Page 116 of Learn Your Lesson

“I don’t think there is a woman on theplanetwho does not think that man is hot,” I said on a laugh. “Including me. So, yes, sometimes I blush a little when he looks at me. Can you blame a girl?”

“Hell no,” Livia said. “That man has Daddy Energy in more ways than one, if you know what I’m saying.”

Maven rolled her eyes and elbowed her best friend. “Okay, so… are you two… you know?” She waggled her brows.

And IprayedI was putting on the best show of my life when I shook my head on a smile, glancing at Will before pulling my attention back to them.

“He’s my boss, nothing more. I’m here for Ava. And honestly, I’m just glad I could prove to him that he could find a nanny who doesn’t want anything from him, because I’m pretty sure he was convinced that wasn’t possible.”

The girls all deflated in sync, which made me laugh. Grace was even pouting a little as she took a sip of her champagne.

“Well, as much as I wished for a different answer tothat,” Maven said with a sigh. “I’m actually really happy to hear that response. Will… he’s quiet, you know? He doesn’t really let anyone in. But we all knew he needed help for a long time. We all knew he was struggling.”

“And now that he has you?” Grace smiled, squeezing my arm. “He’s a completely different person.”

I returned her smile, cheeks heating as I glanced over my shoulder at Will.

I froze when I realized he’d been watching me, too.

The guys were talking, but he stared right through the gap of Carter and Jaxson’s heads, his eyes pinning me in place.

“I feel the same way,” I said honestly.

My heart rate spiked when Will smiled at me like he knew what I was saying even from across the pool.

And then I blew out a breath and turned back to the girls. “This has been life changing for me. I have Ava, Will, Arushi — and you three,” I said, poking each of them with a smile. “I’ve never had girlfriends before.”

“Aw,” Grace said, wrapping me up in a tight hug for what a slight little thing she was. “I feel this so hard. I was the same way before finding this crew.”

“Well, you’re one of us now. Even if Will messes things up, you’ll always have the girls,” Maven promised.

“Yeah. Like if hemesses upyour bed sheets,” Livia murmured. “Or your hair, or your—”

Maven pinched her, and I smiled, shaking my head.

“Chloe is a professional,” Grace said, waving her shoulders side to side. “Besides,” she added with a wicked grin my way. “She’s gotNoah.”

Livia and Maven shared mischievous looks, and now the three of them were bouncing on their heels waiting for me to update them on the hot teacher at school.

The hot, non-existent teacher and a story I had yet to come up with.

But I pretended to melt away from them in a shy smile, hiding my face until they were begging for details.

Anything to steer them away from the truth.

• • •

Will

Chloe was impossible to ignore on an average day, but on a hot, sunny one in nothing but a black bikini custom-fitted to her incredible body?

I was fucking ruined.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off her and I knew it. From when she was playing with Ava in the pool to when she was laughing with the girls as they drank champagne and snacked on fruit, my gaze was glued to her.

I thought I’d gotten away with it, that I was somehow slicker than I felt because no one had called me out yet. But just when I was confident in that, Carter had to go and ruin it all.

The large group of us ate at the long outdoor dining table under the shade by the grill. I forced Arushi to join us, especially after she worked so hard all day on not just hamburgers, but steak and ribs that were out of this world.