Page 45 of Single Dad's Hot Nanny

I sucked my teeth. “This is emotional blackmail.”

She smirked. “Is it working?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah… If Michael won’t need me Saturday night, I’m in.”

“He won’t. He’ll be home this weekend, so Poppy is taken care of.” She pointed her thumbs at herself. “Says the lady who manages his schedule.”

I rolled my eyes again, but a smile played on my lips. What could it hurt to hang out with a guy? My last date didn’t lead anywhere. Maybe this one would. Plus, a part of me knew I needed to move on from the fantasy of me and Michael.

I looked over Poppy’s shoulder as she filled in the answer to the last subtraction equation. “That’s it. You’re really good at math,” I commended.

She looked up and grinned. “Uncle Alex says Daddy is rich because he’s a genius with handling money, so I was born to be a genius with numbers, too.”

My amused snort echoed in the kitchen. Poppy was a hoot. “Your uncle Alex is on to something…”

“Uh-huh. He’s really funny.”

I listened intently as she went on to tell me all about her honorary uncles. I’d seen pictures of the four guys in Michael’s circle. Apparently, they’d been best friends since college.

“They’resooo cool,” Poppy gushed. “Uncle Lincoln is going to teach me how to play football and be strong.” She held up her arms to flex non-existent muscles.

“Nice.” I moved to the dishwasher to unload it while she chatted.

“Uncle Spencer is going to teach me how to play the guitarandthe piano.”

“That issooo cool,” I mimicked her, and she giggled.

“Uncle Jamie is going to teach me how to be a boss to get rich!”

I threw my head back and cackled at that one. “Interesting.” The sweet girl had no idea she was already richer than most of the world with her dad being in the one percent and all. “And what’s Uncle Alex going to teach you?”

I raised my eyebrows at her little smirk.

“Computer stuff and how to get Daddy to buy me anything I want.”

I sniggered. “This Uncle Alex sounds like a real character.”

“He is,” a familiar baritone interjected. “And he will not teach you how to finesse money out of me, young lady.”

Poppy’s bemused expression had me pursing my lips to hold back my laughter. Hanging out with Poppy and her dad did wonders for making me forget my problems. However, as usual, when Michael entered the room, I got all hot and bothered and had to fight through a wave of attraction.

Michael bent to kiss Poppy’s forehead. “Good evening, ladies.”

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Hey…” I turned away to hide the blush I knew was right beneath the surface.

“She’s been intriguing you with tales of thecooluncles, huh?” he asked as he brushed past me.

I avoided looking at him as I continued to unload the dishwasher. “She has.”

“Jamie is her godfather, by the way. Well, he was thefirstone. He was the most mature and stable at the time, so he won the title. Then the others got jealous, so I had to make them all godfathers. That’s the story of how Poppy ended up withfourgodfathers…”

I chuckled. “Your friends sound great by the way Poppy talks about them.”

He nodded and leaned against the counter to watch me unload the dishwasher. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind. You’re home early. Is that my cue to go?”

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