Page 91 of One Touch

Ethan shook his head ruefully, a smile tugging at his lips, too. “To be continued,” he said, then leaned in to brush a soft kiss against my cheek. “I love your freckles, by the way,” he said, then he kissed my cheek again, before striding out of the kitchen, leaving me weak-kneed and giddy.

I floated through the rest of the afternoon in a happy daze, my mind replaying Ethan’s words and his touch on an endless loop.

When it was time to leave, I hugged Elara and Cole goodbye, promising to meet up with Elara later that week for coffee and girl talk.

“You’d better answer my text messages,” Elara said, waggling a finger at me. “I need to know everything—and I mean everything—about all this anti-love business. Not to mention your New York job offer.” She patted her baby bump. “Me and the baby won’t let you go without a fight, though. So be warned.”

I smirked. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

As Ethan drove us home, a comfortable silence settled over the car.

Ava dozed off in the backseat, her face peaceful in slumber.

Without taking his eyes off the road, Ethan reached over and took my hand.

“Hey,” I said, “no lingering touches.”

“Right, right,” he said, whipping his hand away.

Boy, did I regret writing those rules.

There was to be absolutely no sex today. We both made sure of it. I played with Ava while Ethan went off to the fire station for more training. After I put Ava to bed, I didn’t wait up for him. Instead, I went straight to my room and prepared to crash out on the rickety sleeper sofa, which was becoming more uncomfortable—and lonely—by the night.

I put on my very unsexy broccoli pajamas. Yep, broccoli pajamas. It was impossible think a single steamy thought while wearing green pajamas covered in florets of broccoli, proudly boasting the slogan “Veg out time.” Then, I collapsed face-first onto the mattress.

But the moment my body hit the bed, there was a loud, shuddering crack.

“Oh, shi—!” The rest of my curse morphed into a yelp as the bed frame gave way beneath me, sending the mattressplummeting to the floor in a cloud of dust. I lay there for a moment, blinking in shock.

Immediately, Ethan’s large, comfortable bed popped into my mind.

I wondered whether he’d forgive me if I used it while he was out. And if he’d be angry finding me curled up under his blankets when he got home.

Then I remembered that this was real life, not a fairy tale. I wasn’t Goldilocks. I was a guest, a nanny. I had to respect the rules.

And if the rules meant sleeping on a blanket on the hardwood floor so that there was no accidental sexy sex with my hot firefighter boss when he got home, then so be it.

That chili I ate today had been a stark warning. I was never breaking a rule ever again.

Chapter 16

Ethan

Lily stood there inadorably cute vegetable-themed pajamas, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and a worried expression on her face. The morning sun cast a warm glow on the blanket she’d laid out in the center of the room. Over in the corner, where the sofa sleeper used to be, there was now just . . . a wreck.

“So, you weren’t, like, jumping on this or anything were you?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

“Jumping? Are you serious? Of course I wasn’t jumping!” Lily put her hands on her hips.

“It just collapsed when you lay down on it?”

Ava, who’d been taking Lily’s side a lot recently, also put her hands on her hips. “Are you saying Lily is overweight, Daddy?”

“Yeah!” Lily said. “Are you saying I’m overweight?”

I lifted my palms in resignation. “No, I’m not.”

“Well, good,” Ava said. “Because she’s not. She’s a very healthy weight.”

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