Page 62 of The Nanny Goal

There’s a flash of vulnerability in her eyes. Not the same kind of fluster. This is something else. “The last few minutes.”

“That was the best part.” I grin. And it was—I can still feel the adrenaline coursing through me. “You didn’t miss much before that.”

She laughs. “Nobody scored on you! I must have missed some good saves.”

“I practically had a nap in the second period.”

She giggles. Replacing whatever doubt or worry was in her expression with that pure glee… that feels good.

Too good.

“Inessa loves watching you. When they were replaying your saves during the timeout, she was mimicking your splits and your glove saves. Which were very impressive.”

My pulse does a weird thing in my throat. “Thanks.”

She nods once, then shifts the phone. Her loose t-shirt slides off her shoulder, exposing the thin strap of something soft underneath. I swallow.

“In between the tears, we had a lot of fun tonight. She’s very cuddly.”

Her voice is softer now, and the blotchiness has faded from her face. She’s so fucking gorgeous, I want to reach though the phone and bury my face in her neck.

But she’s asking me about mydaughter, because that’s the whole reason she’s in my house.

I nod and pull myself together. “Nothing can prepare you for the unconditional love of a toddler. It’s the best part of being a parent. I had no idea.” I scrub my hand over my face. “I didn’t have any idea about any of it, to be honest. I knew I wanted kids, but I didn’t think about any of the specifics.”

“I don’t think I appreciated enough how hard that must have been for you. To just become a father with no warning.”

“It was hard. It still is hard. But I loved her immediately, so that made it…” I mutter in Russian, trying to remember the English word.

“Doable?”

“Of course. Yes. I knew as soon as I held her in my hands that I would do anything for her. I will always feel that way. It’s what gets me through terrible bedtimes.” I find her gaze again and hold it through the hundreds of kilometres that separate us. “It’s what makes me so appreciative of you taking this one.”

“Anything for the team,” she murmurs.

“You haven’t sent me your contract yet. Maybe we should negotiate your pay higher, hmm?”

She makes a face. “I know. It’s weird to charge you for this, though.”

“I’m inconveniencing you.”

“I wasn’t doing anything anyways.”

“At the very least, you are missing out on watching your brothers play hockey.”

She blows a raspberry.

“And maybe you are missing some hot dates at home?”

Another raspberry, then she laughs. “No.”

I shouldn’t be relieved.

But I am.

She swallows hard. “Can I confess something?”

“Anything.”

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