Page 48 of Sexy Bad Daddy

“Little ears,” Erin says.

“You need to see this too,” Callum says to Erin. Then he picks up one of the articles in front of him and waves it in her face.

“Oh.” She gasps and puts her hand to her mouth. Her gaze scans the words as I hand Callum’s phone back to him and move to her side where she motions at the line at the beginning of the article. “Look whose byline.”

Fiona fucking Davenport. I snatch the article from her hand. “Christ.”

She picks up another one. “Oh no.”

I reach for the pile of documents, but Callum shakes his head. “Don’t bother. They’re all the same or a variation of. Fiona Davenport’s on a mission to screw you just as hard as you’re apparently screwing each other.”

“Why did it take a week?” Erin looks up from the paper in her hands. She’s so pale her freckles stand out in stark contrast against her skin.

“Timing is everything,” Callum says. “Your sponsors were starting to settle down; they were impressed with the turnaround. Now they’re calling me. I’ve had to divert my phone through to the office until we’ve worked out the best way to handle it. Your daughter garners you sympathy, but she also makes you look like a dog for diddling the nanny.”

“What’s did?” Abby pipes up, screwing up her face as she tries again. It’s only a matter of time before she can say it with perfect enunciation. “Diddley. Didd—”

“It’s from that song.” I scoop her up in my arms and carry her out of the kitchen. “The one about the cat and the fiddle, and the cow and the moon.”

“That’s a baby song.” Abby sticks out her tongue. “Erin lets me listen to Ed Sheeran.”

“Okay.” I set her down when we get to her room. “Erin and I have to have a meeting with Uncle Callum for a few minutes. If you play quietly in your room until we’re done, I’ll play you as much Ed Sheeran as you want while we eat breakfast.”

She nods and climbs onto her bed amidst some of the stuffed animals that have made it back onto the comforter while Erin and I were distracted. “I need to introduce Spotty to Spot Junior.”

Erin and Callum are standing side by side when I re-enter the kitchen.

“I can’t believe she would do this to him. It’s so unfair. He’s a great father and a great golfer.”

“And he happens to have a great track record when it comes to fucking up with women in an inappropriate manner.”

“Careful,” I warn Callum.

“You should have told me,” he says. “One of you should have warned me that you were sleeping together so I could have been on top of this.” Slumping against the counter, he shoves one hand in his pocket and ruffles his hair into a crest. “I knew you were going to fuck. Anyone with eyes could see that. I just thought it would be over as quickly as the rest. You should have warned me it was more than that.”

It isn’t. It’s nothing more. It’s just that it’s easy and Erin’s available and in my house and keeping me out of trouble. I want to tell myself that, but I don’t believe it.

“It’s not. We’re not anything,” Erin says.

“Unfortunately, that’s not true,” Callum says.

“But it is,” she insists, and it makes my chest ache that she’s so adamant.

“Sorry, Erin, but you’re the nanny who looks after his kid.” He turns to me. “And you’re the asshole who’s fucking his employee. That’s what people will see. That and the poor little girl who’s stuck in the middle.”

“My daughter is fine. I’m a good father,” I growl between my teeth. I wish I could tell Callum exactly where he could shove his opinion. I wish I could tell the whole world what they could do with their views on Erin and I. But if there’s any hope for my flailing career, it’s him.

“Is there any way to fix this?” Erin asks.

“If this were something”—Callum waves his hand between the two of us and shoves away from the counter, buttoning the collar of his shirt. I can almost see the cogs turning—“If you two were, say, serious about being together, we’d have a real Cinderella story on our hands.”

“And the other option?” Erin asks.

“You two need to quit whatever isn’t going on between you. And quite seriously stay out of each other’s way any time you’re in public, because you give off some major chemistry that isn’t going to help the gossip die down.”

I’ve heard enough to know how I plan on dealing with the issue. “Okay, we get the picture.”

“Yes,” Erin agrees as she turns to me. “So, what do you want to do?”

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