Page 4 of Knot Just Their Nanny
I exhale softly and drop my gaze. His is too intense, and the undercurrent of whatever that is drifting through the air is overwhelming.
“Come and meet Mia,” Susan interrupts and I nod quickly and follow her down the hall, my steps light, curious about the little girl I’m about to meet. She opens the door, and I see her wrapped in a sea of pastel blankets. Her tiny fist curls around an unseen dream, and I can’t help but feel a tug at my heartstrings.
“Fast asleep,” Susan murmurs.
“Not surprising at this age,” I smile. “She’s gorgeous.”
I lean in close, and whisper, “Hey there, Mia. I’m Zara, and I’m going to be hanging out with you for a while.”
There’s something magical about being needed, about being the one to protect and nurture. This tiny girl doesn’t care about alphas, omegas or betas; designations and all their complications and needs mean nothing to her yet. She just needs love, and I’ve got an endless supply.
I straighten up and turn to see Benjamin scowling at me in the doorway. But he doesn’t say anything. He just walks away, and I sigh. He’ll come around and see that my being here isn’t a bad thing. It will give him back parts of his life that he needs, to continue to provide for Mia and be a great dad, instead of an overwhelmed, exhausted heap of alpha male.
Chapter 3
Zara
The front door clicks shut, and Benjamin’s parents’ muffled voices fade away as they leave.
With a smile, I head to the kitchen, ready for something to eat. I gather up the ingredients for a couple of sandwiches. Not really sure if Benjamin expects me to cook him a big meal when I just got here after a long drive. The kitchen has that lived-in feel, everything right where you’d expect it to be. It’s Benjamin’s house, his space, but for now, it’s mine too.
Benjamin appears like a ghost, silent and surveying, eyeing the sandwich ingredients scattered across the counter, he arches his eyebrow.
“Making sandwiches. If you want something proper, I’ll make it a bit later, if that’s okay,” I say to him.
He glowers at me. “How did you know what I like? You’ve made quite the assumption with my sandwich there.”
Glaring right back at him, I bite my tongue. “Well, it’s your fridge and only your fridge,” I point out, popping the cap off the mayo with a little more force than necessary. “So, I figure you like everything in it.”
Can’t fault that logic now, can you?
We lock gazes, and I can’t help the small sense of triumph bubbling inside me as it looks like the top of his head is about to explode. It feels good to knock him down a peg or two from that high horse he lives on.
“Fair enough,” he grumbles. “But combinations are key.”
“If you like ham and you like cheese, you’ll eat a ham and cheese sandwich, got it?” I give him a sugary smile that hardens his gaze, but not in a bad way. He is realising that he can’t push me around with his stinky attitude. I get why he is so defensive, but don’t bite the hand that feeds you, for fuck’s sake.
The door opening and closing makes me frown.
“Boy-o. You ready for the footie?” A deep male voice calls out, and two alphas saunter into the kitchen.
“Oh, hello,” one of them says, coming up short when he sees me. He is cute, with dark hair and green eyes. The other one appears more reserved, with blonde hair and blue eyes. “Zara, right?” Cutie asks.
“That’s me.”
“The nanny?” the other one asks with a lingering look at me before shooting his gaze to Benjamin with a look that speaks volumes, if you can understand the meaning behind it. Which, to be fair, I don’t.
“Liam,” Cutie offers. “This is Henry.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Go and wait in the lounge,” Benjamin mutters to the two guys, who disappear hastily, leaving me with one pissed-off alpha. “Make one for Henry and Liam, too.”
Turning my back, I roll my eyes so hard I’m worried they might stick that way. We’ll have a talk about manners at some point, but right now, I feel, is not that time. “Okay,” I say instead and busy myself with the order. When I hear him leave, I turn to the fridge to grab two bottles of water. Then grimace and make it three. “You get one of those on account of being in pain. Rude tome again, asshole, and I’ll make a sandwich with your meat and two veg.”
He hasn’t heard me, but I feel better muttering it out loud anyway. Plastering a smile on my face, I load up a tray that I find propped up behind the kettle and carry it into the lounge.
Sliding it onto the coffee table as the guys are riveted to some guy barrelling on about football stuff, I turn to sneak out.
