Page 9 of Rejected Nanny Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #3)

With the weekend off from the cafe and Joe occupied, I wasn't content to waste the beautiful fall day.

Luckily, Rose was energetic and happy instead of having one of her rare grouchy days, so I decided to pack her up and head downtown.

I hoped to run into Joe once his meeting was over, and maybe have lunch together, just the three of us.

It would just be a way for him to bond with his daughter, was all. Nothing more. I definitely wasn't looking for ways to spend extra time with him.

But...I didn't exactly despise Joe's company or anything. In fact, living with him had been easier than I'd ever imagined it would be. He was always polite, and seemed to enjoy my cooking, and had even praised my work with Rose.

He was just so big, and handsome, and commanding. Being near him made me nervous, and not in a bad way. Not exactly. It was more like I was anxious that things were too good, and I was at risk of forgetting how cruel his rejection had been.

It was easy to see why we'd been friends before. Our personalities just meshed well. But friendship wasn't the only reason I'd fallen for him, and now that the old feelings were threatening to come back, the only thing I could do was avoid him and hope the pain would subside.

Except I was a glutton for punishment, apparently, and avoiding him was the last thing I wanted to do.

Rose was fussy in the stroller, but a snack and a little bit of a walk were enough to settle her. As I approached Howler's, I heard voices from within and knew the Alpha meeting was still underway. My heart leaped when I recognized Joe's voice, and I stopped just shy of the window.

“You have a problem with that, Samson?”

“No,” Samson growled.” I just don't want them worrying about things unnecessarily. Nayeli's pregnant, and Kiera is still adjusting to being a Luna and the fact that Kit can shift now. This could be stressful, and it's not worth it.”

“I'll keep an eye on Nayeli. She's a lot more experienced now, and if I have any hesitation, I'll put a stop to it immediately.

If there's anything going on, the girls will find out and let us know.

That's all. Now, moving on to the next thing. Joe is a new father, and I believe congratulations are in order, man. How are you liking the parenthood life, man?”

“I love Rose,” he answered. “But damn if it's not exhausting. But Gwen, my nanny, has really been a godsend.”

I could feel my cheeks heating, and I pressed my hands to them. Hearing him compliment me was a hit of dopamine I could definitely get used to. It was why I stuck around to hear the rest, only to have that brief bit of euphoria shattered.

“Gwen, huh? The Omega from Scott's other shop, right? Yeah, she's cute. Lucky you.”

I didn't recognize the first voice, but the process of elimination told me that it was Jayce, the Blacktide Alpha and new guy in town, speaking.

That made my cheeks get even warmer. His compliment didn't hit me square in the heart like Joe's did, but it wasn't often that men paid attention to me.

Having an Alpha call me cute was...nice. Unexpected, but nice.

“Yeah?” Joe's voice was like ice, a sudden change, and something I hadn't heard from him before. Then, I heard the sound of a chair scooting across the floor as someone stood. “Why don't you worry about your own Omegas and keep mine out of your mind and her name out of your mouth?”

The silence was heavy for a second before Samson spoke, “Gwen is a part of my pack, Joe.”

That seemed to snap him out of whatever had come over him, and I heard as Joe settled back into his seat.

I was desperate to peek around the corner to see the four of them, but I knew my eavesdropping would be busted the minute I did, and all Joe's trust in me would be shattered.

When Rose started babbling, I popped half a yogurt melt into her mouth and continued to listen.

“Sorry, Sam,” I noticed Joe didn't apologize to Jayce, who had been the target of his anger, “Rose is just so attached to Gwen that in my mind...”

“It's fine,” Samson said, “Having an Omega taking care of your kid with no mother around could confuse the pack bonds in your head. I get it.”

“That's why?” Jayce didn't seem convinced. “Not because you want her for yourself?”

My pulse kicked into high gear. Oh my God. What would he say?

Joe took longer than usual to answer, but when he did, my heart sank to my feet. “No. She's just my nanny, and she's not my type anyway.”

“That doesn't line up with my memory of you coming into the cafe to hang around her all the time a few years ago,” Scott added.

“You must be remembering wrong. She's a plain, low-ranking Omega in a different pack. There's not a single thing that interests me there.”

I felt a sharp sting, then a hot wash of tears in my eyes. It was one thing to remember the rejection and another entirely to have him confirm it so casually, as if he didn't care at all. I'm not his type. That wasn't a surprise, but hearing him admit it was hard.

“I must have misremembered,” Scott apologized.

“No worries. Let's get this meeting over with. I've got better things to do with my time than sit here and chat. I need a fucking beer and a shower.

“Yeah, me too,” Jayce agreed.

Wiping my tears away with the sleeve of my sweater, I turned the stroller around and rushed away, being careful not to jostle Rose.

There was no way I was going to stay and try to have lunch with Joe after what I'd just heard.

My heart felt like it was broken all over again, and I didn't want to look a single one of the Alphas in the eye.

I had a few more errands to run anyway, and with no other plans on the horizon, I took my time, enjoying myself.

At least as much as I could, considering how hurt I was.

Rose, oblivious to the wound her father had just dealt to me, was happy and babbling the entire time, and I spent half of my time out letting other people come up and say hello to her.

Rose was the most popular person in town, and she didn't even know it.

Once I was done with all of my running around, there was still significant daylight to burn, and I was in no mood to go home and be around Joe.

Not yet. We lived under the same roof, so there was no escaping him, and the last thing I needed was an awkward, stilted conversation, or, worse, a confrontation about why I was upset.

So, instead of going home, I grabbed a pastry from the local bakery and looked for a place to start reading that I'd bought at the bookshop earlier.

Rose fell asleep on the way, and I found myself a cozy spot underneath an old oak tree.

The shade was perfect, and a cool breeze blew.

I had a book and a bottle of water, and the time to myself was just what I needed.

I was about thirty minutes into the novel when a shadow crossed my legs. Looking up, I saw that Joe was standing in front of me. He was holding two paper bags and looked annoyed, but his expression softened slightly when our eyes met.

“Hey.” I smiled and closed the book, not wanting him to suspect that anything was wrong. How in the world would I explain that I'd eavesdropped on him earlier and knew all about his feelings, or lack thereof, for me?

“Gwen.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, then gestured to the sleeping baby. “Did you follow me?”

“Of course.” He looked irritated and sat down beside me. “You shouldn't have gone out today on your own. According to the security system, you've been gone from the house for hours, putting my daughter in danger.”

“Excuse me?” I set the book aside and folded my arms.

“It's not safe out here,” he explained. “Anything can happen to you and Rose, and no one would know.”

“Nothing happened, and nothing is going to happen,” I replied, baffled. “This is downtown! I work here, and we're both here all the time. It's totally safe.”

“Gwen—”

“We've walked down Main Street a million times, and not once have either of us ever had a problem.”

“Because I'm always around, or someone else from my pack is watching over you and making sure everything is okay.”

I shook my head. “I'm not a child. You can't tell me where to go, Joe.”

“When it comes to my daughter, yes, I can. And, if you're with her, I can tell you. Do you have any idea how dangerous it would be if someone were to take her and kidnap her while you were alone with her?”

“You're overreacting, Joe. I'd never let anything happen to her. I love Rose. Don't talk about me like that.”

“You're her nanny,” he shot back, his nostrils flaring. “Your job is to take care of her and make sure nothing happens to her.”

I stood, the hurt from earlier mixing with the anger from how he was speaking to me. How dare he insinuate that I'd ever put Rose at risk? “And I'm also a wolf, just like you!” I let some growl slip into my voice, and Joe's eyebrows rose. “I'm not helpless. Give me some credit here.”

“This isn't a fight, Gwen,” he sighed, looking frustrated. “This is a discussion. I'm worried. You have a cell phone, right? Why didn't you call or text me before taking her out?”

“I don't need to. If anything were to happen, I'd be able to handle it. No one's going to try and steal a baby from her stroller.”

“No,” he snapped, standing as well, “you can't. Do you expect me to believe Samson trained his Omegas to fight? You might have teeth and claws, Gwen, but you'd be in trouble against anyone with any real battle training.”

I had more arguments in me, and a million more things to say to him, but all of a sudden, I was simply exhausted.

The idea of continuing the fight, just feet away from the sidewalk where anyone could see us, zapped me of any energy I'd been holding on to.

If Joe wanted to win so badly, I was going to let him. All I wanted was to go home.

“You know what? Fine. You're right, and I'm wrong.” I grabbed the stroller and pointed up the road. “I'm parked right over there. Since I'm so vulnerable and helpless, why don't you watch as I get in the car and leave? That way, I'll be all tucked away in the house like you want.”

“Gwen—”“

“No,” I said simply, waving a hand in the air. “You're the boss. I shouldn't have argued in the first place. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get the hell out of here.”

Joe opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and he looked so surprised and confused that it almost made me laugh. I wasn't the type to argue with him, and even though we'd had disagreements, they were mild and mostly about the baby. This was a different level.

Without waiting for him to recover, I started the stroller forward and pushed her towards the car.

“I'm walking behind you,” Joe called, jogging up beside me and matching my stride.

“Do whatever you want,” I snapped.

The walk was short and silent, and as soon as the baby was buckled safely into her seat, I was sliding into the driver's side.

“Gwen, wait—”

But I slammed the door, locked it, and took off, not giving him the chance to speak.

I looked at him once in the rearview mirror as I pulled away, but I didn't give him the satisfaction of holding his gaze.

He'd be in the house with me soon enough, but I was determined to use the drive home to build up my walls high enough that he couldn't knock them down.

He didn't trust me? Fine. I'd follow the rules, and no matter how much I cared for Rose, I'd count the days till my job with Joe was over.