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“No, she wasn’t home, but I’m going back to meet her tomorrow.”
“How’s the dad?” she asks with a smirk.
“Ugh, don’t start.” I drag a chip through the spinach dip between us.
“Is he hot? Please tell me he’s hot.” I push the chip into my mouth, so I don’t have to answer that and avoid her gaze but she grabs my chin and turns me toward her. “No way.”
I swallow nervously and wince. “Way.”
“Oh my God, oh myGod! This is gold.”
I pull out of her grasp and stare at her incredulously. “Since when are you into a guy with kids? You don’t even like kids! You won’t even date a man who has an attachment to their niece or nephew because you don’t want to go to children’s birthday parties,” I tell her.
“All true, but this is gold foryouand hopefully your vagina.”
“It’s absolutely not like that.” I shake my head not wanting to think about his eyes or his mouth or the way his hand felt wrapped around mine when he shook it. “He’s going to be my boss.”
“Do you have any idea how hot the single daddy nanny trope is?” she asks.
“Yes, I’m familiar,” I reply sardonically.
“What’s his name?” she asks as she pulls her beer to her lips.
“Rowan Kincaid.”
“God, even his name sounds like sex. Besides, you rarely nanny for single dads. What’s so special about this family?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug, knowing exactly why I agreed but not in the mood for the Jacqueline Woods inquisition and her turning me into her latest psych study. I spin my straw around my drink while I avoid her gaze and prepare to tell her the truth. “Their mom just died and…I just feel for them I guess.”
“Oh, of course.” She smacks her head.
I groan. “Don’t start.”
“Me? You’re trying to rewrite the past. If you fuck the single dad, we are going to have a long talk about your daddy issues, Ellie.”
“I am not going to fuck him!” I haven’t had sex with anyone in almost six years and I certainly am not going to break my unofficial vow of celibacy with the father of the kids I’m nannying. I’m not avoiding sex necessarily; I just hadn’t found anyone I wanted to sleep with after the horrifying experience of losing my virginity.And the two times after that.I’ve dated casually but it hasn’t gone further than kissing and a couple of hand jobs that I worry I didn’t even do correctly.
“Does he know that? Because you’re also about to be the gorgeous twenty-five-year-old temptation living under his roof and raising his kids.”
“He was perfectly professional when we met.”
“Professional, till he was jacking off before you even made it out of the driveway.” She snorts before stealing a French fry off my plate.
“Ugh, shut up,” I scoff while also not trying to let myself think too hard about his hand wrapped around his—no.
“I’m just saying…” she says putting her hands up in defense. “Look, I know you don’t datemuch,but living with a hot single man…” She purses her lips and leans forward. “Things happen, you know.”
“Andyouknow my rule. I don’t pursue anything with anyone in connection to the family. I just want to help them. I’ve been thinking about Isla tearing up in the grocery store when she said her mom died for three days now.”
Jacqueline knows how much I give my heart to the kids I nanny and I can already hear the lecture coming about not getting attached when it’s obvious I already am. “How long do you think you’ll be there?”
“We are doing a sixty-day trial and then we’ll reevaluate.” She gives me a look from across the table and I groan. “What?”
“Well, it’s just you usually have an endpoint. Usually just for a summer, which is three months. This sounds like you’re potentially signing on until the youngest turns eighteen.”
“No, I mean…I don’t know. The money is good and I have the time. He knows I just have to go to campus once a week to meet with my advisor for an hour and Margot will be home at that time. He’s also giving me two weekends off a month, so relax, we can still hang out.” Her eyes light up and she does a little dance in her seat. “But I doubt I’ll be there for twelve years. Besides, he may meet someone.”
“Yeah,” she snorts before taking a sip of her drink, “the hot nanny sleeping in his guest room.”