Page 12 of Nanny For My Brother's Best Friend

Delilah is going to sweep this under the rug. Interesting.

“We got close to something last night and I know you remember. I saw you were looking at me the same way I was feeling inside. Are you going to pretend it never happened?” I stare at her, and she finally glances at me.

“We were arguing. It was just the emotions at the moment. I think we both know we’ll never go there, Miles. There’s a lot at stake.” She shrugs. “I don’t feel anything for you, Miles.”

The memory of her eyes last night tell me she’s lying to me. Delilah wanted the kiss as much as I did, but she’s lying about it.

Is that the best way to handle this? Where could it go?

CHAPTER 6

EMPTY HOUSE

DELILAH

Icompletely avoided the talk Miles wanted to have, and now he’s busy with practices and hockey.

Nothing technically happened between us, and it could have just been an argument. Tensions get high. I’ve had a few of them in my life and things pass.

“Lilah! Look!”

I turn to see Lola pointing at a panda bear on the screen of the new toy, which is a huge hit.

“That’s a panda bear, Lola.” I repeat what the voice is saying, and the little girl claps happily. She loves all kinds of bears. “Maybe we’ll go to a zoo, and you can see one in person.”

There’s a zoo in Denver and it’s not that far. We can make a day of it and get out of this house. It feels empty without Miles in it.

He is such a presence here, both physically and mentally, for me. We’ve been avoiding each other as much as possible, but I know when Miles is around.

Right now, he’s at one of many tough practices to get everyone working together. I have watched Andrew go through it for years and I know that most of the time Miles is home, he’ll be getting what time he can with Lola before passing out.

Wasn’t I looking forward to this day? Hell, I prepared for it.

Lola is on a schedule, and it works for everyone. She’s sleeping like a dream at night, and I make sure she’s active and learning throughout the day. I get my breaks at night and when she naps, though she seems to be getting away from them.

Lola is growing fast, and I smile at her.

The phone rings. I see it’s Miles’s mom and answer it.

“Hey, Linda. How are you?” I lean back on the couch and relax.

“Are you holding up with that busy granddaughter of mine? She must be running you ragged.”

“We’re doing good. She’s busy, but it makes me sleep great at night.”

That’s a bit of a lie. I think about how empty the house is and I miss Miles even after I pushed him away.

“I can imagine. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight and take a break from cooking?”

Miles’s family is incredible, and they’ve been so helpful with Lola. It helps that they know Andrew as well and love my brother for some strange reason.

“We can do that. Can I bring anything?”

“Just you and my granddaughter.”

I choose Lola’s favorite purple dress and we head to the house for dinner that afternoon. Though I wasn’t asked to bring anything, I helped Lola pick out a beautiful bouquet on the way.

“You shouldn’t have.” Linda opens the door to the flowers that are almost bigger than Lola, smiling at me.

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