Page 19 of The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

The silence that followed his question was only made worse by the two women shooting him pitying glances.

‘That good, huh?’ he said, trying to lighten the mood.

‘Olive, why don’t you tell your dad about the funny story you read in the library? Remember?’ Gladys gave the girl a gentle nudge, but Olive just shook her head.

‘That’s okay,’ he said. ‘She can tell me later, if she wants to.’ He swallowed the frustration and disappointment building in his chest. Failure after failure today.

‘How about I show you to your room,’ he said, turning back to Iris, but avoiding the pity in her eyes. He didn’t need her pity even if that was what had convinced her to take the job in the first place. He just needed someone reliable to take care of Olive. Not that someone who moved their possessions in garbage bags really screamedreliable, but he couldn’t keep piecing together childcare with local babysitters and retirees, and Iris was the best he had at the moment.

The therapist said Olive needed consistency. So that’s what he was going to give her. Until she was feeling better, and then he would uproot her from everything she knew and get back to his real life abroad.

Christ.

He was so screwed. He was doomed to live here forever all because of someaccident.

Accident? The word echoed through him and he immediately felt like shit for even thinking it. What was wrong with him? He could feel Olive’s eyes on him from the couch, like she knew he’d just thought of her as an accident, like she knew fate had stuck her with the worst possible father.

‘Follow me,’ he said, gruffly, grabbing one of Iris’s bags, needing to get away from Olive’s stare and Gladys’s well-intentioned concern.

‘This is Olive’s room,’ he gestured to the first door on the left off the narrow hallway that housed all three bedrooms.

‘Very pink,’ Iris said, sticking her head in and taking a peek.

‘I didn’t know what she would like,’ he confessed, moving on quickly to the next room. ‘The bathroom.’

Iris came up behind him and looked in. ‘Only the one?’ she asked, sounding concerned.

Why had it not occurred to him until right now that it would be awkward to only have one bathroom? Not until this very moment had he realized that he and Iris would be naked in the same shower every day. Goddamn it, now he was thinking about Iris naked.

‘I’ll get a lock for it. Right away.’

He did not look back but continued charging down the hall, suddenly needing this tour to be over. ‘This is your room.’ He pointed into the last room on the left.

‘And that one is yours?’ She gestured to the room across the hall.

Right across the damn hall! Why was this house so small? And why had he not noticed until right now?!

‘Uh … yes.’ He blew out a defeated sigh. There was no way this was going to work. ‘Look, Iris, I’m sorry. I get it if you can’t take the job. This is … I didn’t … this wasn’t very well thought through.’

They were standing on opposite sides of the hall now, but the hallway was so narrow and they were still uncomfortably close. Like they would be. All. The. Time. If she moved in here. Crammed together in this little house. Sleeping across from each other. Bathing in the same damn room.

Iris was watching him, studying him. Thinking.

Could she tell what he was thinking? That he was already being the worst kind of lecherous boss? He would be herboss. He could never touch her. He’d never get permanent custody of his kid if he was caught fucking the nanny. Instinctively, his fingers balled into fists at his side, like they were mourning the loss of something they’d never had.

This was the worst idea he’d ever had.

Luckily, Iris was sure to be about two seconds away from calling the whole thing off. There was no way she would still want the job after seeing the living conditions…

‘I still want the job.’

Wait. What? ‘You do?’

She shrugged. ‘I need a job, and this one pays well and comes with a place to stay. So, yeah. I still want the job.’

Shit. Could he fire her? He should fire her right now. He could not have her living under his roof, looking like that.

Looking soft and lovely, with her hair curling around her ears and her wide eyes staring at him. She was actually wearing real clothes today, jeans and a sweater but he could still remember how she’d looked in those leggings, how he’d seen every delicate curve of her.