Page 41 of Single Dad's Hot Nanny

“Oh God,” I groaned after a while. “Your entire family knows what we just did, don’t they?”

“Don’t mind them,” he said.

I covered my face and groaned again before trudging toward the house.

18

MICHAEL

I watched Mia tiptoe into the kitchen from my corner beside Aunt Neddy’s liquor cabinet. The moonlight from the window didn’t reach me, so she had no idea I was there. She looked over her shoulder before advancing to the refrigerator where she took out the rest of Neddy’s birthday cake. My annoyance mounted as she cut a huge slice, sat on a stool, and dug in. I’d been torturing myself for hours, and there she was enjoying cake.

“If it isn’t the cake burglar,” I finally drawled.

Mia let out a yelp as she whipped around and jumped off her stool. Clutching her chest, she peered into the darkness. I emerged, carrying a bottle of Irish whiskey and the half-empty glass I’d been nursing for thirty minutes.

“Michael.” She scoffed. “I’m not stealing. Neddy said I could have as much as I want. What are you doing lurking in the dark?”

“I wasn’t lurking.” I’d been sitting here, wallowing in worry about losing another nanny because I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants, which was a first for me. “What are you doing scoffing down cake at two a.m.?”

She folded her lips, and in the dim light, I saw her cheeks turn pink. “I couldn’t sleep, and I’m a bit of a stress eater.”

“A bit?” I eyed the massive slice of cake. She gave me a dirty look that made me want to smile, but I reminded myself that I was supposed to be irritated with her and I scowled instead. “Are you feeling guilty for avoiding me for…” I switched on the light over the island and looked at my watch. “Six hours? Is that why you couldn’t sleep?”

Mia performed the most dramatic eye roll I’d seen to date. “Do you have to do that all the time? Check your watch like this?”

I watched in disbelief as she mimicked me and repeated in a deep tone,“Six hours.”

If I wasn’t so pissed, I’d probably laugh.

“Why are you even wearing a watch right now? Do you sleep in it? I bet you do.” She snorted. “Goodness, you’re so rigid.”

I ground my molars together. She was unbelievable. “If I were so rigid, I wouldn’t have fucked you in my childhood treehouse, would I?”

That wiped the smug look off her face. Her gaze slid away from me, and her blush intensified. Satisfied, I sat and patted the stool beside me. She sighed heavily and reluctantly sat. She watched me with raised eyebrows and a hint of skepticism as I reached for another glass, poured whiskey, and slid it to her.

“Aren’t I on the clock?” she asked.

“It’s two a.m.,” I reminded her. “Poppy is fast asleep, and you’ve got permission from the boss to indulge a little.”

She blew out a breath and picked up the glass to throw back the whiskey as if she really needed it… as I did. We drank in silence for a while, and she ate more cake. Finally, she said, “I wasn’t avoiding you.”

“Right.”I gazed straight ahead as I continued to formulate the right things to say about what happened between us earlier.

“I was getting cleaned up like I said, and then I tucked Poppy into bed.”

“What were we doing for the next five hours?”

She shrugged and gave me a sheepish look. “Catching up on some reading?”

I glared at her, and she huffed.

“Hey, you avoided me after we kissed on the plane, so we’re even.”

A little laugh escaped me, which surprised me. Mia seemed taken aback, too. “Mia Clarke, you are… a pain in my ass.”And my balls.I’d suffered through quite a few cases of blue balls watching her prancing around my apartment with her effervescence and sunny disposition, not being able to touch her… until tonight.

“You’re not such a walk in the park to deal with either, Michael Hayes,” she shot back. I knew she would retaliate because I’d seen her flash of temper after our blind date, and I didn’t hate it.

As I swiveled around, I turned her stool too, so we faced each other. Mia glowered at me and it was so goddamn stimulating that I wanted to forget about talking and just kiss her. I even entertained thoughts of taking her right here on the counter in my aunt’s kitchen, which was crazy and irresponsible of me. I hadn’t behaved like this until I met this maddening woman.

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