Page 31 of One Touch

“Thank you. I might be wrong about this. I’d get the school to test Ava. That’s the only way to be sure. And once she has a diagnosis, if she is dyslexic, then there’s funding and help available.”

“Shit. Right. Thank you, Lily. This is a lot. I feel like a total failure.”

“Well, you’re not. No one’s done anything wrong here.”

“You know,” he said, speaking with sudden passion, “sometimes I forget I’m a single parent. Does that sound crazy? I’m so used to it. I forget that things are harder this way. Because—damn, I suck at talking—it feels so normal to me. Then something like this happens and I realize how majorly I’ve dropped the fucking ball and it’s like, no, this is not normal.”

“It must be so hard.”

“I’ve noticed her struggling,” he admitted. “But I guess I chalked it up to her just being a perfectionist, you know? Like she was scared of letting people see her rough edges.”

I swallowed and nodded, trying not to think about Ethan’s rough edges.

For a moment, I swear, his eyes flicked up and down my body. “Lily, I might live to regret this, but . . . would you still be interested in the nanny position?”

My heart leaped into my throat, and I had to bite back a grin. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Getting less sure by the second.”

“Wait! Don’t let any more seconds pass.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of power.”

I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer, bouncing on my toes and clapping my hands together. “Oh, Ethan, thank you! I promise I’ll do everything I can to support Ava and create a nurturing environment for her.”

His expression sobered slightly, and he took a step back, his gaze intense. Maybe he was worried about me throwing my arms around him again. “There’s just one thing, Lily. We need to keep things professional between us. I know . . . something happened—”

“We kissed.”

“Yes,” he said, pulling the door shut behind him. “We did. I admit, there was an attraction. It was an emotional moment.”

“Very emotional.”

He ignored me. “But with you working for me, caring for my daughter, we have to set some boundaries.”

I nodded, my cheeks heating under his scrutiny. “Of course, I understand. We can’t let our personal feelings interfere with Ava’s well-being or our working relationship.”

“There are no personal feelings from this moment forward.”

“Right. Totally without feelings. Like one of those dead fish you mentioned.”

“Right. Dead fish mode. We’ll need to establish some ground rules, make sure we’re on the same page.”

“I simply love rules. Who doesn’t? Nanny Lily one-hundred-percent loves rules.”

He quirked a brow. “Nanny Lily?”

“Right. That’s my title now, isn’t it?”

“You gonna wear a Mary Poppins costume?”

Okay, this was flirting. This was definitely flirting.

“Says the man cosplaying as a firefighter.”

---