Page 37 of Knot Just Their Nanny
I busy myself with popping two tablets out and getting her a glass of water.
“Thanks,” she says when I hand them to her. “You smell nice.” She blinks and frowns, but shakes her head and takes her pills. “Like fresh linen infused with bergamot.”
I tilt my head. “Oh? That’s a new one.”Curious.
She stares at me for a second. “You didn’t know you smelled like bergamot?”
“No, the fresh linen part. No one has ever said that before.”
“Well, I guess they weren’t smelling hard enough.”
I chuckle. “Guess not.” I move away from her, finding this conversation unsettling—not because of what she said, but because she is literally the only one who has said it. What doesthat mean? Does it even mean anything? I grab a tea towel and wet it with cold water. Wringing it out, I then take it over to her and remove the offending broccoli to replace it with the cloth.
Water drips down her face as she smiles and says, “Thanks. The broccoli was defrosting, so it wasn’t so bad.”
Liam looks between the two of us, his expression unreadable. “I need to go check in with work after I bolted. I’ll be back in a few.”
Taking over with the towel pressed to Zara’s head, I lean in closer. Call me crazy, but I want her to breathe in my scent, and fuck, I need to breathe in hers. That lavender and honey combo is mouth-watering.
“You’re very cool and reserved, Henry,” she says. “Good in a crisis.”
“Okay?”
“The three of you make a good team. Ben is growly and brooding, Liam is fun and flirty, and then there’s you, cool and reserved.”
“You make it sound really boring.” I joke, not sure how I feel about her observations.
“It’s not boring,” she says, shaking her head and then wincing. “You’re stable and pragmatic.”
“Oh, this keeps on getting better,” I murmur. If she calls me cute with a great personality, I’m going to go and hide under the duvet for a while.
“Omegas like that. They want someone they can rely on, you know?”
“Hmm.”
“You don’t agree?”
“I think I’d rather be called growly and brooding or fun and flirty.”
“If wishes were horses…”
“Indeed. How’s your head feeling now?”
“A bit better.”
“It’s going to hurt for a while. Maybe we should take you up to Urgent Care just to be on the safe side?”
“No, it’s a two-hour round trip. I’m fine.”
We settle into an easy silence, the kind that isn’t awkward but comfortable—like a warm blanket on a chilly evening. She relaxes on the stool, the towel still pressed lightly against her forehead.
If she says she’s fine, she’s probably fine. Still, I can’t help the protective surge that ripples through me. It’s unfamiliar and surprising.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Liam slink back into the kitchen after his call. “Why don’t you go up and make sure Ben is doing okay with Mia?” I ask him.
“Sure,” he says, glancing between Zara and me.
Liam’s expression is a mix of teasing and suspicion, as if he’s caught onto something more than just my nursing duties. But he doesn’t question it, just nods and disappears up the stairs.
