Page 19 of Curvy Nanny for the Nerd

I rolled my eyes. “Coy isn’t a good look on you.”

“No? You should see me naked. That’s a good look on me.” He winked at my shocked expression and I suppressed the shiver that rolled down my spine.

“Well now you’ve got my interest piqued.”

Heat flared in his gaze again and he licked his lips. “Good.”

Over lunch, Layla and Brady recounted their weekend of bonding together and I found myself smiling the whole time. They were cute now that they were getting used to one another. “Sounds like a good time.”

“It was,” Layla said, still beaming from my praise of her book. “Can I go to my room now, Uncle Brady? I want to work on my next story.”

He nodded, a wistful smile on his face as he watched her dart up the stairs. “I’ve created a little workaholic.”

I laughed. “Monkey see, monkey do?”

His eyes crinkled adorably at the corners. “All I hear you saying is that I’ve created a monster.”

I laughed again, this time louder. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?”

Brady laughed as he stood, grabbing two fresh beers and handing me one of them. His expression cleared of all amusement as he studied my face. “Do I need to apologize for the kiss?”

“No,” I cocked a brow. “But if you need to apologize for anything you can apologize for avoiding me.”

He nodded and his overgrown hair fell over one eye. “I had to in order to avoid doing something dangerous, like kissing you again. Or more. But I’m sorry.”

“Good.”

Surprise flashed in his eyes. “So, why did you stop the kiss when it was just getting good?”

My eyes bugged out of my head.Was that kiss just getting good? As in, it got better than that?My skin flushed at thethoughts that ran through my head. “Because I don’t know you, Brady, not really. And the things that I do know, namely that you’re my employer, makes taking this attraction any further a bit complicated.”

He listened closely and nodded thoughtfully. “Whatever objections you have, please know that your job is safe.”

I wanted to believe that, but I wasn’t a naïve little girl who believed the easy thing. “Things don’t always work out that way when emotions are involved.”

Brady nodded thoughtfully as if he was really listening and giving my words proper consideration. “You’re doing a great job with Layla and that’s what is most important to me. She’s lost so much already, and she really cares about you, Toni. The job is yours for as long as you want it.”

Again, I wanted to believe him, but I couldn’t, so I ignored the relief that plowed through my body at his words. To be honest, the relief I felt at his seemingly sincere words pissed me off. I wasn’t some shrinking flower, I wasn’t a swooning type of woman who got giddy over a few pretty reassurances.

“Good to know.”

His gaze never left my face, as if he was trying to read my thoughts. “What’s your real objection?”

I stared at him with an expression that saidseriously? But he still didn’t get it, I sighed heavily and shook my head. “My objection is that I don’t know you, Brady.”

“You want to know me,” he said in a tone that was a step below devastated.

“Is that so bad?” Maybe it was. Maybe he had some deep dark secrets he was afraid I’d learn if he slept with someone who lived in his home. “Right. Look if you don’t want to tell me about yourself, I can handle it.” I stood, staring at Brady’s face for a long minute as I waited for an answer.

He stared back, those silver blue eyes looked tortured and pleading, but I refused to read anything into what I thought I saw.

“Good night, Brady.” I took my beer upstairs to my room and called Lucy to tell her just how badly I screwed up. “It was a mistake, and I’m pretty sure this job is only going to last another few weeks.”

Lucy was silent for a long time and I knew this meant she was trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. “Do you think it was stupid of me to sleep with Dante?”

“At first I did, but it became obvious pretty quickly that you guys were more than a few stolen fucks.”

She laughed. “Thanks, I think.” Lucy laughed again. “Itwasstupid, and at first it was just that, but then it became more. And now we’re a family.”

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