Page 20

19

Sven

S ven shoved his phone back in his bag as he climbed onto the bus. He had never been more ready to be home in his entire life. Yes, this was the longest he’d been away from Winnie, but there was something happening between him and Natalie. Yes, he’d been attracted to her since the interview, but she was turning into his best friend, and he wasn’t prepared for that. He wanted to know all about her, and he wanted to know her opinion on everything. This was not like him.

He had never really cared what a woman besides Tillie cared about until now. Now he wanted to make Natalie smile, but he also loved to make her glare at him. With the look on her face when her brows pinched and her round cheeks reddened ever so slightly, he could tell she was holding back a smile. He lived to put that exasperated expression on her face.

“What’s got you grinning?” asked Conner as he sat across the aisle from him.

“I’m just ready to get home.”

“Anxious to get home to Winnie?”

Sven tilted his head. “Yeah, I am. I’m sure I’ll get used to road trips, but this was the first long on I’ve been on since she came to stay with me.”

The bus got ready to pull off. They were taking a late flight home. He tried to sleep, but every time he did, he picture Natalie. He had been so close to kissing her the night before he left and needed to get those feelings in check before arriving. Messing up this situation for Winnie by sleeping with the Nannie was old-Sven behavior, not Dad-Sven behavior.

He knew he had been flirting with her, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. No matter how many times he told himself he needed to rein it in, she would roll her eyes at him with that small but undeniable smile, and he suddenly felt like a teenager trying to impress her.

When Sven pulled up to his house, he was surprised to see the lights on. He had thought Natalie would have been in bed a long time ago. As he opened the door into the kitchen from the garage, he walked into the house. It was quiet, but the TV was still on.

When he turned the corner, the sight nearly took his breath away. There, on the couch, was Natalie asleep, with Winnie on her chest. Both his girls were cuddled up on the couch, and if the TV channel was any indication, they’d been watching his game. He needed to find a way to navigate this thing with Natalie because he had never felt about anyone the way he felt about her. Why was that trouble?

He quietly made his way over to them and carefully took a sleeping Winnie from her arms. Winnie stirred about to wake.

“Shhh,” Sven said as he snuggled her to his chest. She settled back down, and he took Winnie up and put her in bed.

He made his way back downstairs and just watched her. Even though he tried to tell himself he wasn’t being creepy, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her soft blond hair and her round cheeks all called to him. She wasn’t like the normal girls he usually slept with. She was more.

He sat next to her and brushed her hair off her forehead.

“Natalie,” he whispered.

His thumb traced her cheek. “Natalie,” he said again a bit louder.

Her eyes blinked open, and the smile that crossed her face lit him up inside.

“Sven,” she said in a breathy voice that shot straight to his cock. “Am I dreaming?” Her small hand reached up and caressed his face.

Fuck, he needed to end this, though every cell in his body was telling him to kiss her. Not like this. He wanted her fully awake and consenting before anything like that ever happened.

“You fell asleep on the couch.”

Her eyes closed again.

“Natalie,” he said a bit louder.

Finally, her eyes opened, and she seemed to be fully awake as she sat up.

“Oh, I must have fallen asleep.” Her eyes went wide with Panic. “Winnie.”

“She’s up in her crib, sound asleep. I came home to find you both asleep.”

His hand itched to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but that’s not where they were, yet he was starting to think that is where he wanted this to go.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a yawn.

“No need. Do you want to sleep in the guest bed?”

“No, I can make my way to the pool house,” she said as he stood and helped her up. “Good game tonight.”

“I got you a goal,” he said, grinning at her.

A shy smile pulled at the corner of her mouth and tucked that loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Good night, Sven,” she said before disappearing out the patio door.

Fuck. He was done for and needed to find a way to make Natalie his... Only she was his nanny. He wasn’t sure how it was going to work out, but he got the feeling she wanted it, too. They would figure it out.

***

That next morning, he woke up to Winnie’s sweet voice. He got up, changed her downstairs, and gave her a handful of puffs before putting on a pot of coffee.

Before long, the sliding door opened, and Natalie slipped in. Was Sven shirtless in the kitchen feeding his baby breakfast? Yes, he was. Was it because he remembered the look on Natalie’s face that first morning when she came? Not entirely, but it was definitely a perk. He knew when people wanted him, and the way Natalie had looked at him that morning told him just how much. But she had also said they needed to keep things professional. He was walking a line he had never had to walk before.

“Good morning,” he said to her. “There’s a pot of coffee on if you want any.”

“Thank you,” she said as she went and got a mug down from the cabinet. “What are you up to today?”

“Well, I think I’m just going to hang out at home with Miss Winnie here. I do have an appointment with my lawyer, though.”

“I can watch her if you need me to,” she said as she poured the steaming hot coffee into her mug.

“No. It’s your day off. My lawyer is coming here to meet me anyway. Hopefully, he has some information on her mother.”

“If you’re sure,” Natalie said as she sat at the table with Sven.

“Yes, I’m sure. What are you up to on your day off?”

“I think I’m going to get coffee with Sydney a little later, and I have some plans with Alice tonight.”

“That will be fun. What are you guys going to do?”

Natalie opened her mouth to tell him but was silenced by the ringing of his phone.

Sven picked it up and looked at it. “One sec, I gotta take this. It’s the PI.”

Natalie stood and walked over and kissed Winnie on the head before heading back out the patio door. “I’m headed out to meet Sydney. I’ll be home later.”

He held up a finger for her to wait, but she just smiled and waved. He had meant for her to wait here, but he needed to answer this.

“Hello.”

“Sven, I just wanted to give you an update on what I found.”

“Okay.”

“Unfortunately, we are having a hard time tracking her down. We found your car, but there is no sign of Stacie.”

“Okay, I’m meeting with my lawyer today. I’ll see what he thinks.”

“Okay, I’ll find her. I’m also watching some online marketing to see if she plans on selling any of the memorabilia. I’m confident we will find her.”

“Okay, well keep me posted,” he said as he ran his hand through his hair.

“Will do.”

Sven put his phone back down on the table. His lawyer would be there in about an hour. He was ready for this mess to be over.