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He smiles shyly and hooks his pinky with mine, clutching Rexy tightly with his other hand.
Robbie giggles, his enthusiasm contagious.
Ellis watches the exchange with an approving nod. “I’ll inform the school that you’ll be volunteering, Miss Fox. They’ll appreciate the help.”
“Thank you, Ellis,” I say.
For the first time all morning, I feel like I’ve done something right.
Chapter Nine
Cole
The sun glares through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my office, but I barely notice. The view of downtown Los Angeles is wasted on me today. My desk is immaculate, save for my laptop and a neatly stacked pile of paperwork waiting for my attention. Yet, I haven’t managed to focus on any of it.
I lean back in my chair, my hands clasped behind my head as I stare at the ceiling. My mind refuses to cooperate, dragging me back to last night.
Her hands in my hair, her lips on mine, the way her breath hitched when I pulled her closer. It wasn’t just a kiss—it was fire, and it consumed me.
Until it didn’t.
She stopped me so abruptly that it felt like hitting a brick wall. One moment, she was in my arms, soft and pliable, and the next, she was gone.
I rub my hands over my face, frustration boiling just beneath the surface. What the hell was I thinking?
Letting my lust take over, with her, of all people. Annie Fox. Robbie’s nanny. The one person in his life who actually makes him light up.
I slam my palm against the desk, the sound sharp in the quiet office.
It wasn’t just stupid. It was reckless.
I’m her boss. She lives in my house. She’s not some stranger I can walk away from and never see again.
And then there’s Robbie.
If she quits over this—and she has every right to—how do I explain that to him? Sorry, kid, but I scared off the one person you actually like because I couldn’t keep my hands to myself?
My stomach twists, the guilt settling deeper.
I can’t figure out what went wrong. Things were escalating quickly, sure, but we were both into it. She didn’t say anything, didn’t push me away until—
Until what?
I replay the moment in my head, trying to piece it together. The way she pulled back, the look in her eyes—nervous, almost panicked.
It wasn’t rejection. It was something else.
A sudden thought hits me, and my chest tightens.
Her hesitation, her nerves…
The thought had occurred to me for a moment last night, but I’d brushed it away soquickly.
Is it possible that she’s…
What if she’s a virgin?
The idea stops me cold. It would explain the way she froze, the way she bolted without an explanation.