Page 3 of Her Older Single Dad

“Is that your boyfriend?” she asks.

“Not anymore,thank god,” I murmur under my breath. “What do you know about boyfriends, anyway?”

Bella giggles, her brown eyes twinkling. “I know that they give kisses!”

“You know what else they do?” This girl is too cute.

“What?”

“They tickle you!” Her eyes light up as I set my phone and cheese on the table and wiggle my fingers at her sides. Her joyous laughter fills the kitchen and mine soon joins it.

“What are my girls up to now?” Elijah’s voice carries through the kitchen, jolting both Bella and me in our seats.

“Daddy!” Bella hops off the bench and runs over to her father where he scoops her up in his arms and props her on his hip.

“Hey, pipsqueak. Are you getting into trouble?” he asks her.

“No, daddy.” She shakes her head, a small smile on her face.

“Well, that just won’t do.” He boops her nose. “You need to get into a little trouble at least three times a day.” He swings his head to look at me. “Right, Piper?”

I’m tempted to roll my eyes. An impossible question for a nanny, and he’s put me on the spot. “It depends on what kind of trouble we’re talking about. I think a good place to start is coloring outside the lines and wearing mismatched socks.”

Bella looks like she’s thinking hard about mismatched socks, and Elijah gives me a small, approving nod.

“I just got done with a big project, and I’d like to take you both out to dinner to celebrate.”

“Both of us?” I can’t help asking.

“Yes, both of you. It’s my treat,” he confirms.

That’s how, thirty minutes later I find myself sitting in a corner booth of a local diner with Bella and my sexy, older boss. We order. Bella gets chicken strips, fries, and a small milkshake. The way her face is glowing, this must be a real treat. From what I’ve seen at the house, fried foods are not standard fare.

Elijah and I each order burgers and soda. It’s not as fancy as I thought it would be. I mean, it’s a standard 50s diner look-alike, but somehow, I assumed he’d take us to some fancy restaurant. Instead, we’re all comfortably trying not to spill ketchup on our shirts.

“How was your day, pipsqueak? What did you learn at preschool?”

“Well, I learned about ocean mammals…” Bella starts recounting her day and my mind drifts. Mostly to the man in front of me. He’s tall, well over six feet, with a lean, muscular build and a strong jaw. His hair is a rich brown and thick enough that I’m tempted to run my fingers through it. He’s a bit older, probably just over forty. Enough to start showing the laugh lines around his golden brown eyes.

I never knew I found, ahem…experience…so attractive.

When he responds to Bella’s conversation with real interest, my heart cracks open a little bit and my core heats. There’s something about a dad giving his kids his full attention that has my biological clock ticking so loudly it must have a megaphone.

We eat and occasionally Elijah’s eyes meet mine. Each time they do, shivers run through me. There’s a tempered heat in his gaze that makes me want to get him alone and see what he’s holding back. I get the feeling that if we were alone, we might have a very different dining experience.

“Would you like to try a curly fry?” he asks me.

“Sure. Would you like to try a sweet potato fry?”

“Sure.” He grins.

We each hold out a fry and rather than taking them, like a scene from a Disney movie, we each take a bite of the others’ fry at the same time.

While I chew my bite, Elijah speaks in his low voice, “Delicious.” My core tightens because I know he isn’t talking about the fry. When he took the fry from my hand, his tongue snuck out for a little taste.

Elijah is dangerous. He’s a good man, a great father, and a bad boy all rolled up in one panty-melting package.

I’m learning that there’s more to this man than I thought.

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