Page 11 of Moore to Love

I raked my fingers through my hair as I considered how much of my jumbled feelings I wanted to share. Even though I’d known there was chemistry between Ellie and me before I hired her, I’d thought it would be easier to fight the pull while she was working with me. But the past week had proven me wrong.

Finally, I confessed, “I’m attracted to her.”

“I see.” He searched my face before nodding. “Just remember, she comes as a package deal with her children.”

My back straightened as I shot him a glare. “I know that and would never do anything to hurt Benjamin or Madison. But the point is moot since she’s my employee. Nothing is going to happen between us.”

“Mm-hmm.” He padded over to the sliding glass door and paused to look at me over his shoulder. “One thing’s for sure. Your mom would spoil those kids rotten if she ever got her hands on them. It’d probably get her to lay off on all the bellyaching over her lack of grandchildren. At least for a little while.”

6

ELLIE

The last thing I expected on my first Saturday morning after starting my new job was to be woken up by pounding on the door at seven thirty. The sun had barely risen in the sky, but that didn’t seem to bother whoever was rude enough to come calling this early.

“Crap,” I muttered, scrambling out of bed when they knocked again.

Benjamin and Madison had been worn out last night, but they’d still stayed up to watch a movie with me after we devoured a cheese pizza. It’d been a treat to celebrate how great the week had gone at Finn’s clinic, as well as a thank you to the kids for handling the change so well.

It was also an excellent way for me to increase the odds that I’d be able to sleep in this morning. Except now someone was ruining that plan, and if they didn’t stop that pounding, they were going to wake up my children too. Then I’d have to deal with them being cranky all day because they didn’t get enough sleep and thought they were too old for naps. From what my parents told me, I’d have to wait until they were teenagers before they discovered how awesome it was to get some much-needed rest in the middle of the day.

Grateful that I’d taken to going to bed in pajama pants and a T-shirt after my ex walked out—instead of the nighties he’d preferred me in—I hurried downstairs. My eyes widened in shock when I flung open the front door and found Thad standing on my doorstep. “What in the world are you doing here at this time of morning? You know the kids don’t usually get up this early except for when they have to go to school, and it isn’t even your weekend with them.”

“I think the real question is why the fuck is another man dropping my kids off at school,” he hissed. “And why the hell did I have to hear about it from someone else last night?”

“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered, grabbing his arm to pull him inside the house so my neighbors couldn’t hear what we were saying. I’d hated being the center of gossip when Thad left me and through the divorce. The last thing I wanted was to give them something else to talk about. “Get in here.”

When the door closed behind him, I pressed a finger to my lips and gestured for him to follow me into the kitchen. Then I marched over to the coffee maker and popped in a pod so I could get some much-needed caffeine.

“Are you going to offer me one, too?”

I glared at my ex-husband over my shoulder. “Nope.”

“Seriously?” He walked to the end of the counter and pressed his palms onto the hard surface. “I’m still paying the mortgage on this house. The least you can do is make me a damn coffee.”

Turning to face him, I planted my fists on my hips as I wondered yet again what had happened to the man I’d fallen in love with in college. Back then, if someone had talked to me like this, he would’ve been the first person to put them in their place. “This isn’t your home anymore, Thad. You’re not even an invited guest this morning. And you’re not paying the mortgage…you’re paying court-ordered child support and alimony. Which you keep trying to get lowered, so don’t sit in my home and complain about me not being a gracious hostess.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled. “I didn’t come here to listen to your crap.”

“No, from what little you’ve said so far, you came storming over here just because you heard some rumor about my boss dropping the kids off after I got a flat tire.” I held up my palm when it looked as though he was going to say something and added, “If that makes you angry, you only have yourself to blame. Finn wouldn’t have needed to help me get the kids to school if you’d come when I called you.”

Thad ignored my completely valid point and echoed, “Your boss?”

“I guess the rumor mill left some details out.” I grabbed my coffee and lifted the mug to my lips to hide my grin before I took a sip.

“You got a job?”

Turning back toward him, I quirked a brow. “Haven't you been telling me to do just that ever since you walked out?”

“Yeah, but working for Finn Moore?”

He gave up the right to have an opinion about what I did with my life when he bailed on our marriage in the worst way possible, but I figured it didn’t hurt to give him a little rope since it’ll just prove how wrong he was. “Is there something wrong with him that I should know about?”

“No,” he begrudgingly admitted. “It’s just that you don’t have any experience in a veterinary clinic. What is he having you do?”

I shook my head with a laugh, but it held no humor. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

His brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

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