Page 14

CHAPTER 14

CASSIE

I pull up in front of Gunnar’s house, park the car, and turn off the engine. I look out the window and sigh, wondering what the hell I’m doing here. I mean, I know why I’m here, but this just feels like it’s a bad idea.

When Mrs. Harper called me last night saying Gunnar had changed his mind and wanted to hire me, I was shocked and then angry. He acted like a jerk the last time I saw him, so a tiny part of me wants to tell him to go to hell. I was devastated when I discovered he was Lewis and not even a personal trainer, but an athlete . After the surprise of it all simmered down, I tried to make light of the situation, but him freaking out over our age difference annoyed the crap out of me. Just because he’s eleven years older, definitely doesn’t make him smarter. During his little temper tantrum, I willed myself to turn off my emotions and act like that night was no big deal and we can just forget it ever happened. Was I really going to be able to forget our phenomenal night together? Of course not, but I assumed he would. I thought I was going to be just another notch on his belt and he would forget about me when his next conquest came along. Isn’t that how most guys are?

Why would you think that about him, Cassie? You don’t even know the guy except for how good his dick feels inside you.

I groan and rest my forehead against my steering wheel. I almost didn’t agree to come here today. Mrs. Harper said his mom broke her ankle and won’t be able to take care of Izzy anymore, so this is an emergency situation for him. I felt bad and my need to help people has me giving in. He asked for me to come over to “talk” about the position and his expectations. He’s even offered a five thousand dollar signing bonus if I can start tomorrow. I technically have not said yes to the job, and I know Mrs. Harper thinks I’m crazy for not jumping on it, but she also doesn’t know the real reason why he didn’t want to hire me in the first place. Only Grace knows and I’ve sworn her to secrecy.

You can do this, Cassie .

Don’t think about that night.

Don’t think about how he told you he never wants to forget about it.

You need this job .

I nod at my mental pep talk and step out of the car and walk to the front door.

He opens it within seconds of me ringing the doorbell. I hate how my heart starts to pound at the sight of him. I can’t stop my gaze from traveling up his body to those gorgeous green eyes; I lose myself in their depth. Damn him for looking so good in a white T-shirt and jeans.

“Hey,” he greets in his stupid sexy voice with that stupid sexy accent. “Come on in.” He pushes the door wider for me to walk past him and I get a whiff of his Irish Springs soap that he must’ve just used in the shower. The butterflies in my stomach start to flutter and it pisses me off even more. I might have to wear a mask if I agree to take this job.

“Is Izzy here?” I inquire while glancing around for her. My pulse is racing and there are things I feel I need to say to him. Things a child does not need to hear.

“She is out shopping with her cousin.” I whirl around and watch him close the door. My gaze follows those strong fingers twisting the lock and I gulp. I remember exactly what those fingers did to me and it makes my core clench with need. I want those damn fingers inside me again.

No, Wanton Cassie! Focus on why you’re here.

“We need to lay down some ground rules if I’m going to accept this job,” I blurt out, deciding to just rip the band-aid off. He crosses his arms across his chest, making his biceps bulge against his cotton shirt.

Eyes up, Cassie! Do not remember how amazing it felt to be held in those strong, sculpted arms.

I give my head a little shake to clear my lustful thoughts. “Rule #1: What happened last week can never ever happen again.” My silly, romantic heart cries out in protest, while my brain is fist pumping in victory at laying down the law like a badass.

“You're damn right it will never happen again,” he growls in a menacing tone with a sour look on his face.

“Well you don’t have to say it like that!” I angrily place my hands on my hips, hurt that he seems so revolted about one of the greatest nights of my life. Clearly, he’s had time to turn off his sensitivity chip or maybe this is his way of hurting me back after the other day in his office.

“Like what?”

“Like it was the most disgusting thing you’ve ever done. Like you… regret it.” My voice lowers and I look down at my feet, not wanting him to see me get emotional. I feel a wave of my abandonment issues start to rise inside of me.

Not now, Cassie! Get it together. You will not be weak in front of him.

I fight to control my emotions, mentally chastising myself for letting a stranger trigger my past trauma.

I look up when I see his feet moving closer to me. My eyes widen in surprise at the stormy look on his face, his jaw clenched tight and ticking.

“On the contrary, Cassie.” He stops mere inches away from me and I can smell the fresh spearmint on his breath. “I have fucked you in my head and in my hand every night since our time together. My only regret from that night is I wish I met you under normal circumstances because I still can’t stop thinking about you and it’s fucking with my mind.”

My mouth drops open in shock from his bluntness. His gaze darts from my eyes to my mouth and I watch those jade eyes go dark with desire.

“Close your mouth,” he demands in frustration. “Now all I want you to do is suck me off. Damnit, this isn’t going the way I was planning.” He turns around, places his hands behind his neck and looks up at the ceiling.

I snap my jaw shut and my eyes pop in astonishment. Images of me with my mouth around his cock make my blood start to bubble with lust. Lord, this man and his dirty mouth might be the death of me and any professionalism I have left.

“This is a bad idea,” I whisper, wishing our night together was not playing on repeat in my brain.

He turns around and scrubs his face with his hands before jamming them in his jean pockets. “Yes, we’ve already established that, but I’m in desperate need of a nanny and you seem to be the only available one who can start right away. So let me lay down some ground rules of my own.”

He takes a deep breath and continues, “I didn’t choose to move to Tennessee, my job made me, and while I’m here, I’m going to make the most of it. I’m going to play the best baseball of my career, take the best care of Izzy that I can, and spend time with my brother and his family. What I won’t be doing is getting into any relationships.”

I give him a confused look. “Okay…what does that have to do with me?”

He points to me and then back to him. “You and I will not be getting into any romantic relationships.”

I cross my arms against my chest in annoyance. “Who said anything about a relationship? I sure don’t want one and no offense to you and your profession, but I would never date an athlete.”

He frowns. “Why not?”

“You’re surrounded by temptation to cheat all the time.”

His spine stiffens and I can tell I’ve offended him. “I’ve never cheated on anyone in my life.”

“Good for you. I hope you keep that streak going.”

His eyes widen at my sass. “How quickly you’ve forgotten that I was cheated on too.”

“Oh, I remember, but it doesn’t mean you won’t one day make a poor decision.”

He scoffs at me. “I would never cheat on a woman I love.”

I shrug, wanting to get off this topic and not go down the rabbit hole of my trust issues. “If you say so. Now that we’ve established that we won’t be romantically involved, what are your other rules?”

“My other rule is that we have to start over.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “What does that mean?”

“It means we keep the past in the past and start afresh. Let’s pretend today is your first interview instead of last week.” He holds out his hand for me to shake and plasters a fake smile on his face. “Hi Cassie, my name is Gunnar McNeer and I’m a single dad who just moved here from Austin, Texas. I’m hoping you will help save my ass by becoming my new nanny.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying hard to refrain from giggling at his ridiculous antics. “Nice to meet you.” I place my hand in his and know instantly it was a mistake from the jolt of electricity I feel when our palms connect. I yank my hand back and ball it in a fist at my side. Rule number three should be no touching.

“My five-year-old daughter is named Izzy and she will have you wrapped around her little finger within an hour of meeting her.” I can’t help but smile as I realize if she’s anything like her father, then I’m going to be in big trouble.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” I tell him. “Will she be home soon?”

He glances at his watch and nods. “Should be any moment. So, does this mean you will accept the job?”

“That’s the fastest first interview I’ve ever had,” I say dryly. “What are your expectations of me as your nanny?”

“To keep my kid happy and alive.”

I burst out laughing but stop when I see he is quite serious. “Of course my plan is to keep her happy and definitely alive. But what else do you expect out of me?”

“I want you to love and nurture her but I also don’t want you to be her best friend. She’s five—she will try to walk all over you and take advantage of your kindness if you let her.”

I’m impressed that he acknowledges this about his own daughter. “I’m not afraid to discipline, but rest assured, I don’t believe in spanking. There are other ways to get your point across without physical touch.”

He nods. “Excellent. I also expect you to be brutally honest with me, even if you feel it’s something I won’t like to hear.”

“Noted. I can do that.” It’s easy for parents to say they want to hear it all, but I’m interested in seeing if I do have something negative to report about Izzy, how he realistically will respond.

“While this will be your home away from home, I ask that you don’t bring anyone over without my approval first.”

“The only people who might want to come visit me are my dad and my best friend, Grace.”

“Ah, yes, the infamous Grace who is dating one of my teammates, Carter Callahan.” He gives me a knowing look and I almost blurt out that they’re really not together but bite my tongue and nod. Grace would absolutely disown me as a best friend if I told her secret.

“I have no issues with your father and Grace coming over, but anyone else, please ask me first.”

“Of course. Is there anything else?”

“Aly left me very detailed notes about you from your previous interview, so I really don’t have any questions on my part to ask. Why don’t we resume this meeting in my office so I can give you my schedule to look over. I have a feeling the schedule will prompt a lot of questions from you.” He turns around and I follow him to his office.

Last time I was here, I was too preoccupied to get a good look around. It’s a well decorated, modern office. The walls are painted a navy blue with light wood floating shelves that are littered with keepsakes, awards, trophies, and photos. I sit down in the chair in front of his desk as he walks around, sits down, and opens a folder. He pulls out a piece of paper that has a lot of black and gray colored boxes in a calendar and hands it to me.

“This is my regular season schedule. The black boxes indicate the home games, the gray are the away games.” I study the schedule and I’m alarmed to see not only all the back-to-back games, but also some away games immediately following a home game the next day. “I prefer for you and Izzy to attend most of my home games, but you don’t have to stay for the full duration when we play at night.”

“I’m not a sports fan, but this schedule seems a little too crazy to me. When do you get a day off?”

He points to the schedule. “The white boxes with nothing written in them are the off days.”

“Oh. Duh.” I roll my eyes at the obvious, making him chuckle. “How does your body handle this grueling pace?”

“Fortunately, baseball is not as physical as hockey is. We can handle back-to-back games because of that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s exhausting and very tough on my body at my ripe old age. I do tend to sit in an ice bath after most games and do a sauna to try to maximize recuperation.”

“I didn’t know your season was so long.”

He nods at the piece of paper. “That schedule doesn’t even include spring training and post-season if we make it.”

My eyes widen in shock. They only get about three months off if they make the postseason. “How do you relax when your off-season is so short?”

He shrugs. “You just make the most of it. Having a child makes the off-season go by very fast.”

I look back down at his schedule. “So would your days off be mine as well?”

He winces and nods. “Yeah, and I realize that it’s not many.When my brother comes back into town from touring, he and Aly can take Izzy off your hands for some days off. They’ve already offered, so it’s just about letting them know which dates.”

“But isn’t she about to have another baby?” There’s no way Aly should have three children on her hands to watch. Her own children will be a lot to handle.

“I already told them I refuse to be a burden, but they’re insisting that Izzy needs to spend time with them and her cousins. I’ll have to take them up on some of their offers because even on my days off, we might have community events that I will want to attend. Some of the events are fun for Izzy and she can go with me, but I would like for you to go with us just in case I’m needed elsewhere during the event. It would make me feel better knowing that you’re around to watch her.”

“It won’t be a problem. We’ll figure everything out.”

“I really appreciate you being so accommodating.” He smiles and then gives me a shy look. “So, what do you think?

He passes another piece of paper across his desk and I see it’s a non-disclosure agreement. I raise an eyebrow at him in question. “I know your agency has you sign an NDA, but I also have my own for you to sign.”

I grab the NDA and start to read over it. It’s your standard non-disclosure agreement, the same type I signed with the Fitzgeralds. Signing this would mean I’m agreeing to be his nanny though. I pause and bite my lip to think, which causes him to groan and close his eyes. “Can you try not to do that in front of me?”

I huff in frustration. “Sorry, but sometimes I can’t help myself and it’s a natural reaction.”

He opens up his eyes and holds up his hands. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I need to control how I react every time you do something sexy. It’s unprofessional and unfair.”

I sigh. I don’t know about this. He must see my hesitation because he clasps his hands together as if he is praying and pleads, “Please, Cassie, I’m desperate for help here. Will you please be our new nanny?”

For some reason, the fact that I’m back here because he can’t find someone else bothers me. I need to let it go and just take this for what it is—a job that I need. But he’s right in the sense that he has to stay professional with me because I will cave in to his charm and to his touch. And if he can’t control his reactions toward me, how are we going to be able to stay away from each other? What if we fail at keeping this strictly business and have sex again? Would I get fired? Could I do casual sex?

I just don’t know if this is worth the risk. For my mental sanity, I should not accept his offer.

“Okay, I accept.” The words rush out of my mouth before my brain has a chance to stop them.

You’re a freaking idiot, Cassie.

“Oh, thank god!” His shoulders sag with relief and he stands up. I sign the NDA and hand it back to him. He takes it from me and puts it back into the folder. “Thank you, Cassie. I promise you, you won’t regret this.”

I smile and nod, already regretting it.