Page 11 of Learn Your Lesson

Chloe blinked at my question, and then chuckled. “Very much so. Why? Are you going to try to get me fired?”

“No, I want to hire you.”

She blinked again. “Oh.”

Her fingers wound together at her waistline, and I let out a long sigh. Not only had I burdened this woman, but now I’d made her uncomfortable.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s a stupid idea. Of course, you wouldn’t want to leave your position.”

“No,” she agreed.

I nodded, leading her down the stairs, and she followed on my heels for a moment before jogging to walk by my side. She tripped a little over her feet in the process.

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t work for you, too.”

I paused when we hit the bottom stair, arching a brow. “Are you saying you’d be interested?”

“What are you looking for, exactly?”

I blew out a breath. “A nanny,” I said honestly. “I need someone to get her up on the mornings I can’t be here, the ones when I’m traveling with the team. She needs after-school care, sometimes weekends, sometimes weeknights.”

She chuckled. “So… like all the time?”

I grimaced, shaking my head and walking toward the front door. “It’s not possible, I know. It’s just… you’d be surprised how what you did just today and tonight has far surpassed any other nanny I’ve had.”

“You’re really bad at letting people speak for themselves.”

I turned, nearly knocking her over when I did because I didn’t realize she was following so closely. My chest knocked against hers, and she let out a surprised laugh as I steadied her with my hands on her arms. She peeked up at me through her lashes with her cheeks burning pink.

From this angle, those curves that were already haunting me were on prominent display — especially that heavy bust of hers. She was soft in a way nothing else in mylife was, and without meaning to, I stroked her arm with my thumb.

Then, I promptly cleared my throat and stepped back, scowling.

“I doubt you’d have time for everything I just listed.”

“You’d be surprised to know just how much time I have,” she said on a chuckle, tucking her copper hair behind one ear. She folded her arms across her chest then. “Let’s give it a try. One week — starting tomorrow. Whatever you usually ask of your other nannies, I’ll do. As long as you’re okay with her coming to my house?” She smirked. “Idohave three asshole cats.”

“Three? Good God.” I shook my head, but then studied her, looking for red flags or warning signs. I already knew she was competent and good with kids. She did still look a bit flushed from me touching her, but she wasn’t trying to seduce me — which was a pleasant change.

And at this point, what other choice did I have?

“Are you allowed to do this? With her being your student.”

“Absolutely. I’ve nannied for many of my students.”

“Really?” That honestly surprised me.

“It’s a private school,” she reminded me. “The parents can be quite…”

She didn’t have to finish that sentence for me to understand. Just in the times I’d dropped Ava off, I’d witnessed the overbearing mothers who wanted to have a whole parent-teacher conference there in the car line. I’d also witnessed the fathers dropping their kids with barely a glance as they yacked away to someone on their cell phones, already doing business before eight AM.

“Let’s just say it’s not a problem,” she assured me. “I’ll let the principal know, of course, just so all the informationis on the table. She’ll want to be aware. Other than that, Ava might have to hang around with me a little bit after school sometimes, or go in early with me, but she’s easy to handle. I’ll give her a job to do and she’ll be happy.”

There was that damned knot in my throat again because she already knew more about my daughter than any other nanny I’d had.

Ava didn’t want attention. She didn’t want you to watch her play or entertain her. She wanted something to do with her hands and to be left the hell alone.