Page 81 of Single Dad's Hot Nanny

He glanced at me and then back at Logan who was pale and quivering. He looked so pathetic that I cursed myself for ever getting involved with him. He was a coward and a user. If Michael decided to do him bodily harm, he’d deserve it. However, I couldn’t allow that. Michael was too good for this. Seeing him involved in my mess now made me think that maybe he was too good forme…

His eyes burned into Logan’s. “If I see you near Mia again, I won’t be this nice. Understand?”

Logan nodded frantically as he was lowered back to his feet.

“Good,” Michael hummed and then had the audacity to straighten Logan’s wrinkled shirt and pat him like a pet. That made my ex’s face flush and his eyes narrow to slits.

As if nothing out of the ordinary just happened, Michael cooly stepped back and swept my bag off the floor. He held out a hand. “Ready?”

Gawking at him, I nodded and then placed my hand in his. As we walked down the stairs, I glanced up to see Logan watching. Actually, he studied Michael with too much interest for my comfort. Knowing him, the wealth calculator embedded in his brain was probably working overtime, doing an inventory of everything Micheal had on. I felt sick to my stomach for bringing him close to this pile of shit I’d been embroiled in.

I pulled in a breath once we were outside and walking to the chauffeured SUV. I picked up pace and practically dragged him along. His eyebrows were raised in askance as he opened the door, but he said nothing until we slid into the back seat.

Michael’s usual driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror. When he nodded, the man drove off, and I let out a relieved sigh.

Michael pressed a button and the dark partition slid into place. I stared straight ahead, afraid to look at him… or maybe I was just ashamed he’d come so close to seeing what a mess my life was.

“You said you were on your way down, but you were talking so long, and I got worried,” he explained. “I’m glad I decided to go inside. Who was that, Mia?”

Swallowing my misery, I reluctantly turned to him. “My ex-boyfriend.” I almost choked on my shame for having to admit that I dated that creature.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Does he harass you like that all the time? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He doesn’t. I haven’t seen him in months. He just showed up out of the blue… He’s crazy.”

After a deep exhale, he asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just want to get home… I mean, to your place.” My cheeks burned after that slip up. Sure, Micheal had referred to his place as mine plenty of times, but my run in with Logan drove home how far removed my life was from his. He’d never keep me in his and Poppy’s lives if he knew what I’d gotten myself into.

34

MICHAEL

I sat at the head of the long table in the boardroom, but my mind was far from the presentation. My gaze was fixed on the projector’s screen, but I hadn’t absorbed a single word in the last ten minutes. This wasn’t like me. I was always laser-focused on work, especially in the office. Today, I was somewhere else entirely. I was back in my living room replaying a conversation with Mia the other night. She’d returned home after an evening with her brother and found me in the living room.

She’d stopped and smiled. “Hey, I hope you’re not working too hard over there.”

“Maybe I am, and maybe you need to get over here and stop me.”

Her laughter floated around the room, somehow making the space brighter. For a while, I thought I had everything I needed work and family-wise. Then Mia came along and showed me what was missing… this. These moments with her—even the little banter we shared… I had been missing something, and I didn’t even know.

She shrugged out of the top she wore over her dress, rested it on the arm of a sofa, and walked to me. Immediately mymind shifted gears from work toher. I put my devices aside to watch her. Her curves were impossible to ignore because her dress hugged her body in all the right places. The bruise on her left arm caught my attention, and I frowned. It was still slightly noticeable.

Mia’s steps faltered, and her smile dimmed. “What’s wrong?”

I was probably snarling, but it wasn’t at her. The memory of that confrontation with her ex still had me pissed. Each time I saw the evidence of his harassment of my woman, I wanted to murder him all over again. After Mia’s encounter with him, she’d been different. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t get to the bottom of it because she shut down each time I approached the subject.

I took my attention off her bruised arm. “Nothing.”

She knew better of course. Her fingers brushed over the discolored skin, and a flush rose on her cheeks. I immediately felt like an ass for making her feel self-conscious.

“Come here,” I said, patting my thigh.

The uncertainty clouding her eyes lifted as she covered the distance between us to sit on my lap. I had to stop letting my worry and jealousy get the better of me. There was no way I'd ruin this newfound contentment between us. Things were going smoothly considering the complexities around our relationship.

Cupping her nape, I pulled her close to brush my lips against hers. The way she sighed and melted into me gave me some comfort. I didn’t want Mia to drift away after we had bonded in ways I’d never thought I could with anyone, and I’d been worried about that with her periods of detachment lately.

“Did you read Poppy a good bedtime story?” she asked as I tried to give her another peck on the lips.

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