Page 93 of Winning Brynn

Pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades, I gently tug him around to face me. His hips rest against the marble countertop of the island as he looks down at me, his eyes soft with affection despite his obvious anxiety.

I reach up and pull his ball cap from his head, settling it on my own. It's black today, with a white embroidered logo on the front and fraying edges. "This an old one?" I ask with an arched brow.

"You haven't left me with many choices, since you've stolen all my good ones."

On the rug, Salem is surrounded by colorful toys, babbling to herself as she sorts them into an order that only makes sense to her.

Leo's lips twitch, a smile tugging finally at the corners, as he turns his attention back to me.

I shrug. "Sue me. I like your ball caps."

"As much as you like my balls?" He wiggles his eyebrows.

Shoving his chest, I roll my eyes. He snags my hand, pulling me back into his arms, and I have no choice but to fall into him, stomach flipping as he cups my cheeks and presses his mouth to mine.

It's a sweet kiss, one full of tenderness and affection, his lips moving softly over mine as his thumbs brush back and forth across my face. I can't help but melt into him. It's like the world stops moving when he's kissing me.

But Leo is a man. And one thing a man knows how to do is ruin a good thing.

"I really need to find a new nanny."

I freeze. My lips turn rigid against his, my fingers falling still on his neck. "What?"

He kisses me again, trying to coax my mouth back open, apparently oblivious to the ice he's just injected into my veins. I shrug myself away, turning my back so he can't see the stricken expression on my face.

He doesn’t want me to be Salem’s nanny anymore?

I know his intention at the beginning was to find someone to replace me, since his trust in my childcare abilities were little to none, but I thought we'd moved past that. And sure, I've always known that this isn't permanent. I'd just assumed, since the bond between me and Salem is undeniable, that he'd keep me until at least the end of the season, even if it means my own career takes a backseat for a while.

I'm not ready to say goodbye. Not to Salem. Not to her dad either.

"You don't want me anymore?" I ask on a whisper, watching him over my shoulder.

His eyebrows twitch with surprise, his eyes softening into an expression of concern and understanding. A gentle smile pulls at the edge of his lips. He reaches for me, the tips of his fingers trailing a fluttering line down the side of my cheek. "Brynn, that's not—"

A knock on the door startles us both.

His fingers drop from my face, and I look down, running my hands over the cream cashmere sweater that Net-a-Porter sent me this week. I've tucked it into some high-waisted jeans and haven’t bothered with shoes. I’m uncomfortable enough as it is wearing denim to consider wearing shoes indoors. And truly, it's a shock for us all that I'm wearing something other than athleisure today, but I haven’t seen Issy for a while, and I don’t want to greet her with my nipples poking holes through my shirt.

Not that she’d care, anyway. But it’s nice to look nice sometimes.

Leo clears his throat. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks."

"I'll grab a shower while you say hello to your friend." He drops a kiss to my forehead and disappears down the hallway. “I won’t be long.”

"Hi."

Issy stands in the threshold of Leo's apartment, staring down at the child in my arms with an indiscernible expression. Her dark hair is wrapped up in a French twist, two curled tendrils hanging loose to frame her soft face. She looks beautiful…but miserable too.

Blue eyes meet blue eyes as they take each other in, Issy's brow furrowing as her gaze drags over every inch of Salem's face, from the soft fuzz of her hair to the baby fat in her cheeks.

On my hip, Salem clutches my sweater with tiny fists and buries her face in my neck, seemingly as unsure of Issy as Issy is of her.

Though, in all fairness, in the year that I've known Issy, she's never shown herself to be particularly maternal, so I wasn't expecting them to hit it off. I also wasn't expecting the tension that seems to be radiating off my friend, but jet lag is a real bitch, so she's probably just tired.

I tip my lips into a reassuring smile. "So, are you coming in?"

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