Page 86 of Single Dad's Hot Nanny

Michael blew out a breath. He seemed nervous, and that wasn’t like him. “Alright.” He glanced at my door and then down the hall toward his office. “You know what? I’ll tell you right here and get it over with. You’ve probably wondered about Poppy’s mother,” he began.

That sent my eyebrows up a notch. It was totally unexpected. “Sure, but I got the impression it wasn’t something you wanted to talk about, so I never asked.”

“That’s just it. You shouldn’t be afraid to ask me anything.”

While I observed him, the thought of asking for help with my problem crossed my mind. However, I was sure asking him to bail me out of trouble with con men and bookies wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he saidanything. So, I lied. “I’m not.”

The raised eyebrow look he gave me mirrored skepticism, but he continued, “Poppy’s mother was the first woman I tried to date after years of avoiding anything serious. I’d spent a long time building my business, keeping people at arm’s length, but I thought maybe it was time to change that. She was... beautiful. Charming. Everything you think you’d want in someone. But she was also superficial and money-hungry.” He sighed. “I’m ashamed to say it took me a while to figure that out.”

“No…” I placed a hand on his arm. “Never be ashamed to open yourself up for the chance at love, Michael.” My beloved grandmother always told me that.

He grimaced. “Well, love was nowhere in that equation… not even close. She tried to trap me with a pregnancy. Still, I was willing to man up. A few months later, she told me the baby wasn’t mine, and she took off to party with a man who was, at the time, richer and famous. She said the baby was his. I put it out of my mind and was relieved to get her out of my life.”

Although shock rolled through me, I tried to keep my expression mutual because I saw the sliver of pain in his eyes that I’d seen before. The morning after what was supposed to be our one-night stand, I’d glimpsed evidence that he’d been lied to and hurt before.

“Then one day, I got home and found an eight-month-oldliterallyon my doorstep, abandoned by her mother.”

I couldn’t suppress my emotion then. I gasped, horrified.

“I was shocked and livid that a human would just leave a baby like that. What if I hadn’t come home, for Christ’s sake?” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “There was a DNA test result—as if I needed that to know Poppy was mine.”

Yeah, his genes didn’t miss at all.

“There was also a note. One fucking sentence saying she didn’t want to behamperedby a child. I haven’t seen her since, and I’m not sure what I’ll tell Poppy when she starts asking about her mother.” He heaved a sigh. “I wasn’t angry that she left Poppy with me. Hell, I was relieved because no child should stay with a mother like that. I was pissed that I’d missed out on eight months of my kid’s life because her mother was a liar and just an awful person.”

“You hate liars,” I murmured, remembering how furious he’d been when I’d fibbed about my age. My eyes skated away from his. I was a huge liar. Not only that, but I’d put him and Poppy in danger. If I told him now, he’d probably think I was worse than Poppy’s mother. Maybe I was.

“Yes, but that isn’t why I’m sharing this, Mia. I’m comfortable letting you in…” He took my chin between his fingers. His eyes were intense and assessing as they bore into mine. “You can let me in too, Mia. If something is wrong, just tell me.”

My lips parted, but the words got stuck in my throat. Michael wasn’t stupid. He was one of the smartest and most observantpeople I knew. Of course, he could tell something was off with me.

I wanted to let him in so badly it hurt. I was in way over my head with my ex and his mess. But involving Michael would put him and his family in more danger. I loved him too much to hurt him like that. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I shrugged. “Nothing is wrong. I’ve just been stressed with family stuff. You know how my folks are…”

He frowned. “So, it isn’t about… us?”

Finally, I could look him in the eyes without guilt because this was the god-honest truth. “I’ve never been happier with us. You’ve shown me what a real relationship is supposed to be, and I’ll always cherish that.” I let out a laugh, and a tear rolled down my cheek. “You broke the boyfriend curse.”

Amusement shone in his eyes, but his eyebrows dipped as he wiped away my tears. “Then why are you crying?”

Because I had to walk away from the best thing to ever happen to me. The thought of Michael and Poppy resenting me for abandoning them was like a knife to the chest. However, I shrugged and said, “I don’t know…” I threw my arms around him. “I want to stay with you tonight.”

He hesitated briefly, and I could practically feel his confusion, but his arms wrapped around my waist. “Of course.”

I’d make the most of the one night I had left with him.

36

MICHAEL

She was gone.

My mind reeled as I stared at the note.

I quit. I’m sorry.

That was it. No explanation. The words were like a slap in the face When they began to blur, I blinked. What did this mean? Did she quitjustthe job, or did she quit me, too?

I’d woken up this morning feeling good, lighter even. The one thing I had held back from Mia was in the open. She knew why I had behaved with skepticism in the beginning. Surely she saw how much she meant to me after I lowered every guard I had in place. I was convinced we’d connected on a higher level.

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