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Sven

S ven took Winnie up to her room, sat in the rocker, and got out the bottle from her diaper bag. She grabbed the bottle and drank.

He took deep breaths, knowing he was acting like an ass, but when he saw her skating with Murphy, he just couldn’t seem to help himself. Even he knew he had no say in who she dated and Murphy was a good guy. But when he saw them skating together, he saw red.

This year had been crazy, and it was only the end of February. Natalie had only been here for couple weeks, but somehow, she already felt like an integral part of his and Winnie’s life. He’d been attracted to her since the interview, but he knew he needed a nanny, so he would just have to deal with it. But in the time, she’d been there, the attraction had done nothing but grow.

She was amazing with Winnie. Their conversations made him feel seen in a way nothing ever had before. Plus, there was her ridiculously cute accent... and her curvy little body. He just wanted to sink his hands into the ample curve of her ass, hold all her softness against him, and kiss the daylights out of her... but he couldn’t. No. He wouldn’t cross that line, no matter how tempting she was.

Still, he shouldn’t have acted that way.

By the time he calmed down, Winnie was asleep. He carefully laid her in the bed and started downstairs. When he rounded the corner to the kitchen, Natalie was leaning against the kitchen counter. Her arms were crossed, hoisting up her perfect tits... which he would not look at. The look on her face said it all. She was still pissed. And she had every right to be.

“Nata—”

“No. Sven. Let me say this. I’ll work here. I’m a good nanny, and I love working with Winnie, but we need some boundaries, especially if I’m going to live here.”

Sven nodded.

“I’ll be a professional in this house, but you don’t have a say in who I hang out with outside of this house.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He moved closer to her. Even when she was angry, he was still drawn to her. “I was out of line. I just know how the guys can be.”

“Okay. I’m going out to the pool house. Do you need me for anything else? I managed to turn on the intercom, so you can just let me know when Winnie wakes up. I’ll get her dinner.”

The anger radiated off her. While he didn’t like that, she was pissed at him, and there was something about her all riled up like this that made him smile. Although he knew better than to let that smile show.

“You go relax. I got Winnie.”

She nodded and turned to leave out the patio.

“Why don’t you let me cook dinner tonight as an apology for being a ... What did you say? Baboon’s ass?” he said, imitating her accent.

She bit back a smile.

“Still friends?” he asked as a joke, even though he was serious.

Her gaze softened before she nodded and disappeared out the back door.

He sat on the couch and turned on a hockey game as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, and of course, it was his dad.

Peter Olsson: I’ll be watching tomorrow. Have you been doing the drills I told you about?

He slipped his phone back in his pocket.

He had trainers and coaches, so he didn’t need to listen to his dad. His feelings towards his father were morphing from a hurt little boy to something more substantial, but he still didn’t quite know how to process those feelings.

Later that night, he had Winnie in her high chair. He’d already fed her, and now she was there with a tray full of toys and Cheerios. Sliding open the door, he made his way to the pool house. He knocked on the door, and he ignored the way his heart stuttered when Natalie slid open the curtain.

She opened the door, and the urge he had to sweep her into his arms and kiss her was there, but he pushed it back.

“Dinner’s ready,” he said.

“Good, I’m starving.”

He led her back into the house, where he had the table set with Ceasar salad and chicken parmesan.

“Wow, this looks so good.”

“Well, don’t sound so surprised I can cook.”

“I see that. It smells delicious.”

Her compliment warmed his heart more than it had any right to. He was starting to think he was in trouble where she was concerned. When she had come, he had been lost in the way everything had gone down with Winnie’s mother. But now that things had settled in and they’d been working together for a while, he was starting to develop deeper feelings. Which was probably the reason he lost his shit earlier.

“Do I need to feed Winnie?” she asked.

“Nope, all you have to do is relax and enjoy dinner. I already fed her.”

She smiled as he set down her plate.

“Can I get you something to drink? Wine?”

She seemed to be mulling it over before giving him a smile and a small nod. He brought over the bottle of red he had opened and poured her a glass.

“Please, dig in,” he said as he set the bottle down on the table and joined her.

He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her as she cut into her chicken and took the first bite. Her eyes closed, and a moan escaped her perfectly pouty lips. He would ignore the erection in his pants at the look on her face and hearing that moan.

“Oh, my word, this is good,” she said with her eyes closed.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said before he took a bite of his own.

“Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“I was drafted to Chicago, and part of the draft class was a cooking class. They figured that young athletes who would be on their own for the first time would need basic cooking skills and some go-to recipes.”

“Wow, that’s really smart. So, you were in Chicago for a while?” She sipped her wine.

He nodded and finished chewing. “Yeah, I was there for three years before I was traded here.”

“Do you like playing here?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I really do. The guys are great, and Coach Wagner is one of the best coaches I’ve ever played for. You were talking to his daughter today.”

“Oh, right, I can’t believe one of the players is dating his daughter. Does that happen often?”

His fork clattered to the plate, and he took a drink of water and sputtered. “What? His daughter is dating one of the players?”

Natalie cocked her head. “I’m pretty sure. His daughter was the one with purple streaks in her hair, right?”

He nodded again. “Who is she dating?”

“I think she said Taylor Campbell?”

“No shit?”

“That’s what she said. Did you not know?”

He shook his head. “But in all honesty, I’ve been a little preoccupied.” He turned his attention to Winnie, who was pounding her toy on the tray of her high chair, sending Cheerios flying.

“That makes sense,” she said, smiling over at Winnie.

The way she smiled at Winnie did nothing to put a damper on the feelings he was fighting. She was even better with her than her own mother had been.

Natalie turned, and a questioning look crossed her face. He could only imagine the look on his own.

Pure adoration? Probably, because that sure is what he felt.

“What?”

He glanced away. “I was just thinking about how good you are with her. You’re even better than her own mother. Sometimes, when I think about that, it just makes me sad. I just don’t understand how she could just leave.”

“Do you miss her?” Natalie asked quietly.

“Me? No, not at all... I just mean for Winnie. Someday, I’ll have to explain stuff to her, and I just want to make sure she’s always happy.”

“No one is happy all the time, but I can tell you from working with kids, all that matters is that they are surrounded by love. Even kids with some of the most complicated family histories, as long as they have one steady parent who is there and loves them no matter what, they’re fine. You’ll be that for her. I can tell.”

Sven swallowed down the lump in his throat and nodded. “Wise beyond your years.”

He was trying to lighten his mood.

“I just picked up a few things teaching, even if I didn’t get to do it for as long as I would have liked.”

He cocked his head. He had thought she didn’t like it and that’s why she was looking for a new job. With the state of the modern school system, he hadn’t even questioned it. It burned out all kinds of teachers.

“If you still liked teaching, why did you quit?”

The energy shift in her was instant, and he didn’t care for it. “I didn’t quit,” she stated before taking another sip of wine.

“Then, why did you leave?”

“I was fired.”

“Why?”

“I had the audacity to read a book to kindergartners about families?” she said as she started stabbing at her salad.

“I’m sorry, I’m not following.”

“Have you ever heard of Moms Fighting For Freedom?”

Sven nodded carefully. He’s never seen her like this.

“The last election, three of them got elected to the school board. They started banning all these books. And one of them was But My Family is Different . It is a wonderful book about how all families look different. In the book, there is a little kid with two dads. It was on the banned book list, but I read it anyway.”

“Good for you,” Sven said instantly.

“Well, that school board didn’t feel that way.”

“That’s bullshit,” Sven shouted. Winnie gave a little whine next to him. “Sorry, sweet girl,” he said as she moved to take her out of her high chair.

“They fired Mr. Roper’s granddaughter for reading a book to children. That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

She nodded as she finished her meal.

“Do you want to be a teacher again?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s even an option for me anymore.”

“Why?”

“Sven, I was fired for reading sexually explicit books to children.”

His mouth fell open. “I’m sorry, what?”

“That was how they fired me. They wanted to scare other teachers, and it fucking worked.” She covered her mouth, looking at Winnie.

“It’s okay. I don’t think we have to worry about her picking up too much yet.”

“I know . . . I’m still just so mad.”

“You should be. Is there anything you can do about it?”

“I tried. I went to the foundation my grandfather had founded, and they told me there was nothing they could do.”

Sven liked her riled up, but he did not like this. This was a lot more than that. This was dark, but somehow, she was so calm about it all.

“Wow, that’s what your grandfather had to say?” he asked, shaking his head.

“No, it was the foundation lawyers. I didn’t actually tell my grandfather. I didn’t want to bother him with it.”

Sven nodded, trying to understand. He got that family dynamics with famous family members could get tricky, but she had to know that none of this was okay.

“Damn, I’m sorry, Natalie. That sucks.”

“Yeah, so I guess it’s all out there now, why I’m here and in desperate need of this job.”

He took her hand, needing to make her feel better. But when he did, it was like he opened floodgates. He’d been fighting his feelings from her, but just the feel of her hand in his had his heart racing. It was like he had been struck by lightning.

When he finally got ahold of himself, he looked at Natalie, who seemed to be eyeing their joined hands with a similar emotion to him. He could see the blush creeping up her chest, and her slightly parted lips were calling to him. Instead of that, she quickly pulled her hand away.

“This job,” she said before looking up to Sven. “That’s why I need this job and why we should set some boundaries to make sure it stays professional.”

“Right,” he said, looking at her. “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, umm . . .” she said, still clearly flustered.

At that moment, his phone buzzed on the counter in the kitchen behind him.

“Why don’t I take Winnie so you can answer?” she said, reaching for Winnie.

“Natalie . . .”

He wasn’t ready for this moment to be over. He didn’t know what he needed, but he was afraid if this dinner ended and then so would their dynamic.

“Please, answer your phone.”

He nodded and went to the counter and got his phone. He answered it without even looking at the caller ID... Rookie mistake.

“Hello,” he said, his eyes still on Natalie as she turned to move Winnie onto her play mat.

“Sven, it’s about time you answered your phone,” his dad said.

He scrunched his eyes shut and shoved his hand through his hair. “I know, I’m sorry, Dad. I’ve been busy.”

“Did you get in touch with any of the trainers I told you about?”

“No, I have trainers and coaches with the Magic.”

“Well, I’m not sure how good they are.”

“I don’t have time for this. I have to go.”

“Sven—”

Sven hung up. His phone started to ring again.

He silenced it and slid it into his pocket. “I’m going to go review some game videos. Are you good with Winnie?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, that was my dad.”

Natalie just sat there, waiting to hear whatever he was willing to share, which, when it came to his dad, was not much.

“He’s a Hall of Famer, and he thinks I should be, too.”

She frowned. “That sucks.”

He nodded. “It does.”

“Are you good with Winnie?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

He disappeared down to the basement. Next to his gym, he had a movie room, where he could watch videos for the next day’s game. While he hated dealing with his dad, sadly, he was right. His game had been off all year, and he needed to figure out why. They had a game the following day before they would be leaving for a weeklong road trip. He needed to start playing better to get his dad off his back.