Page 54 of Sven

“You fell asleep on the couch.”

Her eyes closed again.

“Natalie,” he said a bit louder.

Finally, her eyes opened, and she seemed to be fully awake as she sat up.

“Oh, I must have fallen asleep.” Her eyes went wide with Panic. “Winnie.”

“She’s up in her crib, sound asleep. I came home to find you both asleep.”

His hand itched to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but that’s not where they were, yet he was starting to think that is where he wanted this to go.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a yawn.

“No need. Do you want to sleep in the guest bed?”

“No, I can make my way to the pool house,” she said as he stood and helped her up. “Good game tonight.”

“I got you a goal,” he said, grinning at her.

A shy smile pulled at the corner of her mouth and tucked that loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Good night, Sven,” she said before disappearing out the patio door.

Fuck. He was done for and needed to find a way to make Natalie his... Only she was his nanny. He wasn’t sure how it was going to work out, but he got the feeling she wanted it, too. They would figure it out.

***

That next morning, he woke up to Winnie’s sweet voice. He got up, changed her downstairs, and gave her a handful of puffs before putting on a pot of coffee.

Before long, the sliding door opened, and Natalie slipped in. Was Sven shirtless in the kitchen feeding his baby breakfast? Yes, he was. Was it because he remembered the look on Natalie’s face that first morning when she came? Not entirely, but it was definitely a perk. He knew when people wanted him, and the way Natalie had looked at him that morning told him just how much. But she had also said they needed to keep things professional. He was walking a line he had never had to walk before.

“Good morning,” he said to her. “There’s a pot of coffee on if you want any.”

“Thank you,” she said as she went and got a mug down from the cabinet. “What are you up to today?”

“Well, I think I’m just going to hang out at home with Miss Winnie here. I do have an appointment with my lawyer, though.”

“I can watch her if you need me to,” she said as she poured the steaming hot coffee into her mug.

“No. It’s your day off. My lawyer is coming here to meet me anyway. Hopefully, he has some information on her mother.”

“If you’re sure,” Natalie said as she sat at the table with Sven.

“Yes, I’m sure. What are you up to on your day off?”

“I think I’m going to get coffee with Sydney a little later, and I have some plans with Alice tonight.”

“That will be fun. What are you guys going to do?”

Natalie opened her mouth to tell him but was silenced by the ringing of his phone.

Sven picked it up and looked at it. “One sec, I gotta take this. It’s the PI.”

Natalie stood and walked over and kissed Winnie on the head before heading back out the patio door. “I’m headed out to meet Sydney. I’ll be home later.”

He held up a finger for her to wait, but she just smiled and waved. He had meant for her to wait here, but he needed to answer this.

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