Page 55 of Coach Me
“Okay, Dex, you’re right, I’m notyournanny. I know it’s been a long day for you, and I get this whole thing is an adjustment. Maybe we are both at fault for not setting clear expectations on this job, so allow me to clear things up for you. I’ll even explain it with a baseball metaphor. Consider me your teammate—I’ll play my position without taking over your job, but it’s a team game for a reason. So, I’m sorry if this feels like I’m overstepping, but I’m getting this gut feeling you haven’t had a teammate in a long time.”
My mouth feels dry all of sudden, so I force a swallow.Shit, shit, shit.
She’s right, I know I haven’t. The thing is, I’m technically retired from the “team” now, and frankly, I don’t know if I deserve to join another one.
When I don’t respond, Lucie sighs. “You said you didn’t need a nanny with one foot out the door—pot, meet kettle. If this isn’t going to work, tell me now.”
Part of me wants to tell her right here and now that it’snot. I’m one foot in, needing her to help me with Miles and one foot still in that damn coffee shop wanting to ask her out.
I don’t know how to make this work. Miles is clearly happy with her being here, and all because I have a fucking crush on his nanny he’s going to lose her too?
Fuck. My son deserves better than what I’ve given him this past year.
I think about what I told her brother about slowing down his pitches. Maybe fighting this is making it worse. Me being a dick and aloof clearly isn’t working and damn it, it’s selfish for me to fire her.
I can’t make it work with Miles’s mom, not in the way it was before, but I owe it to Miles to try and make this work.
I swallow all of my fucking pride. “I could eat.”
Lucie appeared calm while giving me that fucking speech, but with my response I can visibly see her whole body relax. “Okay, come on, we ordered pizza.”
“Did Miles try to only eat the breadsticks?”
One corner of Lucie’s mouth turns up. “Didn’t order any. I got him to eat two whole slices of pepperoni, actually.”
Of course she did. See, this is good for Miles.
“Did you use the Callie card again?”
“Nope.” Lucie pops thepwith a full smile this time. “They had a make-your-own-pizza option, so I let him ‘make’ the pizzas. Mine has a lot of veggies on it, so I didn’t manage to get him on that one, but?—”
“Hey, I’ll take it.”
I hold back my smile until Lucie turns toward the kitchen. I’ve hardly gotten Miles to eat without a full-on fight or serious dessert bribery for months, and Lucie’s done it twice in one day.
Lucie pulls two boxes out of the fridge and sets them onthe counter. “I also told Miles that since he made the pizza, he had to give them names. So we have Miles’s Extreme Pepperoni and Lucie’s Veggie Secret. Which one do you want?”
I slide onto the barstool across from her. “Well, I have to try one of Miles’s, but is that bacon on the veggie?”
Lucie snorts. “Yeah, that’s the secret part. Miles thought it was hilarious.”
“Of course he did. I’ll take a slice of each then.”
“Excellent choice.” Lucie takes two slices and plops them on my plate.
When she picks it up to take it to the microwave, I stop her. “Oh no, make your food first.”
“Dex, you haven’t had real food all day. I can heat mine up after.”
“First, it’s pizza, I can heat up my own food. Second, it doesn’t matter if I haven’t eaten all week. I’m pretty sure my mom would appear out of thin air to smack me over the head if I didn’t let the woman in my house get her food first.”
Rounding the island, I take my plate from her. I watch to make sure my hand doesn’t touch hers as I do—I may be letting Lucie in a little bit for the sake of Miles, but let’s not push it.
Pulling back, she tucks her blonde hair behind her ears and quickly turns back to the pizza. “Well then, I guess I’ll make my plate.”
Chapter 19
Lucie
