Page 18 of Falling for the Single Daddy

I grit my teeth, then sip my coffee, then grit my teeth some more. I want to walk out there, wrap my arm over her shoulder so badly, and kiss her on the cheek.“Have a good day at work, hon,”she’d say, and I’d tell her,“Take care of our girl. I’ll see you later.”Maybe she’d make eyes at me as she replied,“I’ve got something special for dessert…”

As they traipse around the yard, I can’t stop wishing for that. It’s a mistake, but it’s there all the same.

Callie must feel me watching her as she’s bent over a flowerbed. She looks up and smiles. I do my best to smile in return. But the animal part of me is looking at her cleavage from this angle, the way a few strands of her hair have fallen loose like she’s messy and sexy and ready for more.

More? No—that stuff in the gym didn’t mean anything. We can pretend it didn’t, anyway. I don’t want to ruin Emery’s happiness.

***

Wes swings by the office for his lunchbreak. It doesn’t take him long to get around to the topic of Callie. I noticed something off at The Scoop yesterday, but I was hoping that would be the end of it. Cleary, I was wrong.

He paces in front of my desk. He’s always full of energy. Sloane was the same, except hers was manic. Unfortunately, it got worse after she gave birth to Emery. It was like she couldn’t be still for longer than a few seconds—like she was constantly looking for a reason to be anywhere except with her daughter.

“She’s trying to make you want her, man,” he blurts.

I shake my head. “The hell are you talking about?”

“I saw the way she was looking at you at The Scoop. She can tell you’ve got the hots for her—”

“Who said I’ve got the hots for her?” I snap.

He stops pacing and places his hands on the desk, looking at me with surprising seriousness. For Wes, being serious is a last resort. “Please, no lies.”

That’s all he has to say. He doesn’t need to come out and tell mewhyhe doesn’t want me to lie. He could easily add the word ‘again,’ bringing all the stuff about Sloane to mind. But he doesn’t need to, and he’s not that cruel.

“Okay, yeah, I find her attractive,” I admit. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to act on it.” I conveniently leave out the fact I alreadyhavesort of acted on it.

“She knows you like her,” Wes mutters. “And she’s going to use that to try and trap you. No offense, Gray, but it’s not like you’ve got a lot of experience. You’ve been married to your work, then dedicated to Emery. When’s the last time you went on a date?”

I can’t answer that without delving into awkward territory—his sister. He reads my expression and flinches. He knows what I’m holding back. “The point is,” he continues, “sooner or later, she’s going to get what she wants. You’re going to slip. She’ll jump on it, use it to her advantage.”

“You’re talking like she’s some criminal mastermind,” I snap. “She’s a kind, pretty, twenty-three-year-old nanny. Emery loves her. And even if I’ve got a… crush.” The word seems far too juvenile for these hungry feelings burning in me, but I don’t know what else to use. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything. Plus, I think you’re wrong about her trying to trap me. Or use me. Or anything like that.”

“That’s exactly what she’d want you to think if she was doing that. You heard her at The Scoop. She couldn’t stop talking about money.”

“No, Wes. I heardyoupractically forcing her to lead the conversation, then looking at her like a goddam police investigator with everything she said. Anyway, just relax. Nothing’s going to happen between us. We’ve both got too much baggage.”

“Huh?” He suddenly sits and leans forward, back to his investigator routine. “What does that mean?”

“What?”

“Don’twhatme. You just said it. Youbothhave baggage. I know about your baggage, obviously, but what’s hers?”

“I don’t think I can share that with you,” I mutter. “It wouldn’t be right. But a couple of things have happened to her. She’d probably not want to get into a relationship, especially with an older man, especially with one who has power over her.”

I was thinking about this, lying in bed last night. If she can feel this heat, too, she’s got every reason to ignore it. She doesn’t want to get into another Jorge Lopez situation. She doesn’t want her boss to have more power over her, romanticorfinancial. It’d be like going back to square one.

“So she’s already given you a sob story.”

I gasp. “Jesus, Wes. You—”

He holds up a hand to stop me. “You’re my best friend. Emery is the light of my life. I’m allowed to have an opinion. I don’t want to see that little girl get hurt.”

“She hasn’t given me a goddamnsob story,” I growl. “She’s just shared a little about her past. That’s all. You’re making this into something it’s not.”

“Or maybe you’re so blinded by how hot you think this chick is you can’t see straight.”

“Callie is the nanny, Wes. She’s not Emery’s mom. She’s not my woman. She’s thenanny.”

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