Page 23 of An Unexpected Match

“Mine’s blue,” Avery said, leaning against Brendan’s leg and watching him with adoring eyes.

“It looks like it swallows you up,” Brendan said, raising his gaze to Arden. “I’m tired. I’ve been making snap decisions for days. There was no need for me to overreact when I walked in the house, however. My apologies.”

She nodded, feeling somewhat placated. He looked tired.

And the strain of the last few days must have been tremendous. Lives had depended upon him.

“The toys will be picked up before dinner. We’ll have the paint put away by then, as well. If we’d known you were coming home this afternoon, we wouldn’t have started painting.”

Looking closely, she could see the lines of fatigue around his eyes, bracketing his mouth. The rest of her anger vanished instantly.

Avery raised her arms, and Brendan leaned over to pick her up. He nuzzled her cheek, and she laughed. For an instant, Arden felt almost jealous.

Impossible. Why wouldn’t she want him to show affection to his daughter?

She wished he’d show some to her.

“Want to come upstairs with me and help me unpack?” he asked.

Hailey nodded, racing back down the hall to put her brush in the jar of water.

In only seconds, Arden was left alone in the hallway. She listened to the murmur of his voice, the childish laughter. Feeling left out, she cleaned up the paints. The girls would be occupied with their father for the rest of the afternoon. They’d paint again another day.

And she wasn’t disappointed. She wasn’t.

He had no reason to single her out to give her a special greeting. The phone calls had just been his way of checking in each day. They had meant nothing special to him.

But for one lonely moment, Arden wished he’d kissed her hello and told her he’d missed her.

Brendan put the last of his clothes in the hamper. Hailey hadn’t stopped talking for a single second. He listened with half an ear, still berating himself for that display downstairs. He shouldn’t have lashed out like that.

But the sense of joy that had hit him when he entered the house and saw Arden and his children had been unexpected. And unwelcome. She was merely his daughters’ nanny. Not someone he had any interest in. Not someone to feel glad to see again.

Avery bounced on his bed, trying to interrupt Hailey and tell him her version of the event. Both girls were talking and laughing and making reference to things he didn’t recognize. Arden would know.

But he could try to figure it out. Bemused by the change in his quiet daughters, he tried to follow their rendition of how they spent their days. It was unexpected, seeing such an appreciable change. But he liked it. He didn’t understand it, but their personalities seemed to sparkle.

A direct result of Arden’s influence?

Thinking about her brought her image to mind again. He could see her rising from the floor, all long legs and graceful movement. He clenched his hands into fists and tried to concentrate on his daughters.

But the memory of Arden’s long legs filled his mind. And her hair. He was becoming obsessed with wanting to see it when it wasn’t tied back. She even slept with it that way, if the other night was anything to go by.

He should have been ready for the impact of seeing her again. Hadn’t he called every night while he was gone just to talk with her, to hear her laughter, the sound of her voice?

“I did that one. Do you like it?” Hailey said, pointing.

Brendan looked at the wall. Two drawings were posted side by side.

“That’s mine, Daddy. It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Avery said, jumping on the bed, her hand going up and down as she pointed as she jumped.

“No jumping on the bed,” Brendan said, sweeping her up and holding her over his head.

She shrieked with laughter. He held her close, wanting to protect her from the ugliness of the world. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Hailey close.

“Tell me again about the pictures,” he said.

He had to pay attention. Time enough later to sort through his thoughts about Arden. This was time for his children.

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