Page 10 of Blue Lines and Lullabies

“It’s a nickname, Daws. Surely you understand a nickname.”

“You can call her Mackenzie or Kenzie. Once she’s old enough to approve her own nicknames, you may ask her if she is okay with you calling her Mac.”

“That’s fair,” Grant says with a chuckle. He grabs his phone and fires off a message. “My sister is actually at a coffee shop a couple miles away. I can have her stop by so you can interview her and see if it’ll be a good fit.”

I watch as Levi begins patting Mackenzie on the back, and immediately, she lets out a massive belch, making all the guys laugh. “Yeah, please do. If I could get someone on board immediately, it would really help me out with one less thing to worry about.”

“Alright. I’ll let Cassie know to head over.”

Cassie?

No. Just a coincidence.

It can’t be the girl from the restaurant.

I shake off a shiver as I grab my daughter and bury my nose in the side of her face.

“Hey, Daws! Get your ass down here and meet the nanny!” Grant calls from downstairs. I’ve gone up to check out the crib and changing table the guys put together. Fortunately, my main bedroom is spacious, and I only had a bed, two nightstands, and a dresser. Adding two pieces of furniture makes it slightly cramped but still doable.

Mackenzie used the opportunity of being in her new space to take a massive dump in her diaper. How can babies poop this much? It can’t be normal. It just went everywhere, and I’m definitely going to need a lot of practice on diaper changes. Something tells me this little girl will give me as many opportunities as I need.

As I descend the staircase, I hear a light, airy, female voice giggling at something Jax says, and my hackles go up. That voice. I’ve heard it. I’ve felt it on my skin. And I’m suddenly furious that Jax is hearing it, too. Turning the corner, I see my one-night stand surrounded by my teammates, basking in the glory of all their attention. Now I’m pissed.

I clear my throat, angry that Cassie is enjoying their attention, and I’m ready to tell Grant it won’t work. No way. I’m still ticked that I went to get us breakfast the morning after we met, and when I returned, she had completely checked out of the hotel. I even asked if she left a note for me, and the front desk staff was apologetic when they confirmed she hadn’t. I didn’t want it to be just one night. I wanted more. She rocked my world that night, and not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about her.

Looking at her now, I’m remembering every minute detail. Having her long blonde hair wrapped around my fist. How her delicate fingers felt scratching along my back. How fucking phenomenal every curve of her luscious body felt against mine, and especially her hazel eyes filled with lust as she watched me come inside her. It was a night I’ll never forget. But why did she run?

When Cassie’s eyes meet mine, I see a momentary spark of joy in her gaze until her eyes narrow to slits and her lips purse into a straight line. She clears her throat before grabbing her bag from the side table and putting it on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Grant, but this won’t work. I know him. It’s a hard no.”

“What? You know him? How? You’ve been here all of ten seconds, Cass,” Grant sputters.

“Two weeks, actually,” I blurt out. Yeah, I know. It sounds pitiful, even to me. But I haven’t stopped thinking about her, and now Cassie is standing in my home, and she has the audacity to look pissed atme. “You’ve got a lot of nerve to be standing in my house and looking at me like I’m the villain here.”

Cassie’s mouth drops open in shock. “I have nerve? Seriously? When I woke up, you were gone! You didn’t even leave your number or anything!”

“Shit,” Jax grumbles, but I soldier on.

“I went to get breakfast for you, Firecracker. I was gone less than an hour, and when I got back, you had already checked out. I asked the front desk staff if you had left me a number or note, and you hadn’t left either.”

“A whole hour to get breakfast?” Levi asks.

I turn to him and shrug. “Denver Biscuit Company. I figured she hadn’t had it before. There was a line, and it took a while.”

“Ah. That makes sense. It really is good food, Cass,” Levi says with a smirk.

“Hey!” Grant interjects. “Nobody calls her Cass except me. Now, I’d like to know how the two of you apparently met before I even saw you when you got here!”

Cassie sighs before turning to him. “I stayed in a hotel one night. Remember? I’d been traveling all day, and I just wanted my own space before I would be in yours for an unknown amount of time. I went next door to a restaurant and sat at the bar. Gabe sat next to me.”

Grant turns to me, his expression murderous. “What the fuck were you doing at a restaurant by her hotel?”

Jostling Mackenzie as I reposition her on my shoulder, I reply, “I’m allowed to have dinner out, Nally. Considering I’m not even sure you mentioned your sister moving here, I doubt you can assume there are some nefarious plans going on here. Complete coincidence, trust me.”

“Well,” Cassie says with a haughty laugh, “maybe you should have been home instead, since clearly you weren’t supposed to be out that night anyway.” She makes a pointed look down at my daughter.

“Oh, sis, um, that’s not exactly true —” Grant begins, but I hold up a hand to stop him.

“Let her think what she wants. She decided about me as soon as she saw me come down the stairs. Do you want the job or not?”

---