Page 31 of Falling for the Single Daddy

“Like what?” he says from behind me as I quickly get dressed.

“Like I’m doing it to trick you or something. It’s like last night when you thought I threw myself down the stairs because I wanted you to save me. I’ve never wanted a savior, never needed one, and I don’t want or need one now. If I’mhot and cold,it’s because, newsflash, a girl can change her mind. Just because I kissed you and we got steamy…” I hesitate because the word ‘steamy’ somehow doesn’t seem like enough. “It doesn’t mean Ihave to do everything you want now. It doesn’t mean I have to fulfill your every freaking desire.”

I turn to him. He’s got his hands on his hips, his lips in a severe line, his chest rising and falling heavily. He looks powerful, not just physically. He looks exactly like what he is—a rich, older man who has control over me.

“You’re right,” he says after a pause, surprising me. “I…lost my cool. Maybe we should go back to our original plan.”

“Pretend this never happened?” I murmur.

He laughs between gritted teeth.

“What’s so funny?” I snap.

“Just your tone. It’s like you say one thing but mean another.”

“I’m just conflicted,” I murmur. “But just because Ifeelconflicted doesn’t mean we have to choose tobehavethat way. At the end of the day, this should all come down to what’s best for Emery. And what’s best for her is keeping some professional distance between us.”

“You’re right,” he says, lifting his hands in the air in surrender. “There’s just something about you, Callie. You make me lose myself, like I’m drunk or high, just by being close to you. It’s like I can’t think straight. I know I need to calm down. That it’s not right. I never planned on being the older man perving on his nanny.”

I walk over to him, then stop myself. Without even thinking, I was about to take his hand. It’s like we’re developing an addiction to physical touch. “You’re notpervingon me,” I tell him. “This is a two-way street. I’m just saying we should probably do a U-turn while we still can.”

He nods. “Let’s go. Emery’s waiting. We’ll pretend to be normal for the rest of the evening.”

***

“And did you?” Katerina asks later on the phone. “Pretend to be normal?”

“Yes, I think so,” I tell her, lying on my back and looking up at the shaft of moonlight on the ceiling. “But I won’t lie. It’s not easy. It’s actually one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. Being close to him, honestly, just messes with my head. But that’s a reasonnotto act on this feeling rather than throwing myself into it. I don’t want to be controlled. That’s the reason I ran. Why I never let that Jorge creep see the effect he was having on me.”

“Do you think he’s trying to control you, Callie?” she asks.

“I don’t think so,” I murmur. “Nottrying, exactly, but it’s almost like he doesn’t have to. Just him being him is enough. He said being around me makes him feel drunk and high without touching any substances. That goes both ways. Being with him makes me want to forget about everything else. I guess being in this house doesn’t help. It’s like we’re in a fairytale castle.”

“Maybe you could find your own place,” Katerina murmurs.

“Yeah, maybe, except I’d be silly to turn down free room and board. I think I just need to get myself under control. Tomorrow, his ex is coming for dinner with a date. He wants me to be there since Emery will be there, too. So Idefinitelyhave to keep my cool then. The last thing he needs is one of us slipping up in front of her. Between us, Kat, she seems a little cray-cray. Maybe more than a little.”

“You can do it,” Katerina says. “Just take it one step at a time. Put one foot in front of the other, as they say. You don’t want to lose this job.”

“I know,” I sigh.

“If you get involved, and things end—and not to be a drag, but all things end—youwilllose it.”

“I know,” I say again, a bit snappish this time, even if I don’t mean to be. It’s because I know she’s right.

After the phone call, I mentally note all the reasons I need to go back to being just the nanny. One—I’ll never let a man have control over me, and earlier, he hadmajorsteamy control. Two—I can’t risk this job when I’m supporting Dad. Three—I don’t want to hurt Emery. Do I really need more motivation to keep things professional?

Chapter Fifteen

Gray

I get home from work early the next day. Callie and Emery are in the yard again; Emery is jumping up and down on the trampoline while Callie reclines on a lawn chair, a book in her lap, her legs crossed. Usually, I’d let my gaze settle over her delicious thighs, let my mind flood with fantasies about kissing up her legs, pushing them apart, and finding her heat. Now, I won’t even have to imagine how her perfect body would feel. I’d lick and stroke her virgin slit…

But no. Not anymore. Callie made her feelings clear last night. Plus, Sloane is going to be here in a couple of hours. The last thing she needs is any indication that I’ve got the hots for the nanny. Knowing her, she’d get jealous or at least pretend to be in order to hurt me. She’s a vicious, manipulative person. Even Wes, after a few drinks, will admit as much. But he always focuses on her so-called good points when he sobers up.

“Daddy!” Emery carefully climbs down from the trampoline, glancing at Callie for approval in a way that tells me Callie has told her to use caution.

Emery runs over and throws herself into a hug. “Is Mommy still coming?”

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