Page 91 of The Single Dad

“He’s talking about you,” Declan says, leaning back against his chair. “About whatever’s going on between you and your new nanny.”

I give them a practiced smile. “There’s nothing going on between me and Riley.”

“Oh, bullshit,” Reed exclaims. “Give us a break, Cole. We’re not all five years old. Your Archie tactics aren’t gonna work on grown adults.”

Fair enough, I think to myself.

“For what it’s worth, Sophie noticed, too,” Declan says. “We talked about it in the lobby while we were waiting for her car to arrive. I hope it wasn’t this obvious when we had our secret office tryst.”

There’s no point trying to deny it anymore; it seems like all three of them have everything figured out. With a sigh, I nod. “Okay, fine. You got me. I’m—we’re fucking. Are you happy?”

“Well… I don’t know,” Reed says. “I mean, fucking the nanny… that’s not exactly a good way to maintain a professional relationship, is it?”

“It’s nothing serious.” For some reason, I feel like I have to justify everything to them. They’re both looking at me with expressions somewhere between concern and disapproval.

That’s a lot to handle from Reed, who has to do press conferences every other week to save his public image from sex scandals.

“We’ve set ground rules, and we’re careful to make sure Archie doesn’t find out about anything,” I continue. “I’ve promised myself I won’t let it jeopardize Archie’s care.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” Reed’s voice takes on an eager tone. “Tell me about it, then. What kind of stuff have you done? Is she good?”

The best, I think but don’t say. Typically, if we were talking about women we’ve fucked, we’ll share some details. They don’t stay in our lives for long, and we’re often curious.

But I don’t want to do that with Riley. She’s not just someone transient in my life; she lives in my house. We’re too close to each other for me to disrespect her like that, and besides, even if I felt like I could, I wouldn’t want to.

What happens between us is private. It’s bad enough that they know it’s happening in the first place.

I shake my head. “None of your business.”

Reed deflates a little, clicking his tongue in disappointment. “Okay, prude.”

“And what’s your issue?” I glance over at Declan, who has been silent this entire time.

He hesitates, watching a ribbon of smoke filter up from his cigar. At last, he clears his throat. “Well, I have to say I’m skeptical about this whole thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not so sure that ground rules are going to keep things as simple as you want them to be. This isn’t the kind of arrangement you can easily control.”

“Why not?” I ask. I try to sound casual and disinterested, but the truth is that his words worry me. Lately, I’ve been thinking the same thing—I’ve just been in denial, too afraid to admit it to myself.

“I have some experience with this kind of thing,” he points out dryly. “It’s never as uncomplicated as you think it is.”

“You think I’m getting too attached?” I ask. I take a drag from the cigar, breathing in tobacco smoke and doubt.

“I don’t know,” Declan replies. “Are you?”

We sit in silence for another long moment before Reed changes the subject to a lighter topic. Whatever his flaws, Reed is always graceful in conversation, and knows exactly when to shift the subject.

Eventually, when my cigar is too small to continue smoking, I stub it out in an ashtray and rise to my feet.

“Well, gentlemen, I’m going to head out.”

“I’m happy to host the next poker night,” Reed says. “Just let me know when both of you are free.”

“Sounds good,” I say, waving over my shoulder on my way out the door. “See you guys later.”

I wait in the lobby for a few minutes for my driver, thinking over everything Declan said. In truth, I was already thinking a lot of it myself, but to hear it from another person, especially someone who knows what they’re talking about… it doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

---