Page 24 of Hold My Heart

He had a feeling tonight she might just change her mind.

“I’ll take her up to bed,” he whispered, gesturing toward the stairs.

Olympia held open the door for him, holding it wide. Making room.

The next ten minutes he spent fussing over the baby until he was sure she was tucked in safe and sound. It was funny, he thought. He’d felt responsible for his charges in the past. Responsible and loving, of course, because it was so hard not to fall in love with each one of them. It was different with Renee. Maybe it was her situation—something he could empathize with—or the adorable way she said his name.Ar-lan, without the H, her slight French accent putting the emphasis on the last syllable. It was about the damn cutest thing he’d ever heard.

Whatever it was, she was quickly wrapping around his heart with a stranglehold and he knew, even once Olympia decided she no longer needed his services, he wanted to be part of Renee’s life. Olympia’s as well if she would have him.

It would take a little convincing.

Tonight, he hadn’t anticipated lunging out of the pool to kiss her. Sure, it had been on his mind since he met her, but he hadn’t expected her torespond. He’d acted purely on instinct. In the water, he’d seen her standing, cloaked by shadows, looking joyful for the first time. And in her eyes, there was heat. Longing.

He’d reacted, and so had she. It was the response more than anything that drove him forward. The moans she made in the back of her throat. The way her fingernails bit down on his arms as she pulled at him...it was more than he could take.

Harlan finished with Renee and closed her door, making sure to keep it cracked open a little, just the way she liked it. Then he took himself downstairs to find Olympia.

She was sitting Indian-style on the couch, her feet tucked under her legs. She’d poured herself a glass of wine and, he was happy to see, there was a second glass waiting for him.

“You don’t mind if I stay for a little while? I’d hate to chug this down and get in my car. Drinking and driving is dangerous,” he said with forced lightness, grabbing his glass and sitting on the coffee table to face her.

“And who said the glass is for you? Maybe I wanted two,” she replied lightly.

There was something about the way she looked in the moonlight coming through the window, the play of silver on the dark strands of her hair. There were laugh lines around her eyes, carved from a life well lived and many happy moments. From the tips of her pink painted toes to the top of her head, and everything in between, she was beautiful. If only she could slow down and focus on the important things. Not things like of trying to impress her boss, a small and stout man Harlan had only met once and had taken an instant dislike to. Or securing a promotion she believed would make her happy.

“Well, they do say red wine is healthy for your heart.” He paused to take a sip. “I’m glad my family didn’t freak you out tonight. Really. The more I think about it, the more I realize it was a lot for you to take in.”

“Why would they freak me out?” From the way she wasn’t looking at him, he could see that they had a little bit.

“Because they are loud and odious and they have no social graces,” he answered. Then took a second sip of his wine, enjoying the way the warm liquid curled along his insides.

“I can see whereyoulearned it from.”

“Ouch. Score another one for you. You always know how to put me in my place.”

She stared down into her glass, swirling the liquid around. “I’m not sure how to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Don’t play ignorant, Harlan. We both know where the kiss was going. Where we both want it to go.”

Straight to his nether regions, he thought in a rush, a zap of electricity shooting straight there. His cock stirred and he forced his mind to the conversation instead. “You keep telling me you aren’t attracted to me.” Striving for ambivalent yet feeling the exact opposite, he leaned forward, elbows on knees and hands casually clasped.

“I’m not.” She shook her head. “I mean, Iam, but it’s entirely inappropriate. We’re two different people. And you work for me.”

“Well, technically, I’m a freelance manny, which means I work as an independent contractor, not an employee. I’m free to take on other clients or walk out that door. Right now, you just keep my schedule so full I haven’t been able to fit in anyone else. And besides, I don’t see how we’re that different.”

Olympia swallowed a laugh. “Are you serious? I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you. There are a plethora of differences.”

“Then don’t think about it. I’d rather hear you tell me more about this attraction you feel toward me. Also I love it when you use big words.” A slow, wicked smile cut across his face.

In retaliation, her lips compressed into a mulish expression. “Why do I always get the impression that you’re laughing at me? This isn’t funny. I’m being serious.”

“Seriously entertaining.”

He expected her to be more than a little snippy with him. It was a surprise when she grinned, charmingly, and held out a hand for him to take. “I’m not good at this, especially when it’s something I think I shouldn’t do. Why can’t I seem to heed my own internal warnings and stay away from you?”

His eyes widened. “You feel like you need to stay away from me?”

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