Page 82 of The Nanny Goal

Inessa gives me a horrified look and slides away, grabbing her mini stick and beelining it to the living room.

No longer her personal jester, I catch the balls in one hand and set them aside.

Emery laughs and comes over to offer me a hand up.

I take it, letting her pull me to my feet with surprising strength.

“And here I was hoping for braiding lessons during nap time,” I murmur once I’m towering above her.

The basement door is closed.

My daughter is out of sight, playing in her toy nook in the TV room.

We’re all alone.

It might be my only chance all day to steal a kiss.

“You made me laugh today,” I tell her as I tuck an errant strand of sunshine behind her ear. “In front of my teammates. They accused me of smiling.”

“I’ve heard you have a grumpy reputation on the team,” she whispers back.

“You’re a threat to that.”

“How so?”

I can’t tell her that she’s always on my mind. That the littlest things make me think of her, and every time I do, another crack forms in the protective shell I’ve built around myself for the last two years.

“Because you’re distracting,” I growl before reaching for one of the sparkly clips holding the end of her braids.

Her gaze doesn’t leave my face as I pause.

“I like your hair in braids.” My voice is husky. “But I like it wild and free even better.”

Her lips part, her eyes darken, and she lets out a shuddering little exhale that I feel all the way to the base of my spine.

I pinch the clip free and toss it to the counter.

Do the same on the other side.

And then I loosen her blonde waves from their braids, spilling the silky strands over my fingers before I cup her head in my hands and tip her face up so I can kiss her.

CHAPTER26

EMERY

For a kiss that Alexei telegraphed was coming with clear, careful, and slow intent, it still takes me by surprise when his mouth slots over mine and his hunger takes over.

It’s not a long kiss, but it’s deep and powerful, and it leaves my lips tingling in a way that I can still feel hours later.

After he takes Inessa upstairs for a nap.

While I go grocery shopping.

And even after my family arrives and I’ve had to school my kiss-dazed expression into a neutral mask.

My parents head downstairs to catch up with Alexei’s parents, and Forrest and Alexei follow me into the kitchen.

“Fucking hell, did you make crisp?” Forrest feigns his knees buckling beneath him and grabs the counter for support. “I’m not strong enough to resist that.”

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