday?”
“For the winter wonderland project they’re doing,” Jayne explains.
“Oh. Right.”
I must look confused, because she continues, “I read about it in her weekend folder.”
I ruffle Mia’s hair. I’d forgotten all about that school project—probably because Kay usually did all of the homework help.
“Is there more to do?” I ask. “Because I can help you, Mia, after Jayne goes home.”
“No,” Mia sings out at the same time Jayne says, “We’re all done.”
“Oh. Okay.” I stand there, suddenly feeling a little like I missed out on something great. “Was it fun?”
“Yeah,” Mia answers. “We had so much fun today. We stared at the wall and everything.”
“Stared at the wall?” I repeat, looking to Jayne for explanation.
She laughs and presses her fingers to her full, pink lips.
“Tell Jayne goodbye, Mia,” I instruct.
“Okay. Can I have my TV time?”
“Has she…” I look at Jayne, finding myself instantly distracted by her beauty yet again.
“We’ve had no screen time today,” Jayne replies, getting busy putting the art supplies back into their boxes. “Here, Mia, put the snowman in your backpack right now, honey. That way you won’t forget it on Monday.”
“Okay.” She takes the tiny snowman and wraps her arm around Jayne’s neck, giving her a big hug. “I don’t want you to go.”
Jayne laughs and hugs her back. “I’ll see you in two days. Tomorrow is Sunday, so you get to have some fun time with your dad.”
“Okay,” Mia replies in a cheerful tune before taking her snowman and leaving the dining room.
I try to find my words as Jayne finishes packing up the art supplies and stands.
“She likes you,” I finally say.
“I like her.” She smiles, and from the way her eyes sparkle, I can tell she means it.
“That’s great.” I stick my hands into my pants pockets. This is about the time where I should show her out, but I don’t want to do that. Not quite yet.
“And you’re liking it here?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah.” A few strands of hair fall from her bun to perfectly curl against her neck. I gulp.
“Anything nice planned for your day off with the wife?”
Jayne’s hands, in the middle of stacking the boxes, still. “Sorry?”
“You live with your wife, right?” I ask a little louder. I must have mumbled the first time.
Her auburn brows push together. “Oh, no. I don’t have a wife.”
“Partner. Sorry.”
Jayne tilts her head, looking at me like I’m crazy. Heat pushes its way up my neck.
“Girlfriend?” I try again.
Her lips curve into a smile. “I’m straight…and single.” Her eyes quickly fall, like she’s confessed something personal.
I stare at her. “Wait. What?”
“I’m single and straight?” she repeats like it’s a question.
I blink. “I thought you were…” The words die in my throat as I realize how stupid what I was about to say is.
“Thought I was what?”
“Um.” I clear my throat and look down. Shit. How am I going to get out of this one?
“You thought I was gay?” She laughs, the sound light and as melodic as a bell. “Why would you think that? Because I was in the army?”
I look up and see the irritation on her face.
“No,” I quickly answer. I take a couple fast steps around the table, ending up only arm’s length away from her.
Jayne’s gaze floats down my frame. I’ve made her uncomfortable, and she probably doesn’t know what to think of me, now.
“I know not all women who enter the military are gay, obviously,” I stress, aware that I’m blabbering. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you…”
I open my mouth, about to concoct a lie about the agency’s booker hinting that Jayne was gay, but then I realize how pathetic that is. No better time than the present to man up and own your mistakes.
“I asked the agency to send me a lesbian nanny if they had one.”
Jayne’s mouth is open in a little circle, her face painted in confusion. “Um…okay.”
“Just because…well…”
Fuck.
An uncomfortable silence fills the air, and Jayne’s gaze shifts toward the door. Maybe she’s wondering how long it will take to escape this madhouse.
Lying is still a possibility, but I
can’t do it. I just can’t. There’s something about Jayne. Maybe it’s that she’s ex-military and I respect that so much, or maybe it’s because she’s good with Mia. Whatever the reason, I can’t bring myself to pull the wool over her eyes. She seems bright enough that she’d see past any attempt to do so, anyway.
“I don’t have the best track record with my nannies,” I confess.
Jayne slowly nods. “I got that impression already.”
“You did?”
“The clues aren’t hard to pick up on.”
I exhale heavily. “Right.”
“Look, Mr. Glen.”
“Benjamin.”
She hesitates. “Benjamin…why your previous nannies didn’t work out is none of my business. I’m here to do a job, not to delve into your personal life.”
I clamp my jaw shut and look down. This situation has abruptly become extraordinarily complicated.
The big question is, how do I now deal with it?
I wanted a gay nanny—I fucking need a gay nanny. How am I supposed to stay away from a woman as hot as Jayne? A single, straight woman as hot as Jayne?
I have to fire her, tell her it’s not working out. That’s the only answer.
And yet…what about Mia? I told her this new nanny would be sticking around. She and Jayne obviously get along.
I can’t hurt my little girl. Not again.
It’s time for me to exert some self-control and learn to keep my dick in my pants, no matter how—pardon the pun—hard it may be.
“I’m glad to hear that.” I finally look back at Jayne. She’s watching me with a flat expression, waiting for more. “And I’d like to be honest with you. Let’s go ahead and clear the air from the very beginning.”
She nods slightly. “That sounds nice.”
I clear my throat. “I don’t have a lot of time to get out and date, so in the past, I have ended up…seeing…certain nannies.” Christ. It sounds even worse when I say it out loud. “I wanted to avoid that happening again, and that’s why I asked the agency to send me a nanny who happens to be a lesbian.”
I wait for the freak out.
And wait.
But Jayne only nods. “I can understand that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” She clasps her palms together, looking thoughtful. “I’ve barely dated outside of the army. It’s easier to go with what you know, and convenience.”
I can hardly believe her words. Is she really being this understanding?
“Right,” I agree. “Easier…but then it becomes complicated.”
“Exactly.” She grins, her eyes lighting up.
“Thank you for being honest with me,” she says.
I make a show of nodding amicably. “I hope this sets the tone for our time together.”
“Same here.” She glances at the clock on the wall. “I should be going. The wife is—Oh.” Laughter bubbles from her chest. “Okay. I see now why there was a misunderstanding.”
“Why’s that?” I ask, barely breathing. Every time Jayne laughs, I’m mesmerized.
“My roommate, Amy—she’s an old military buddy—anyway, I call her ‘the wife.’ It’s this joke we have, because we’ve been best friends so long, sometimes it feels more like we’re married than anything else. I called her that in my interview, kind of accidentally. I guess they thought I really was gay.” Jayne grimaces. “Sorry. It looks like this was all my fault.”
“No,” I quickly say. “Don’t apologize. It’s funny.”
And it is. Kind of.
It’s also painfully frustrating.
“I am sorry, though.”
“Don’t be,” I breathe.
For a long moment, we look at each other. There’s so little space between us, all I would need to do to have her in my arms is just reach out and…
“Have a good night,” I gruffly say, stepping back. “See you on Monday.”
“You, too. Have a good weekend.”
I won’t let myself look at her. Am I imagining the slight disappointment in her voice?
Jayne leaves me still staring at the carpet. The chatter of cartoon characters comes from the living room, and a vacuum cleaner runs upstairs, courtesy of Nina, the housekeeper who stops in three days a week.
Meanwhile, I’m still in the dining room, frozen in one spot.
I brought Jayne into my life in the hopes that she’d make things simpler. Ironically, it looks like I’ve done nothing but make everything more complicated.
Chapter 9
Jayne
“Man, you have it made.” Amy leans forward, wrapping her hands around her ceramic latte cup.
“You don’t have it so bad either,” I point out.
Her nose wrinkles. “You mean with school? You must be kidding.”
I shrug a shoulder. “You’re learning.”
She sighs. “And getting my ass kicked in the process. I have two papers to write by Monday. Talk about crazy.”
I blow on my coffee, watching the steam curl away and dissipate. “It can’t be any worse than boot camp.”
“True.” She barks out a laugh. “Anything is better than boot camp.”
I smile, enjoying the moment. Around us, the coffee shop bubbles with the excitement that comes with the holidays. Christmas is still weeks away, but the approaching festivities can be felt in the air. People laugh with friends and hug each other while standing in line. The whole world seems full of love.
“What are you smiling about?” Amy asks.
“It’s almost the holidays.”
She squints her eyes in suspicion. “You sure you weren’t thinking about your hot boss?”
“No,” I say, way too fast.
Amy has looked Benjamin’s picture up online, and she knows everything about our situation.
“It’s probably good he’s your boss and you can’t get with him,” she muses. “You know, he likely ran all those other nannies off, right? He couldn’t keep his hands off of them.”
“I know. And I don’t really care.”
Again, Amy looks at me like she doesn’t believe me. “Yeah, okay.”
“No, really. I get how it must be, being this big CEO and dating. Plus, he’s a single parent…” I trail off, thinking about the photo Mia showed me next to her bed. It’s of her and her mother, taken when Mia was a baby. According to Mia, she died about four years ago. Beyond that, I don’t know anything.
I suppose I could find out online, seeing as Benjamin is famous, but the thought of creeping on his personal life like that makes my skin crawl. He’s a real person that I work for, not some random celebrity.
“You’re really forgiving,” Amy comments.
“Why shouldn’t I be?”
“All I’m trying to say is, you’re not usually this way.”
I can read between the lines.
“Nothing is going to happen between the two of us.”
“And what if it does?”
I purse my lips, unwilling to lie to myself. I know how easily two people can give in to attraction and do things they hadn’t planned on. If my intuition about Benjamin is correct, he’s just as drawn to me as I am to him.
“We both have reasons for not getting involved,” I point out.
“But if something does happen?”
I look into my coffee, thinking about that. “Then we’ll figure it out then,” I simply say.
Amy takes a sip of her latte, watching me over the rim of the cup.
“Don’t give me a hard time about this. You’re the one who wants me to find a man.”
She sighs, putting her cup down so she can touch my arm. “I want you to find an available man, not one who’s no good for you. There’s a difference.”
“Okay, full disclosure? Yes, I would like to find a guy—”
“I knew it.”
“But I’m not blind. I know that Benjamin and I wouldn’t work out.”
“What about something casual?”
I run my teeth over my bottom
lip. “That wouldn’t be a good idea. For Mia’s sake.”
“How many nannies has she gone through?”
“Three. That I know of. There might be more.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “And she’s so sweet, so smart.”
My heart warms as I think of Mia. We’ve had a great first week together. Dropping her off at school in the mornings always bums me out. With her there, that means I have seven full hours each day to do nothing with.
To fill my time, I’ve been taking a lot of classes at the gym. Every instructor from yoga to kickboxing to water aerobics knows me by name, now. A couple of days, I’ve gone to the indoor shooting range downtown. Other than that, there’s nothing to do. All those hours spent alone feel…barren.
“Let’s go out tonight,” Amy suggests.
“What about your papers?”
“It’s Friday.”
“That doesn’t answer my question at all.”
She pouts. “Yeah, I know. But wouldn’t it be fun to go out and meet some people?”
She means guys.
The thought of navigating dark clubs and bars while intoxicated men hang all over me in an attempt to figure out whether or not I’ll go home with them doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest.
“I’ll think about it,” I say. “Right now, I have to go pick Mia up.”
“See you at home.”
“See you.”
Grabbing the neon pink backpack I keep my gym clothes in, I head out to the street. Mia’s elementary school is less than half a mile away. Driving there is quick.
It’s sitting in the car line that’s not.
Ten minutes later, engine idling, I flip through radio stations as I wait for the next batch of cars to load kids and pile out. The conversation with Amy runs through my head.
Benjamin and I have had some…moments. That can’t be denied.
But if I want romance, I’m going to have to look elsewhere. It doesn’t matter how attracted to him I am. This job is amazing, and I already care about Mia. I can’t screw things up.
Sighing, I look up and gaze out across the street, to the park across from the school. Most of the cars in the area are in the pickup line or parked in the lot, but there’s one exception. Right across the street, a black car sits, its window rolled down halfway.
Nanny For Hire_A Steamy Single-Dad Billionaire Romance Page 5