Bradley interrupted. “My mom died when I was born.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, and my gut twisted. I read all of my students’ profiles, and a quick memory of reading that fact flashed in my mind. I ignored how my heart twisted and said, “I think I knew that, but it’s been a trying day, and I’m not thinking straight.”
“It’s okay.” Dr. Dawes finished his ice cream then cleaned up the wrappers. Then he said, “Look, you need a job and I need a nanny and tutor. One that can make learning fun, and Bradley likes you.”
Work for him? Seriously? Does this include the bed? And why does that question make me cross my legs and wish? Yet there was no way I would put myself in a situation again in which I had to be near him and restrain myself or ignore my feelings. I finished my own ice cream and said, “I don’t even know what to call you, Dr. Dawes.”
He reached out and squeezed my hand like we were friends and said, “Johnny, please. The job pays one hundred thousand, and all expenses are paid for group travel.”
Whoa. That was more than double what I made as a teacher. I tugged my ear and asked, “What travel?”
Johnny said, “I get two weeks off soon, and I wanted to take Bradley somewhere. If you take the job, you get a say in where we go. Also, your living expenses go down, as it’s a live-in position.”
Live in his house too. No. I wasn’t about to go crazy and make a decision based on lust. I jumped out of my seat and went to throw away the trash. When I returned to the table a moment later, I knew I would absolutely not accept the job. However, I only said, “I don’t know. It’s time I go home. Bye, Bradley.”
Johnny took out his wallet and handed me a card and said, “Here is my business card, Miss Steel, and that’s my cell phone. Please let me know soon.”
Just never call him. I hugged Bradley and said, “Goodbye. Thank you for helping me today.”
Then I flipped around and headed out quickly.
There was no way I would ever take the job, but Johnny would have a starring role in my dreams. I would probably write about him many times in my morning diary, but that was all he would ever be.
Chapter Two
Johnny
Olivia Steel had good-girl vibes that triggered me. I’d not looked into a woman’s gaze like hers in years. At every parent–teacher conference, I’d lingered near her, and I wasn’t a wait-around-to-see man.
She’d even kissed like a woman who was love starved and wanting me. Olivia had probably dated nice, boring guys who didn’t want to rip her clothes off and throw her against the wall—or into a utility closet like I’d done.
Even her name, Olivia, made me hard. I didn’t know what came over me. I needed to maintain the appearance of being a stand-up and well-mannered doctor while on duty. I’d let the façade slip. Those frayed cotton panties had driven me to cross the line—my own line. Fuck. She was hot. Of course, I kept all of that to myself. With my son and every patient, except her, it was easy to pretend I was an upstanding, well-mannered doctor.
I slipped into my office to check on Bradley.
He made it easy to be a dad, as he was a good kid who seemed to be interested in whatever I liked. With no mother around, I was the only one to model behavior, and I needed to remind myself. A memory flashed in my mind. When Ruby had died on what was supposed to be her happiest day giving birth, I’d worried about raising a son on my own.
Olivia wasn’t the one for me. She was too vibrant and hard to keep my hands off of. Memories of Ruby usually quashed my libido, but my lips still tasted like Olivia. Fuck.
Bradley packed his backpack so I couldn’t see what he’d written, but then he asked, “What can we do to get Miss Steel to be my nanny?”
With her, I’d gone against my norm and asked a beautiful woman into our home. Bradley actually liked her, so that helped, but I shrugged as I said, “I offered.”
“She gave you her no face.” He put his head down, and his hands went into his pockets as he asked, “If I make her a card, can we take it to her house?”
Damn. My boy was a smooth-talking manipulator who clearly wanted Olivia around him. I went down to my knees and asked, “You really want Miss Steel?”
His face was red, but he said, “Yeah. I never liked a teacher before her.”
Me too. I’d happily gone to parent–teacher night in the spring for a chance to see her again. I squeezed Bradley’s arm and said, “I remember.” His kindergarten had shown me a litany of things wrong with Bradley. I’d removed him from that private school. Seeing how my son enjoyed school in the past year had kept me from asking Olivia out when I met her. I stood and said, “Okay, I have to work another hour. Make your card, and we’ll drop it off at her house on the way home.”
“Thanks.” Bradley gazed up at me like I’d just made his year.
I nodded at him and slipped out the door. If he was successful at getting Olivia to help out, that would solve my problem of being scheduled to work at the hospital.
I headed back to the patient floor, and the chief, Dr. Richard Munz, flagged me down. When I headed to meet him near the nurses’ area where we tracked all of our patients, Dr. Munz said, “Dr. Dawes.”
I glanced at the monitors on the wall, and all looked fine as I said, “Making my last rounds.”
He crossed his arms and lowered his voice. “I wanted to speak about your application to replace me.”
Dr. Munz was retiring soon. Being chief meant more meetings, but it also meant I would make more of my schedule, and flexibility might be nice, but I met his hazel eyes and said, “No one can replace you.”
Dr. Munz said quietly, “I’m looking forward to retirement, and you have the best internal application.”
“Excellent,” I said and imagined having more time to spend with Bradley.
His lips thinned. “But management is concerned about your reputation.”
My eyes widened, and my chest tightened. While I had a wild side, I hadn’t brought that to the hospital, and I’d kept my inner bad boy in check, at least until a couple of hours ago. Adrenaline rushed through me as I wondered if I was caught as I asked, “My what?”
The balding chief’s face turned bright red as he said, “The nurses have a bet on who can bed you.”
My lips turned up. My father had drilled into me that work people were work people. I rocked on my feet and said, “I don’t encourage that. I’m a widower.”
He patted my side like I was his son and said, “And if you were married again, then rumors about you might die down.”
I’d tried to be good and perfect for my parents and people like Dr. Munz once. I kept my voice low when I said, “It’s hard to move on. I’m still a widower.”
He turned a more normal color as he said, “Well, your girlfriend you treated earlier seems lovely, and I just wanted to let you know the situation.”
My heart sped up as I asked, “My girlfriend?”
He nodded like he knew something and said, “The teacher. Bring her to the picnic next weekend.”
“Okay,” I said to buy time, though I would have to figure out what to do next.
I’d checked to make sure that no one was near her, but my heart began to race. Her kiss had been exhilarating, but I’d clearly fucked up and didn’t know what to do next.
For the moment, I finished my rounds. Then I trekked to my office, where Bradley stuffed markers into his bag while he held a folded paper.
I knocked so that he would look at me, and I said, “I’m ready. Can I see the card?”
He held his hand back like he didn’t want to show me, but then he trembled and gave it to me.
He’d drawn her flowers and hearts.
Is Olivia his first teacher crush? He had good taste, as she inspired feelings in me that I’d thought died out, but then Bradley said, “You don’t have the glitter I know she likes, but can you buy her some flowers?”
We would have to have a talk about women, but I walked with him to the door as I asked, “From yo
u?”
He took my hand and said, “From both of us. I want her to come home with us.”
And I needed to ask her to go to a picnic with me. Bradley had spent every day with her, though betting my career hopes on my seven-year-old’s ability to sweet-talk his teacher wasn’t strategically in my best interests.
We headed to the gift shop, but when we got there, I said, “She’s going to say no.”
He pointed at some red flowers and said, “You didn’t let me talk earlier. So now I’ll ask. Trust me.”
Well, I liked his confidence. He was totally a chip off the old block. I took out my debit card to pay for the flowers and added three chocolate lollipops, one for each of us. My boy gave me a thumbs-up, and we headed to my BMW X1, which was a product of my responsible-dad-and-doctor side meeting my amateur-hiker side.
Bradley sat in his seat and held the flowers like we were on a mission.
Part of me hoped she didn’t toss us out on our ears because I’d found her address from the patient forms.
However, as we headed closer, I realized the neighborhood was more run-down behind his school. I’d grown up with a trust fund, so I’d never had to struggle and would pass that on to Bradley one day.
We parked in an apartment building’s parking lot that needed repairs to fix some major holes. I checked the locks on my door and ignored the tightness in my chest, and we headed up the stairs to apartment 2D. My son didn’t seem to notice the stairs shifting from our weight, but we stood in front of her door, and I knocked for us both.
Inside, I heard humming then the clicking of locks. I stood taller and wondered how she would look relaxed and at home. I’d also glimpsed how she lived without giving her any notice at all. I stilled as she opened the door, and I met her brown eyes. She was a goddess, and I pressed my hand on my heart and said, “Miss Steel.”
Bradley pushed the flowers and one of the lollipops at her. She laughed as she took them and said, “Bradley. Johnny.”
At least I didn’t hear the sound of a man behind the door, though I listened for it to know if she was truly free as I said, “My son insisted he come and talk to you.”
Some of her neighbors started screaming at each other. She ignored it and waved as she said, “Well, come on in.”
Bradley went first, but then I stepped in. Her apartment was smaller than my college dorm had been, though it was tidy. Teachers were respected in communities. I asked, “Why do you live here?”
She shrugged and said, “It’s close to school, and my car has seen better days.”
Her previous job must have underpaid. I massaged the back of my head, thinking that a girl like Olivia deserved better, and said, “The job comes with—”
“Dad, this is my turn now,” Bradley interrupted and stared at me like I’d violated a privilege.
I nodded, as he was right. We were there because of him, and I said, “Right. Sorry.”
His lips curled higher like he’d won something big, then he asked Olivia, “Do you like the flowers, Miss Steel?”
She nodded and put them on her small counter in the kitchen. “I love roses. Let me get a vase.”
She then reached into her cabinets and found a glass vase and added water as Bradley asked her, “Like they had in Norden, where your sister is a princess?”
He’d mentioned his teacher had taken time off to go to the royal wedding, but if she had money, her apartment made no sense, unless she was the black sheep or something like that.
“Princess?”
“My sister married a prince. She was a blogger here in Pittsburgh before she met Prince Ryder. I don’t see her much now.”
I pressed my lips together so that I wouldn’t ask more questions about her.
She said to Bradley, “In Norden, they have more tulips, but these are my personal favorite. So thank you.”
Bradley dug into his back pocket and said with all the confidence in the world, “And I made this for you.”
Olivia put the flowers into the vase then knelt beside him. She opened the card and exaggeratedly put her hands against her heart as she said, “Bradley, you’re a good kid.”
She would be a good mom. The thought hit me fast.
Bradley answered, “No, I’m not. Just you and Dad say that. My nanny said I was going to hell.”
My chest tightened. The memory of Ms. Sullivan had faded. I was glad she’d quit.
Olivia handled it well by saying, “That’s not true. The boy who can write lovely cards like this is going to be amazing.”
He took her hands in his and said, “I need you, Miss Steel. If you don’t take the job, my father will hire another person who hates me.”
I shook my head, though he was right. Olivia was perfect for both of us. Her kiss had made me want more, and that never happened. I swallowed and said, “I won’t.”
She glanced up at me. The gleam in her eye gave me hope. I stilled, as I wanted her beside me and against the wall. I had no answer to unsaid questions. She stood and said, “Look, it’s late. It’s been a long day. But give me your address, and I’ll come by tomorrow to talk. Maybe I can help out a little, as hospitals are no place for you.”
One day at a time is the path to victory.
Bradley hugged her and said, “Thank you.”
“No problem.” She hugged him back.
If I married Olivia, then my son might never lose her, and I might get to satisfy that itch she sent through my body that demanded I taste more of her. I straightened my shoulders, as if I needed to fight off that thought. I patted my son’s back and said, “Let me talk to Olivia now. Go to the living room for a minute.”
I would have sent him to the car, but I wasn’t sure I wanted him alone outside. He went to her couch and picked up her remote as he said, “Yes, Dad.”
Next to Olivia, my chest swelled like I’d found someone special, but I kept it professional and said, “Miss Steel, the salary is negotiable, and I can be generous.”
She had her hands in her back pockets like she was nervous near me, too, and directed me to the window, where we might talk without being heard. I walked beside her, but her lips had my complete attention, and she lowered her lashes. Every instinct was to kiss her again, but she said, “Bradley made so much progress this year. I’d hate for him to revert.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and ignored how she made my heart beat differently. “I have to work at ten, so if you can come early in the morning, I’d like that.”
Her gaze narrowed on me, and she asked, “How early?”
Good. Hopefully, we would find out what I needed from her, though I wanted far more than I should. I glanced at Bradley, who was flipping channels. “The earlier, the better.”
She rolled her shoulders and said, all business, “I showed up at school at seven thirty. Is, say, eight a.m. too early?”
Our earlier kiss played in my mind like a movie. She’d wanted me, and she’d pressed her lips back like she, too, ached with need. So I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “It’s fine. Can I ask why you kissed me?”
Her eyes widened, and I thought she would correct me about who’d kissed whom first. The air near her smelled fresh, like a sugar cookie. She swallowed and said, “I shouldn’t have.”
I reached for her hand, and for one second, our palms connected, which sent a thrill through me. “That’s not true, but why did you?”
Her lips curved higher on one side of her face, like she was fighting a smile, then she said so low that I almost didn’t hear her, “Because you started it, not me, and I’ve never been kissed like that.”
Fuck, she was sweet, and part of me wanted to toss her over my shoulder and get her the fuck out of there. But I clamped down my inner caveman, as years of training had taught me, and I asked, “You haven’t?”
“No,” she admitted quickly.
I pressed my advantage and leaned in as I said, “Yeah, and I’d not seen cotton panties on a sexy woman in a long time.”
She shook her head
and patted my face like I was a little boy. “Oh my goodness, you’re bad.”
I stepped back and glanced across the room, and I noticed Bradley was staring at the TV like he was enthralled. I nudged her back and kept her close for our conversation to be private. “My son says you’re good with bad boys, so maybe you can redeem us both.”
She laughed, and that sweet sound filled my hearing. She said, “It’s hard to imagine you’re anything like him.”
I winked at her. Bradley had green eyes and a thinner frame, but he was young. I zipped his bag and said, “He has his mother’s looks, but his personality is just like mine.”
She gave a quiet chuckle, but then she narrowed her gaze. “Look, I know you need immediate help, and tomorrow I’ll probably be okay for a short-term thing while you find a real replacement, but don’t count on me for anything long term.”
The next day Operation Sweet-Talk Olivia would start, but for the moment, I led my son to the door. “I’ll treat you so well that you’ll never want to leave us.”
Olivia shook her head, and her nearness made if feel as if my skin were awakening. She let out a dramatic sigh. “You’d tempt any woman with a pulse.”
I stopped, and she walked into me, her ample body pressing against mine. If Bradley weren’t there, I would have picked her up and let her feel Little Johnny standing at attention for her. “No, not everyone, but I’ll have to up my game with you.”
She slipped out of my way and reached for the door, but she patted my muscular chest. “You’re dangerous. So how did you become a doctor?”
I fed her the usual line I gave when asked. “My wife was sickly, and she said doctors were responsible. It’s nice to help people who have sticky situations like yours today or someone who needs medicine. It’s a way of giving, but I’m ambitious.” Olivia’s nearness made me want to tell the truth, but I continued with the usual excuse. “So we’ll discuss my career plans and how I get to see your no-nonsense cotton panties again.”
Cocky M.D.: Single Dad Fake Fiancee Romance (Steel Series Book 5) Page 2