Page 22 of Summer Fling (The Kingston Brothers #5)

Chapter Fourteen

Blake

D alton made love to me after our shower. It was sweeter and more intense than anything we'd shared. I drifted off to sleep feeling more for him than before.

Somehow, he'd seeped into my life in a way I wasn't sure I'd be able to easily extract myself from. He reached for me again in the early morning, and I rode him, enjoying the look of awe on his face as he watched me move over him.

He couldn't believe that this thing had happened between us, and neither could I. It was beyond the bounds of our arrangement, and I wasn't sure it would last longer than tonight.

I'd given myself one night to enjoy everything Dalton Kingston had to offer.

He'd gotten up early to go to work, kissing my forehead before leaving me sleeping in his king-size bed. It felt decadent to be here after he'd left the house.

He'd kept me up a lot of the night, and I was sore in places I hadn't used in a long time.

I stretched, wondering if he'd like seeing me naked in his bed.

I reached for my phone, finding a message from him.

Dalton: Morning, beautiful. I wanted to stay in bed with you.

He’s snapped a picture with me sleeping on my stomach, the sheet covering my lower half, and sent it to me.

My back was bare and my hair loose around my shoulders. I wondered how often he'd gaze at this picture today. I liked the idea of that too much.

Blake: Wish you were here with me.

Dalton: You have no idea how much I wanted to stay.

Between last night and his morning text messages, I felt like I was flying. Was this the beginning of me falling in love?

It wouldn't be smart. I had a feeling Oakley wouldn't give up so easily on Dalton. She wanted him under her thumb, whether they were dating or not, and I was an obstacle for her.

But I shook those morbid thoughts off, jumping in the shower we'd used last night, remembering the way he'd tenderly washed my hair. No man had ever done a task like that for me before. It was like he enjoyed taking care of me, and maybe that was the parent in him, but it was sensual.

It made me feel like he'd always be there for me. Only time would tell.

But right now, I was happy and couldn't wait to paint. I let my hair air dry, pulling on old clothes.

I quickly lost myself in the canvas, painting the sky over the water. I got lost in the mixes of blues and the smattering of perfectly fluffy clouds. I was so into my work, I forgot to grab something to eat.

Mid-morning, the doorbell rang, and my stomach rumbled. Assuming it was a delivery person, I opened the door, surprised to find Oakley holding Lilliana.

Before I could ask any questions, she thrust Lilliana into my arms and dropped an overnight bag at my feet.

"I'm going on vacation with my boyfriend." She spun around before I could say anything.

"Wait. When will you be back?" I felt at a loss for how to handle this situation.

Oakley turned, her hands on her hips, and her lip curled into a sneer. "You're just the babysitter." She paused a beat as if waiting for the insult to cut deep before she added, "I'll have you know he's using you."

I wanted to cover Lilliana's ears, but at the same time, she didn't understand what her mother was saying, just her snide tone.

"We're happy to have Lilliana at any time, but this is your week to have her." I kept my voice soft.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "There isn't an agreement. Everything was working out great until you showed up. You're the one encouraging him to go to court."

"Dalton was already planning to go back to mediation. I didn't have anything to do with his decision." I waited patiently for her to respond.

Oakley rolled her eyes. "He'll come back to me. We're in love with each other."

She wasn't saying anything I didn't already suspect was going on in her head. Our relationship was new, but Dalton and I charted a different course last night.

She must have sensed my hesitation because she went for the kill. "We'll always share Lilliana. She'll never be yours."

That hurt more than I thought it would, hitting me in the chest and stealing my breath. I struggled to find my voice. "Thank you for dropping off Lilliana. Have a good trip."

I grabbed Lilliana's bag with shaky hands, ensuring to close and lock the door. I didn't want to have any more interactions with Oakley. This one had left me feeling unsettled.

"I don't even know if you've eaten a snack. Are you hungry?" I asked Lilliana lightly, trying to cover the waver in my voice.

"Fish," Lilliana said, and I knew she wanted goldfish crackers.

I set her in her high chair and grabbed the bag of goldfish, pouring them onto her tray. "I'm going to make cheesy eggs too."

I handed her a sippy cup of milk. Then I cracked and whipped the eggs, pouring the mix into the pan.

I kept one eye on Lilliana while typing out a message to Dalton.

Blake: Oakley dropped Lilliana off this morning, saying she was going on a trip with her boyfriend.

Then I snapped a picture of Lilliana happily eating in her high chair and sent it to him. I knew he'd want to know that she was okay.

My phone rang a few seconds later.

"Lilliana's there?"

I held the phone against my ear so that Lilliana couldn't hear his side of the conversation. "Yeah, Oakley dropped her off around ten-thirty."

"I can't believe she did that. I was hoping she'd want to spend time with her." I stayed silent, letting him process everything. "Did she say when she'd be back?"

"She didn't, but she mentioned something about preferring your old way of handling visitation."

"You mean when she drops Lilliana off whenever it's convenient for her?" Dalton drawled sarcastically.

"That's what I took it to mean." I kept one eye on the eggs while I poured more milk into Liliana's sippy cup.

He sighed heavily. "Can you put me on speaker phone? I want to talk to my girl."

"Of course." I set the phone on the high chair and clicked Speaker. "Your daddy wants to say hi."

"Da-da," Lilliana said, her arms flailing excitedly.

"Hey, baby girl. I'll be home soon, okay?" Dalton's voice was filled with affection.

"Da-da," she continued babbling.

I picked up the phone. "You'll be home at the usual time?"

"If I can get out early, I will."

"I know you want to see Lilliana, but she's fine."

"This was supposed to be your week off. You probably had things you wanted to do."

I smiled that he cared about me. "I spent the morning painting. It was really nice."

"I don't want to take advantage of you being there."

"This is what we talked about when you hired me. You warned me this could happen, and you needed me here so that you could work your usual hours."

"I need to talk to Ashton."

I cradled the phone against my ear while I shifted the eggs from the pan to a small dish. "That's a good idea."

"What could be more important than her daughter?" Dalton asked, frustration tinging his voice.

"Her boyfriend.”

"Did she say anything else?"

I debated whether I should tell him, and in the end, I thought it would be best to be honest. I moved out of the kitchen into the hallway, where I could see Lilliana, but she wouldn't hear me as easily. "She said that Lilliana would always be something that you two shared. I was just the nanny."

He bit off a curse. "I'm sorry you had to deal with her."

"It's nothing you didn't warm me about when you hired me. Don't worry about it."

"Oakley can be mean when she wants to be."

"It's okay. I'm made of tougher stuff," I said even as my stomach knotted.

"You are." There was affection in his voice that I could easily get addicted to. "What are your plans now?"

"There's a yoga class for moms and toddlers. I thought I'd take her to that after her nap."

"I'll pick up something for dinner," he said before he clicked off the call.

I wondered if he had been thinking about having the entire week to ourselves. What would have happened if Lilliana wasn't here? Would we have spent every evening in bed?

I would have liked that. But this was what he hired me for. I was here so that he could continue to work and be there for his family.

When I arrived home after the yoga class, Dalton was already in the kitchen, chopping veggies. He gestured for me to bring Lilliana to him, and when I reached him, he raised his arm for me to slide under. He surprised me by kissing me on the mouth.

Then he tickled Lilliana's bare foot. "Hey, baby girl. You have fun at yoga?"

"Up up," she said, and he set the knife down so he could properly greet his daughter.

I had a feeling he felt badly for his daughter because eventually she was going to realize that her mother didn't want her around. It was an awful way to make a child feel.

I just hoped that we could make up for that feeling of loss. But I wasn't even sure I'd be around then.

Dalton would have to cover Oakley's shortcomings, and I wasn't sure that Lilliana would ever get over an absentee mother. But there was still time for Oakley to grow up and be a better parent.

"How was class?"

"It was nice." It was the first one of a new session, and she'd asked us to go around the room and introduce ourselves. Thankfully, I wasn't the only nanny, but it was a little weird. The moms kept to themselves.

It was the first time I wished I were Lilliana's mom. Oakley's words hit harder than I expected. I'd become attached to her over the last couple of weeks.

But the reality was, Lilliana wasn't mine. This thing with Dalton was new, and I needed to remember that I was just the nanny. Dalton would always share Lilliana with Oakley, even if she took her for granted.

I'd never have that bond with him.

I hated to think that way, but it was something to keep in mind. It was easy to become attached to people, but I needed to protect myself in this situation.

I thought he'd set boundaries when Lilliana was here. But he hadn't. He'd fallen right back into that place where we'd been last night.

It could have been an effort to maintain our fake persona, but I wasn't so sure about that.