Page 19 of Falling for the Single Daddy

“Why are you saying it like that?” When I don’t respond straightaway, he frantically explodes, “It’s because you think I’m freaking because Callie isn’t Sloane, right? I don’t want to see anybody except for Sloane in your house, with my niece? But that’s not it, not even close. It’s nothing to do with that. It’s everything I’ve said—everything you’re too blind to see.”

“So you think Callie’s a gold digger because she smiled at me over some ice cream.”

“Do you think I’d be saying any of this if I didn’t want the best for you?”

I sigh, shaking my head. “No, Wes. I know you’re coming from a good place. I just think you’re wrong.”

He grinds his teeth audibly, spinning in the chair to look out the window. “I can’t say there’s no truth in it, Gray. Sure, I wish Sloane wasn’t who she was. I wish she hadn’t run out. I wish you could all be a happy family. I wish I could go to Christmas at one place—yoursandSloane’s, instead of spending Christmas Eve with her and then swinging by yours to see Emery. But that doesn’t mean that’s whatthisis about. My instincts tell me you need to be careful with that woman. In my world, I’ve seen too many people taken advantage of.”

“I’m not some stupid old man who’s going to be tricked by a gold digger,” I tell him.

“That’s what they all say, Gray,” he mutters sadly. “Until it happens, nobody believes they’ll get scammed.”

His words bounce around my head all day, but I just can’t make them fit with my idea of who Callie is. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to believe them. I don’t know Callie, not really, but a girl raised in a cult is bound to develop the ability to manipulate, isn’t she?

I don’t like thinking of her like this, but it’s like when I’m too close to a project. I have to pan out. Take the big-picture view. I’m a man who has been burned by the mother of his child. I’ve been cold and distant ever since, and now Callie has awoken something in me. If she noticed my attraction, she could play it on, wearing those gorgeous summer dresses, moaning in the gym, making sure to be especially loving to Emery in front of me.

She could twist my head until I end up doing exactly what I’m doing now… sitting in my office, obsessing over her.

Do I believe it? Can I accept it?

When I get home, Emery comes running for me down the hallway, a big grin on her face. “Daddy, Callie found a trampoline in the garage. Come, look!”

She takes my hand, leading me into the backyard. Callie has put the trampoline together. I completely forgot I even bought it. It makes me feel like a rich douche. Emery was begging for one; then, she seemingly forgot she’d ever had the desire. But now, it’s built. Callie is jumping up and down. I’m relieved when Emery lets go of my hand so that she can clap.

Callie turns to me, laughing. She’s still wearing a dress. The hem flies up, revealing a flash of her thick, beautiful thighs. Her tits…fuck. The way they jiggle with each bounce. She slowly stops, hopping down.

“Do you want a turn, Emery?”

“Uh,duh.”

Callie laughs, then lifts her onto the trampoline. Callie walks over to me. Her breath sounds a little ragged, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Wes’s words are loud in my head. If an opportunistic nannywasmanipulating me, this is the sort of thing she’d do. My cock stiffens as her scent washes over me, perfume, sweat,her.

“Have I done something wrong?” she whispers. “Don’t tell me that was a birthday present or something. It was under a bunch of junk. Gray?”

“I forgot I bought it,” I say, doing my best not to look at her. She makes me feel drunk just with a glance.

“So it’s okay? That I put it together? Or should I have asked? I’ve been supervising Emery the whole time.”

“It’s fine,” I growl, staring down at Callie, her perfect breasts, her flushed cheeks, her mouth slightly open as if she were waiting for me to kiss her. I remember how she moaned in the gym, thrusting her wide hips, her tight ass swaying like she was riding my pole. “I need to take a shower.”

I turn away, walking quickly as if I can outrun these thoughts—Goddamn Wes for poisoning my mind.

Chapter Ten

Callie

When Gray tells me he wants to take Emery out for dinner alone, I try not to read too much into it. Ever since he came home and saw me on the trampoline, it’s like he’s trying his hardest to keep his distance from me. When he walked into the yard, he froze, his body tensing, his forearms looking like they might explode with the strain. His jaw was clenched.

Then he gotpissed, withdrawn, surly. I don’t know what happened. It’s like he resents me for some reason.

I eat alone in the guesthouse and call my best friend, Katerina. Heck, she’s probably myonlyfriend since anybody I ever had ties to still exists inside Josh’s upside-down, topsy-turvy world. I met Katerina through the nanny agency.

“What’s up?” she asks, her accent tinged beautifully with her native Greek.

“Nothing,” I murmur. “Just bored.”

I’m lying on the most comfortable couch in the guesthouse’s living room, staring up at the exposed rafters, my feet crossed. I should be taking this time to catch up on sleep and relax. It’s so much quieter without Emery stomping around the place with all her inquisitive questions and unstoppable energy. There’s this hollow feeling in my chest. And I can’t stop thinking about the way Gray stared at me.

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