Page 12 of Single Dad's Hot Nanny

6

MICHAEL

My laughter died down, and I was finally able to speak. “Old guys?I’m only thirty-five.”

Jane’s cheeks glowed hot pink, and she pursed her lips, but I saw the laughter in her eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Do you always go on the defensive when you don’t get your way?”

She scoffed. “No. I can handle rejection like a big girl.”

“Uh-huh.” Sure, she had fibbed about her age, but she had expressive eyes, and they told me she wasn’t likely a hardcore liar. As much as she wouldn’t admit it, I’d hurt her feelings with my rejection—which wasn’t really a rejection in my opinion. Was it so wrong to not want to date a Gen Z-er?

Still, I felt bad. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. She seemed like a nice woman, and I was still attracted to her. A small part of me wanted to throw caution to the wind and spend more time with her to see where things would go because she was fucking delightful and maybe I needed someone like her in my life, even for a short time.

However, as I told Lincoln, I valued my peace. I was afraid that dating someone like Jane, who was so different from me, might disrupt that tranquility.

“Look, Jane, I like you…”

She let out a disdainful snort. “If you were going to finish that with ‘but it’s not you, it’s me,’ I might change the station and make your ears bleed with cotton candy pop music after all.”

I had to purse my lips to hide yet another smile. It was hard to stay pissed at Jane for lying about her age when her feistiness was so damn stimulating. This was far from the typical humdrum first meeting dinner date I’d imagined with my Blind Connection, and I didn’t hate it.

Admittedly, her attitude was refreshing because I was surrounded by people who wouldn’t dare speak to me like she did because I paid their salaries. Getting my ass kissed daily could get tiresome, and at the moment, I was living for Jane’s sass.

“Careful, Jane, your age is showing. You sound like a brat.”

Her dramatic gasp almost made me laugh again.

“You know what… you… you’re… screw you and your phobia for twenty-one-year- olds!” When she realized my shoulders were shaking with restrained laughter, she glared at me. “Wait, you were messing with me?”

“I couldn’t help myself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hilarious. I’m sorry about my outburst. I guess I did sound bratty.”

I turned to her with a smile I couldn’t contain, and she laughed.

I only had a quick moment to take in the way she laughed with her entire face before I had to get my eyes back on the road. This woman had amused and entertained me more in two hours than most people I’d known my entire life. She made me feel like I could relax and show another side of myself. I reallyliked her. If only she was a little older. Was the age thing that big of a deal, though…? It was like my heart wanted what my brain was telling me wasn’t good for me. I gripped the steering wheel tighter because I was considering overlooking her age to date her, and that was dangerous. I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, but Jane was…

She’s too young!My logical self kicked in to remind me of the potential drawbacks of dating someone younger. I led a busy life, and I had a kid. A twenty-one-year-old wasn’t ready for all that. Jane would probably hate that I couldn’t give her as much of my time as she wanted. I glanced at her with regret and took my mind off anything further with her.

It was quiet for a while until she urgently demanded, “Turn here!”

Jolted out of my reverie, I said, “What?”

She pointed to a parking lot. “We have to stop.”

I made the turn from pure reflex and when I came to a stop, I frowned at her. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope.”

Her impish grin made me scowl. “So why create all that excitement?”

“Lighten up Michael No-last-name.”

I grunted my amusement. “Care to tell me what we’re doing…” I glanced at a huge cartoonish swirl of froyo topped with sprinkles and a strawberry, smiling broadly and holding a spoon. “Swirl and Smile” was written beneath it in neon colors and playful fonts. “At a frozen yogurt shop…?”

Jane grinned broadly, and I stared at her, unable to help being captivated by her beauty and energy. “This is our one and only chance.”

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