Page 41 of Bang

She glanced down at the pint of ice cream of her hand. The pint wasn't yet open, and she'd wrapped a paper towel around its exterior, as if to protect her hands from the cold, or maybe to catch any condensation.

Either way, she looked cute as hell.

With a sheepish smile, she said, "Yeah, me too." She lifted the pint of ice cream in a mock toast. "Honest."

I was so distracted by the sight of her, I'd lost track of the conversation. But hell if I'd lethersee it. With a tight shrug, I replied, "Oh yeah?"

She gave a solemn nod. "Sure, but here's the crazy thing. When I reached for the water, the pint of ice cream jumped right into my hand." In a stage whisper, she added, "I think it might've bit me."

I wanted to smile. But it wouldn’t be smart, so I didn't. "Is that so?"

Her own smile faded. "Maybe."

And now I felt like a dick for not giving in to the joke. But Cami was dangerous even if she didn't know it.

I'd brought her here for Willow, not for myself. The only problem was, I was having a hard time remembering that.

I was wearing dark running pants and a basic white T-shirt. This wasn't what I slept in, but itwaswhat I wore when I ventured out of my bedroom at night.

The truth was, I slept naked. Lately, that was a problem, too, because being naked in the house, even behind a locked door, was a troublesome reminder that Cami the Nanny might be naked, too.

And just down the hall.

As the thought crossed my brain, I felt the brain down below begin to stir.Shit.

I shifted my stance.It was time to get out of here, and fast.

Deliberately, I moved toward the fridge. As I did, Cami stepped aside, clearing my path to claim what I wanted.

Water.

And only water.

Striding past her, I opened the fridge and reached inside. I grabbed a bottle of water and made a mental note to begin storing some in my bedroom.

I didn't care if they were cold. Better to drink it at room temperature than to risk being alone with Cami.

The habit wasn't a new one. I'd done similar things with the other nannies, too.

I'd avoided them when I could, and kept a safe distance when I couldn’t. But with them, the dynamics had been the polar opposite.

With them, the goal had been to keep their focus elsewhere – on Willow and not on me.

But with Cami, the problem was on my end, not hers.

And itwasa problem. The biggest kick was, it wasn't going away.It was only growing larger.

Shewasn't going away either, not ifIcould help it.

She was great with Willow and no slacker in the nanny department. During the last month, I'd noticed more than she realized – the laughter coming from the kitchen, the sounds of their voices as they read to each other on the sofa, the giggles on both sides as they told each other the dumbest jokes.

Willow was happier than I'd seen her in years.But me?

I didn't know what I felt. But it wasn't happiness.

I opened the bottle of water and turned to go. As I did, Cami said, "Wait."

I stopped to give her a look. "Yeah?"