Page 83 of The Maxwell Brothers
“It was your call, Tate. She’s your daughter. I… didn’t even know if you wanted to tell her at all.”
“Fuck yes, I did.” His gaze intensified. “For weeks, it’s all I’ve been thinking about.”
Oh man. Those flutters in my belly were out of control now. And so was my grin.
“Really?” I definitely felt like dancing, but we were in a store, so I stayed put.
When Tate brought his hands to my waist, I felt the touch of his fingers, even through my cotton dress.
“Yes, Lexi. You’re in my life, and I want everyone to know it. I was serious when I said I want you all the time. And I don’t mean in bed. I like spending time with you. Pouring you wine in the evening. Watching you pretend to look for the TV remote when you’re raiding the stash of chocolate.”
“I don’t do thateveryevening,” I countered, even though I kind of did. And he’d noticed!
“Today, I wasn’t thrilled about coming to this place, but knowing you were going to be here made everything better.”
I couldn’t help myself and shimmied a bit. “Oh, good. I like this arrangement. I give my opinion to Paisley. You make me swoon and fan myself when she’s in the changing room. Everyone’s happy.”
I wasn’t just happy. I was over the moon.
He wanted Paisley to know.
Even though his parents and siblings knew about us, sharing this with his daughter meant so much more.
When Paisley called my name, I nodded toward the changing room. We headed that direction, and when we were within earshot, I said, “I’m here.”
"I don't like the pink one, Lexi," Paisley called from inside the changing room, "but they also have one in green."
"I can go get it for you," I said. "Where is it?"
"Right next to the entrance."
"I'll be right back," I said.
Tate groaned, but I slapped his hand, and he reluctantly dropped it from my waist.
I went to the rack with clothes near the entrance and quickly found the green version of the dress Paisley was trying on. When I returned, the sales associate was there as well, checking in with her through the curtain.
"No, it's okay. Lexi is bringing me the dress," Paisley was saying.
"Okay." She stepped back, looking at me and smiling at the dress. "I think that one is going to look great with her eyes."
"I think so too," I said. "I’m her nanny, and we talk about clothes and fashion a lot." I gave Paisley the dress, poking my head inside. "You want me to take anything back?"
"No, I'm good," Paisley said, pushing me back out.
When I turned around, to my astonishment, the sales associate was flirting with Tate, who was standing next to the pink armchair. She was playing with her hair between her fingers and looking up at him between her eyelashes.
"Anything you and your daughter need, let me know."
"We're good," Tate said, coming up to me. A second later, he put an arm around my shoulder, kissing my temple. "Lexi's a genius when it comes to finding clothes for Paisley, but we'll let you know if we need any help."
Her smile dropped. She looked at me, eyes cold. "Right, okay. I'll wait at the front, at the cash register." She stepped away quickly, but Tate still didn't let go of me.
"I can't believe I turned my back once and someone's already flirting with you." I knew I sounded jealous, but damn, she moved fast. Of course, with the way Tate looked, it was no surprise.
"Why did you tell her you were the nanny? You know you’re more than that, Lexi. I'm more than happy to tell everyone that we’re together." He turned me around, looking straight at my mouth. "Everyone, Lexi.”
“But IamPaisley’s nanny.”
