Page 38 of One Touch

Not that I was, you know, into spanking. I’d never thought of myself as . . . kinky. In fact, I’d never even been spanked once. But for some reason, the thought of having Ethan’s strong hands gently caressing my naked skin before delivering a sharp slap was so . . .

Okay, it was hot. That’s why I coudn’t stop thinking about it.

It wasn’t just the spanking. I was thinking about awhole bunchof stuff.

Kissing.

Grinding.

Licking.

Sucking.

Sex. Lots of sex.

All the good stuff.

It was a very, very good job that I’d sworn off men forever, otherwise I’d have been feeling like I was in a bit of a pickle. Living under the same roof as a hot mechanic firefighter. The guy whose hands seemed to contain some kind of magic powers. A single dad with a tragic past and a heart of gold and . . .

No, Lily! No! Your life is not a romance novel! Or a fairy tale! You have to stop this! Romance novels are lies, remember?

After a lot of confusing thoughts, I decided to do something to take my mind off Ethan—some extremely diligent dyslexia research. Because I’d developed my own coping mechanisms, I hadn’t ever considered what might work for someone else. I scanned medical journals, parenting blogs, and other, varied educational resources. No webpage was left unturned.

A few customers came and went as the afternoon passed, but there were no surprise ten-book purchases today. Just as well, because I was starting to feel guilty for letting people be so generous. Unfortunately, though, unless they were pity purchases, I wasn’t doing great at selling books to people. Someone asked me for a reverse harem recommendation, and I literally replied, “All romance is a lie, but reverse harem is the biggest lie of all. You can’t even find one perfect man in this world, let alone, like, five who all want to be with you all at once, and who personify complimentary yet disparate fragments of the perfect man.” The customer ordered an Americano and left with their tail between their legs.

After a couple of hours of research and a few fumbled attempts at selling books, it was time to pick up Ava.

I hadn’t been back to Bluehaven Elementary since I’d been a student there. I’d been a very different person back then. Like Ava, my undiagnosed dyslexia meant that school wasn’t much fun. I got teased, too, because of my height, my bright ginger hair, and my big glasses, which were as thick as bottlecaps. Elara was my only friend. Everyone loved her, of course—whowouldn’t love Elara?—and when she took a shine to me, it felt like a guardian angel had swooped down to save me from my dreary existence. Luckily, as I got older, I got involved in the school newspaper and found Mary-Beth too, and then I got into romance novels and well, I never had to worry about real life again. By that time, I’d learned how to read using colored plastic sheets, plus there were a ton of romance audiobooks in the local library, and I could get lost in fantasies of hot guys falling for nerdy girls like me whenever I liked.

As I waited at the main gates for Ava, I looked at the other parents, and some of them looked at me. I felt like an impostor, like they knew I didn’t really belong here.

You’re not a mom, lady! You’re just a silly little romance airhead who can’t even get married right.

God, being back at school made me regress straight back into being that miserable kid again. Luckily, I didn’t have too long to wait.

Ava emerged from the school building and flashed me a nervous grin, then a surreptitious wave. I waved back, enthusiastically.

“Hey, kiddo,” I greeted her. “How was your day?”

Ava shrugged, eyes fixed on the ground. “Fine, I guess.”

I fell into step beside her. “Fine is . . . well, it’s fine!”

“So, you’re my nanny now, huh?”

“That’s it. Nanny Lily. Hey, your dad told me that you choseMatildaon audiobook. How do you like it?”

She looked up at me now. “It’s so cool. Mr. Wormwood is horrible. He works with cars, like Dad! But he’s nothing like Dad. Dad would never put sawdust in an engine to trick someone.”

“I get the feeling your dad is about as honest as they come.”

“And he doesn’t dye his hair.”

“I can see that.”

I’d heard people talk about silver foxes, but I never really got the attraction until Ethan.

Stop it, Lily Lane. Stop it right now.

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